I'll be finding out if the Super-Chuffer and Chuff-Generator fits, I'm going to do mine. 
JOHN, you can do my Reading engine after you get done with yours.😉
Sad to learn my favorite loco has a short expiration date. Nicest piece I own given the limits I have with my curve radius.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Yep, when that board goes, as a majority of them seem to do, the engine is truly dead in any running mode. It's also complicated by the fact that it's the source of the chuff, so when you replace it, you also have to make provisions for a chuff switch and smoke unit control.
So @gunrunnerjohn now I know what it feels like when the board goes. My Reading bit the dust earlier today while running at the local railroads in the park event for our park system.
Locomotive slowed to a crawl and lights dimmed and then completely stopped. Smoke unit was powered on 2 minutes beforehand, engine had about 10 min run time total for the day, maybe about a hour total since I bought it last fall. I initially thought I smelled something burnt, so I popped off the shell and the board above the motor (or motor itself) is toast, no visible damage that I could see. I didnt get a photo of the inside as we had a bunch of guests and change engines. At least I had plans for all 3 of mine for an upgrade of some kind.
Well, look closely at the K-Line cruise board. Right near the three TO-92 packages indicated below, see if you don't see cooked components.
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My K Line one of these with the burnt board has a flywheel with a beveled edge. Not conducive to gluing a strip to for chuff. But I have a Mikado K Line cruise kit with a motor with a proper flywheel. Wonder if I couldn’t replace the motor. I haven’t checked the gear to see. Any chance?
The beveled flywheel is for clearance, I suspect the Mikado kit might not fit. Of course, the worm could also be an issue, but I think the flywheel would be the killer.
FWIW, I've used a smaller flywheel to jobs like this, you don't need more than about 1/8" of flat on the outer diameter for the tach strip.
Ok. Thanks.
Does running the K-Line 4-6-6T with smoke off prevent the overheating problem? Does the same issue occur on the Legacy versions?
MELGAR
The smoke was off on mine. I think there was a design flaw or parts issue. Too many have gone up in smoke.
I have the...other version.
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@MELGAR posted:Does running the K-Line 4-6-6T with smoke off prevent the overheating problem? Does the same issue occur on the Legacy versions?
MELGAR
Smoke has nothing to do with the K-Line cruise failure, and the Legacy version uses a totally different electronics package so it's not affected.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Well, look closely at the K-Line cruise board. Right near the three TO-92 packages indicated below, see if you don't see cooked components.
So John, I opened up my Reading and I provided photos of what I'm seeing. The three TO-92 packages don't show charring or cooked unless it's internal where I don't see. I don't even smell anything burnt on that board and also had a family member smell it for second measure. She thought she smelled a motor smell but couldn't 100% decipher as I have scented smoke fluid in it.
However, I also saw some kind of burnt mark on one solder on the smoke unit, so I included photos of that. The engine was at 16-18 volts when it went out and "could've" easily smoke out the whole event room with how much it was pumping had it not broke down. Megasteam fluid was used. I know it's a long shot/1 in a million chances, but could've the smoke unit cause this much trouble to shut down a whole locomotive?
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If it was "smoking out the whole room", the smoke triac may have shorted, that will give you LOTS of smoke for a short time. In the pictures the wick looks a little dry, that will result in lots of stinky smoke as well.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:If it was "smoking out the whole room", the smoke triac may have shorted, that will give you LOTS of smoke for a short time. In the pictures the wick looks a little dry, that will result in lots of stinky smoke as well.
John,
Wouldn't that have been prevented if the smoke switch was "off" ? I'm asking because I would like to know if it's safe to run the engine if the smoke switch is off. I want to avoid a short circuit or smoke from one...
MELGAR
Yes, if the smoke switch is off, no power will go to the smoke unit.
