Chicago and Alton engine not working

Obviously, the top suspect would the power pickup wiring if you get no lights or anything.  Have you checked to see if there's any current draw when it's on the track?

@gunrunnerjohn how would I do that? I’m not sure if I’ve got the tool I need for checking voltage, but I could get one

Well, given your symptoms, I'd first do a detailed physical examination of the wheels and pickups, make sure there's nothing obvious wrong.  The fact that the tender also doesn't power up without moving it around suggests maybe corrosion on the wheels/pickups?

@gunrunnerjohn they don’t seem to show more than normal use to me

Look pretty clean, I'm not sure how much more I can add without actually having my hands on them.   It's hard to say what is going on without doing a little detective work.

@gunrunnerjohn I did another test: when running the engine forward by hand, it seems to run smooth. However, when I turn the power up on my transformer, I can physically feel the engine bog down as if the motors are getting some sort of power. I’ll then take the power off and it’ll run smoothly

Other engines also seem to run fine on the track

Well, that model should have back-driveable gears, so pushing it along the track should be smooth with no power.

So lemme get this straight,…..is this the first time out of the box?….that model was offered in the 2012 catalog,…….is this the first time it’s seen daylight in almost. 10 years??…..if so, try a light lube job and report back,…it’s ok to put a tiny drop of oil on the roller pins too,…..that might help,…

Pat

@harmonyards oh no I bought it off of eBay, but for all I know it may have been a long time since it’s been run. I’ll try some lubrication

@Sams Trains posted:

@harmonyards oh no I bought it off of eBay, but for all I know it may have been a long time since it’s been run. I’ll try some lubrication

Was it sealed?……new or used?

Pat

@harmonyards used, and opened, but everything was included. Everything from spare traction tires to the engine module

I'd pop the cover and get the volt meter out.  Might be the connections/plugs need to be re-seated.  I'm still surprised it will not run in conventional mode though.

I just got one of my engines out yesterday after being in storage.  I had to re-seat the R2LC board.  After that all was good.

Before you go all nuts, try a light lube job, and see what she’s got to say,……after that, it’s going to be as John mentioned,….it’ll be time for some detective work,…

Pat

Sams Trains - So just to clarify, the Lionel product number for your engine is 6-11338?

Are you able to bench test the loco off the track by hooking up a set of wires from your transformer directly to the engine (pos to pick-up roller and negative to the frame)  ?

A spare set of wires with alligator clips and a digital voltmeter are both good investments.

Seems astronomical odds both pieces fail. With the tender on the track by itself there are no signs of life? Slight hissing, etc.?

@Richie C. I was able to get it to turn on when I hooked up positive to a roller and negative to the piston rods. Didn’t work on the frame, but it at least showed a sign of life

@PH1975 yes that’s the one

Update: the train and tender will run together, but no matter what combination of switches I do, it will not run in Legacy mode, and when I put it into program mode it completely shuts off. It also gave me a blinking cab light (5 in a row) once

Update again: the trans runs fine with just a transformer but once the legacy controller is hooked up it shuts off

Sam: Not sure how this plays into your problem but according to the Manual for that particular engine 5 blinking cab lights = Smoke 2 fan problem.

@PH1975 that would make sense as the whistle steam doesn’t appear to work. So now the question is why isn’t it reading the legacy remote

The fact that it shuts off in program mode makes me think it is the radio board. I would open it up and reseat all the boards inside the engine. They might have come loose.

@Sams Trains posted:

Update again: the trans runs fine with just a transformer but once the legacy controller is hooked up it shuts off

Just to clarify, do you mean that with the locomotive and tender on the track with lights on and engine idling in conventional mode under transformer power; that as soon as you hook up the Legacy base "one-wire' to the track, it shuts off ?

@Richie C. Not immediately, but if I kill track power or hit the direction button on the transformer, I don’t get power to either the engine or tender. However, if I remove the legacy system electrically from the track, and reset power again, it will come back on in conventional

@iguanaman3 I took a look inside earlier and I didn’t immediately see anything that seemed out of place I might try taking as much out as I can and putting it back together possibly, but I’m not skilled with working on these things. I’ve got a box of trains that all need something done to them (almost all of them are due to an electrical short when placed on the tracks and I haven’t found out why)

Sam - Perhaps you should have mentioned "I've got a box of trains that all need something done to them (almost all of them are due to an electrical short when placed on the tracks and I haven't found out why)" at the beginning, as there appears to be a pattern here.

@PH1975 well, they won’t run at all. At least this one doesn’t trip the circuit breaker. Sadly everything that needs repair I’ve never gotten to actually run. I’d like to find someone in the south east who knows how to work on engines like these so I can get some professional eyes on the engines. I’m assuming Lionel does service and repair?

@Sams Trains posted:

@PH1975 well, they won’t run at all. At least this one doesn’t trip the circuit breaker. Sadly everything that needs repair I’ve never gotten to actually run. I’d like to find someone in the south east who knows how to work on engines like these so I can get some professional eyes on the engines. I’m assuming Lionel does service and repair?

I’m in north east North Carolina,……you’re more than welcome to come to the house with your trains, and we can at least see what’s going on,….can’t promise any immediate remedies, ( unless it’s just something simple) as I’ve got more than a mouth full to work on here, but I’d hate to see you get disappointed….

Pat

Sam - What state are you in?

@harmonyards posted:

I’m in north east North Carolina,……you’re more than welcome to come to the house with your trains, and we can at least see what’s going on,….can’t promise any immediate remedies, ( unless it’s just something simple) as I’ve got more than a mouth full to work on here, but I’d hate to see you get disappointed….

Pat

I’m located in North Alabama, so that’s a bit of a ways out. However, I might find my way out there sometime!

@Sams Trains posted:

I’m located in North Alabama, so that’s a bit of a ways out. However, I might find my way out there sometime!

Yeah that’s a hike,….sorry you’re not a bit closer,…I would at least help you get a quick check of what’s going on and point you in the right directions,…..like I said, I’d just hate to see somebody get disgusted and leave the hobby,….especially if it’s something silly going on…..

Pat