Disappointed with my ES44AC Diesel

I have 2 es44s one is a up.   I would not trade them for anything. Once you get it back and get to run it you be happy.  

The have got to improve the quality control!

Scott Conforto

if you do not want the es44 send it to me I will even pay the freight.

Lack of understanding and empathy may come back and bite some of you in the future.. unless you've bought your last Lionel engine and quit now that the one you have works. Not a good future for you and Lionel I think.

My complain is that my ES44 did not work when I took it out of the box and, of course, I want it IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION with all the features, that is, end of the history.

Did you contact Charles RO?  I had a problem and they sent me another engine.

Sorry to hear about this, Bob

I got in touch with Lionel and they send me a RA with UPS label therefore my engine is in its way to Ohio.

I usually do not comment on threads like this but I just have to say that the problem I have with a defective item is the requirement of the buyer having to pay for shipping to get it fixed.  Sorry....but I think it is plain wrong to have a customer have to pay for anything that is defective.  The manufacturer should bare the cost of their quality control.  Years ago, I decided I won't pay to ship a train to have it fixed especially when I did so a few times and the item came back un-repaired or in a few short days malfunctioned with the same problem.  In my state there are very strict laws that deal with bad merchandise and the consumer is supported by these laws.  I have made it a practice to pay via my credit card for high ticket items which usually includes shipping and insurance.  If the locomotive arrives with problems, I first try to resolve the problem and insist that the seller or manufacturer pay the shipping, if that doesn't work I file a claim with my credit card for a full refund.  Usually this requires a return of the item so I include in the claim the total amount it cost me.  Up to this day, I have been happy with the results.  There is no reason why a customer should be expected to pay to have a defective item repaired especially under warranty.  On a side note, if you bought it from a shop, even mail order, the shop should send a new locomotive and have the defective one picked up all at no cost to you....but you have to contact them otherwise they can't make it right....

Alan

Best to try to remove the emotion from this, I know it can be really aggravating, but that won't solve the problem.

Your latest post is that Lionel provided the UPS label, so they are paying shipping both ways.  That is my understanding for the Legacy engines.  Is that correct?

If so, the only rant is an item that arrives not working.  If fixed in a reasonable time, at no cost other than time, hopefully all will be well.  G

If it is so easy, one really wonders why we have to do it ourselves. I have found that all the connectors I have encountered do not slip out easily. I think the manufacturing is sloppy in many cases. I just unsmashed a wire in a crossing gate, and moved the insulating paper behind a circuit board over so the board no longer shorts out to common. Easy stuff, but I had to do it. I bought this new from the LHS two years ago and just now went to install it. The gate also has a bad gearbox...but the gate finally gets all the way up. No parts are available on Lionel's site. Guess I'm out of luck on the gearbox. Another Fastrack crossing with gates had a similar gearbox issue, but I used that one soon enough to get it replaced.

leavingtracks: I am totally agree with you, WE the customers do NOT have to pay for the shipping back to Lionel, is NOT our fault if the engine does not perform properly when we set it on the track, in my case Lionel E-mail me the UPS label, the question is: what was the problem and how soon should I get my engine back from Lionel?

"the question is: what was the problem and how soon should I get my engine back from Lionel?"

my experience has been a three day turn around from Lionel.

Best thing about living in ohio is i can bring them to them. Sometimes they fix  it for me on the spot if there not busy...

My Diesel UP ES44AC #7424 is back from Lionel, I received it today, put it on the track fire it up and nothing, well, I address it with the program switch and try again and BINGO works, I running for a couple of minutes pulling some cars and then shut everything off and I was doing something else close to the engine and I hear some humming coming from it, curius of course I investigate where the humming came from and why, just for the heck I removed the battery cover and pull the clip from it and the humming was gone, put the clip back and still silence, I run the engine again with no problem, shut everything back again and a few seconds later the humming is back, this time I waited five minutes, ten, twenty minutes and still hummig, remove the battery clip again and the humming stop so, I called Lionel again and they already send me a new return autorization and the UPS shipping label, therfore Monday first thing in the morning UP will be shipped back to Ohio, bottom line: What is wrong with Lionel? Go figure. 

nothing is "wrong with lionel".  as long as a human made it, things happen.

The humming is normal. Everyone  of mine does it....I dont care for it either but when you start them up its gone /shrug ..  I think i am getting interference from something..

I don't know quite a few of my engines hum if they are sitting on a track with power. If I don't want to listen to it I turn the power off on that block.

Seems like the newest Legacy does nothing sitting on a powered track...doesn't even light a bulb until you address it with a command.

Doesn't even lite a bulb. Is that going to be in all the new Legacy engines?

Dont know...but is true on two Northerns.

There all a little different the 5344 headlight comes on when theres power to the track.. The es44 cprail and up has the little lights by the trucks come on when there is power..

"If you have a battery installed it is best to shut the locomotive down but cutting the track power directly to the locomotive rather than shutting the locomotive down with the cab-2."

I always use the "5" button to shut down my locomotives, then shut off track power.  works for me.  http://www.lionel.com/CustomerService/service-documents/index.cfm?type=supplement&doAction=search&product=6-14295&productNumber=

Yes it does for me  as well however some ES-44's and Vision Line Callengers have this issue of the  humming after shutdown. If you also look you will see that the headlight will be dimly lit.  This power is coming from the battery

Guys: I think I have to clear something: 1st. I do not use anymore the TMCC handheld (I know that pressing AUX1 and 5 you shut the engine) I am spoil with Legacy, so, I used extrictly the Legacy remote and as do you know there are two bottom icons: one is the start up and the other one is the shut down (no push #5 like TMCC) and 2nd. I do not have a bunch of Legacy locomotives just a few like the UP Challanger, Western of Maryland, GE evolution Hybrid, 700E Scale Hudson and so on and when I finish running my trains, I press the shut down bottom icon of every one of them, of course I hear the secuency of the engines and the engineers shutting the engines down and then I shut the power to the entire layout and a few secons later every is quite and dark I do not hear any humming from any locomotive, this is my own experience.

I'm pretty sure that the Aux-1/5 is the same as the Legacy shutdown icon.  It does the same thing for me here.

I recently got my es44ac back from Lionel and they did not care to pack it carefully to ensure that nothing was damaged in shipment.  The handrails on the rear were bent and one broke.

What ever happen with this?

We all want to know the outcome.  That locomotive is fairly simple and usually does not have many problems.