HELP PLEASE - New Vision Line Niagara Making Odd Noise

I use Red-N-Tacky for gears, hasn't failed me yet.  I'd also try to localize the noise as that's not necessarily the source.  I wonder if there's a wire hitting the motor flywheel?

I must be your age. I remember the clothes pin and baseball card thing. Honestly and with all respect, if I heard that noise coming out of a brand new $1,400 Locomotive ,it would be on its way back to who I got it from. Nick

I grease every new locomotive right out of the box.

IMO, MTH's recommendation of .5-1.0 mL of grease is a good guide as to how much.

I use an old baby medicine syringe from when my kids were small with the measurements on it. This works well for locomotives with a "grease screw".

Your niagara is ideal with the removable cover. I would at least try to make sure the gear is greased around its entire circumference. Then periodically check it.

(Don't forget to lube the axle bushings and drive rods if you haven't already.)

If the grease doesn't alleviate the noise, It may be time for a warranty return.

I think the VL warranty is bumper to bumper i.e. shipping included. May as well take advantage of it.

I did add grease to mine but later read, maybe in the owners manual not to grease this gear. Maybe it matters, maybe not but this may not be the source of the noise. If its a high pitched squeak it may just be the valve gear or side rods rubbing. Oil there and and axles. The other thing it may be is the smoke fan. Turn off the sound and see if you can still hear it, 4 squeaks per driver rev.

Pete

Someone else reported a similar sound in one of the first VL Niagara threads. 

I looked in the manual before I lubed mine and it only said to lube the axles and running gear; however, it said nothing about lubing the drive gear.  I took off the cover on mine and my gear was dry so I used RednTacky on it.  Been running OK.

A few engines of our engines from various manufacturers have "clicking" and it comes from the pickup rollers. Lubing didn't resolve it so we live with it. Hope you enjoy running your engine.

If it is the rollers, I have adjusted mine on another loco (Pocahontas) as there is a little play in the roller mount.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions... I’ll do some additional investigation tomorrow.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I use Red-N-Tacky for gears, hasn't failed me yet.  I'd also try to localize the noise as that's not necessarily the source.  I wonder if there's a wire hitting the motor flywheel?

John, is Red-N-Tacky typically used for cars? Where can it be bought?

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I use Red-N-Tacky for gears, hasn't failed me yet.  I'd also try to localize the noise as that's not necessarily the source.  I wonder if there's a wire hitting the motor flywheel?

John, is Red-N-Tacky typically used for cars? Where can it be bought?

Yes it is used for cars. Any auto parts store should have it. I know Walmart has it.

Thanks all for the advice/suggestions. I did a careful external examination of the engine and couldn’t find any obvious issues. All the rollers moved freely. I turned all sound off and that made the clicking even more distinct. The sound is evident when running forward, but not in reverse. With the sound off and moving slowly, it seems clear that the sound is coming from inside the body of the engine. With the sound off, I also noticed another “issue”. When the engine was started up, but before it was moving, there was a low, electronic sound, sort of like Morse Code (— — — ..).

So, I called Joe Grzyboski and he told me that Lionel won't let them touch Vision Line models, so I called Lionel and got an RA number. The engine is on it’s way back to Lionel. I sincerely hope that they can fix the issues - this is one beautiful engine.

Thanks again.

Does this engine use a micro switch for chuff/smoke. Maybe, that is what you are hearing?

Microswitches are long gone for chuffs in the Lionel Legacy stuff.

Apples55 posted:

.  .  .  I turned all sound off and that made the clicking even more distinct. The sound is evident when running forward, but not in reverse. With the sound off and moving slowly, it seems clear that the sound is coming from inside the body of the engine. With the sound off, I also noticed another “issue”. When the engine was started up, but before it was moving, there was a low, electronic sound, sort of like Morse Code (— — — ..).

 

I had an issue like this once with another Lionel steamer of the same basic size (FEF-3). It turned out that the flywheel was rubbing on part of the chassis - there's very little space between them. I assume it had some rough handling in transport. I was able to pry them apart enough to stop the racket. In your case Lionel will tell you what it is but it seems to me the flywheel is binding on something.

I've noticed the Morse Code too but it's just a slight noise and I assume is from the boards powering up. Once the sound system cranks up it either goes away or is obscured.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Microswitches are long gone for chuffs in the Lionel Legacy stuff.

Thanks Gunrunner. In any event, I turn off all of the smoke generators.

Twas the week
Before Christmas
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse

When out in the driveway
There arose such a clatter
I sprang from my chair
To see what was the matter

When what
To my wandering eyes
Should appear
But a miniature sleigh
And eight tiny reindeer (OK… it was the FedEx truck – chalk it up to literary license)

With a little ol driver
So lively and quick
I knew in a moment
It must be my Vision Line Niagara back from Lionel   

Kudos to Lionel service... one day short of two weeks (inspite of NC getting clocked by a major snowstorm). The tech indicated that he lubed up the cranks and had Dean check it out - no more annoying noise   

Only one down side... now I’m REALLY going to have to find my set of NYC Milk Cars