Cow Catcher rubbed middle rail, big spark, (engine won’t move anymore)

Did you try reprogramming it?  Anything's possible, but I do the easy stuff first.

Unfortunately, I tried that already! Nervous

It could have cooked something.  The semi-good news is, nothing in there is too expensive, and I believe it's all available.

I plan to take it to Western depot tomorrow.  I am afraid they will not do anything for me.  I would not mind sending it to you John.

I had the same thing happen to me.  It was a Santa Fe Northern 4-8-4.  Somewhere along the line the front pilot (cow catcher) was bent down just a little bit and hit a high spot.  I replaced the pilot and if I recall correctly, I had to change the motor control board.  Not real hard to do.  But all has to be checked.  

Let me know if you need help either doing the repair or helping you through the process of doing the repair yourself.  You can gets lots of help through the forum if so inclined.

I have this same TMCC Challenger (JLC?) engine, so I can swap parts until I find the issue and only replace what is needed.  John has a nice test stand/unit to to the same.

Best of luck.

Dave

Whatever you think would be easiest to do, I am all for!  I would not have a problem replacing the board if it is easy to obtain. I am also willing to send it off to someone who is trusted.  Let me know what you think Dave!

OK.

I'll suggest some things to check.  Hopefully others will chime in to help also.

Just to be sure we are talking about the same engine, could you provide the catalog number of the engine?

I would guess that the short did something to the engine and not the tender.  That said, have you tested the tender to make sure it is all Okay?

Can you provide some details as to what you have tried and what results you had?  For example, when you did the engine reset, did the horn sound and the head light flash, etc.?

We'll start there before I provide a bunch of other things to check/do.

Best,
Dave

The tender has nothing to do with motion for the TMCC Challenger, it's strictly for sound.  If he hears command controlled sounds, the tender is fine.

John,

Thanks for the note.  Understood.  I was covering the basis.

If he did hear a chuff sound, I would be tempted to say the engine communications board (R2LC) is most likely also OK.  But I would test other functions as well, including changes in the tender lighting (reverse), the sound of the rear coupler opening, etc.

I suspect it's the motor control board, just need to verify a couple of things before I would recommend he purchase a $100.00 (plus shipping) replacement board.

I also suspect the DCDS, but I'd first swap the R2LC with another known working one, just to eliminate that possibility.

Check basic wiring from the trucks to the electronics.  Sometimes dead shorts, like this, burn open relatively small wiring between the multiple truck pick-ups.  IMO. 

Never a bad idea to do a good physical inspection before buying parts, I agree 100% Mike.

Unfortunately, I am not fantastic at diagnosing electrical issues.  I was hoping there may be someone willing to fix it for $200 or so.  We came in contact with a Lionel employee who stated that they no longer carry the motor board.

The board can be replaced with the ERR Cruise Commander M, and you'll actually have better performance as far as motor control is concerned.  Also, while the specific DCRS may not be available, there are alternatives that will function in these locomotives.  I also have a handful of DCDS modules in stock.

I am hoping to purchase one from you and attack the project.   Sending it to someone who specializes in Lionel products who not be a bad deal either.