control problems with K-Line scale 2-8-2 with Lionel TMCC

Does this have K-Line Cruise or ERR Cruise? If it has K-Line cruise the Cruise board may be going bad.

Pete

Pete, the electronics are all original from the factory.

John T.

I didn't think any Mikados came with cruise but K-Line did make a Cruise kit for this engine. In any event it sounds like it has K-Line Cruise. I believe the correct reset code is simply Aux1 4 like most steam engines. Try that but know its common for K-Line Cruise boards to fail. Don't dispair as ERR Cruise is a bolt on replacement and works even better.

Pete

Sure sounds like a K-Line Cruise board going south, time to peek inside and verify what you have.

John, I have had the boiler and tender shell off from nearly the beginning. Almost all of my attempts to reset have been in that condition. The cruise sensor is there between the motor and flywheel. From what I'm hearing it may be time for an ERR Cruise Commander!

John T.

John,  A Cruise M is all you need. That replaces the motor driver. You have to swap the motor leads if you want it to start in forward with the lights operating as expected but that is not a big deal. Pretty sure that engine has a chuff switch. If not it will take more work to get chuff sounds and puffing smoke. A few K-Line engines with Cruise used the Cruise board to generate chuff. If so that goes away when you replace the board.

Pete

@JPThut posted:

John, I have had the boiler and tender shell off from nearly the beginning.

Hard to know without any pictures.

@JPThut posted:

From what I'm hearing it may be time for an ERR Cruise Commander!

I think you're right.  How many connections are there to the 10-pin connector on the K-Line cruise board?  Those are sometimes used to drive marker lights.

I have posted a picture of the inside. Hope this helps for more diagnosis. Pete, I have installed a Cruise M on a Lionel Mike a few years ago and it worked great.

John T.

Well, it certainly has the K-Line cruise module, looks just like the box of dead ones I have here.

John T, if your engine still has a puffer unit then you don't have to be concerned about chuff. If it has a fan driven unit then it likely is being driven by the Cruise board. Hopefully its the former and the fix will be relatively simple.

I have a couple of these Mikados that had TMCC but no Cruise. Years ago I put a K-Linw cruise unit in it. Worked OK for years then finally died. It now has a Cruise M in it.

Pete

Can't quite see what the smoke unit is.

Here's a view of the smoke unit. The owner had trouble with the puffer so removed it. In fact the reason I have the engine is to install a chuff generator from Hennings' Trains. Then the other issue(s) appeared.

That's a puffer.

the loco that John is talking about is mine  the puffer did not work hardly at all then the mechanical arm broke so there is no chuff . it was working fine with speed control un till I delivered it to John I am thinking  replace all with err? what is you guys thots on this don't care if smoke works or not  

                                                                 big trains /warren wagner

Again you only have to replace the motor driver with an ERR Cruise M. The rest of the electronics including the receiver and sound boards can stay.

You need a new smoke unit. You could drive that new fan smoke unit with the existing chuff switch along with a relay or transistor buffer for sound but still get 2 chuffs and puffs. Or GRJ would be happy to sell you a chuff switch and smoke unit driver that would give you a choice of how many chuffs and puffs including a more prototypical 4. There are other ways to do that too but more involved to implement.

Pete

Yep, I'd be recommending my Chuff-Generator to generate the 4-chuffs, and then the Super-Chuffer II to manage the chuffing, smoke at idle, and give you some new lighting features.

Yes, we have the chuff generator as purchased from Hennings Trains and will be installing it along with a Cruise M. Thanks for all your help, gentlemen!

John T.

Note that if you don't also have the Super-Chuffer, you'll need a DC power supply for the Chuff-Generator as it normally draws it's power from the Super-Chuffer 5V supply.

thanks for all the help guys