Steam Locomotive Classification Light

The Classification Lights, i/e "Class Lights" are mounted on the FRONT of the locomotive (steam, diesel, or electric), while the Marker lights are mounted on the rear of the locomotive, caboose, or passenger car. Thus, you have a "class Light" issue. 

I think you will find the LED needs to pushed back into lamp. This usually requires removing the smoke box cover or boiler to get at the smokebox screw.

Pete

So does that mean there are actually two in there?  One for each housing?

Yes, each housing has its own 2mm LED.

Pete

Pete,

Thank you.  Is removing what I need to, easy, or easier said than done?  

Thanks,

Mike

Railking engines are usually pretty easy to get the body off. I have not seen a RK articulated but on the ridged framed engines there are 4 screws, two under the cab and two behind the front cylinders. 

Given your front engine swivels you might be able to a access the screw holding the smoke box cover and not have to remove the boiler. 

Pete

How do you know it's an LED?  Most of my steamers have one light bulb in the boiler that runs light pips to the class lights.  Sometimes those light pipes gets moves, or flashing covers the end so the light doesn't get in.  Either way, you'll need to take the boiler off and look.  Most are held on by 3 or 4 screws on the bottom.  Look near the front pistons under the cab.  So larger steamers like yous have another pair of screws near the mid pistons.  Once the screws are removed, carefully pull the boiler up and watch for any wires for lights or antennas on the boiler shell.

I'll have to take a look tonight and see what is there.

That is a good point, this loco is from the 2008 catalog, so I'm assuming no LEDs, but bulbs instead.  Sinclair, so do you think its just one bulb?  If it is, then I guess it could either be leaning or obstructed by something

2mm LEDs have been around for well over a decade. I have a MTH Hudson from 2008 that had the identical problem. 
You can hold the LED in place with hot glue or very sticky tape placed as close as possible to the LED inside the smokebox. Avoid using adhesive inside the lamp housing.

 If you check the side that is working you should see a green version of this:

http://www.lumex.com/products/detail/ceramic_stem2

Pete

LED's have been used for along time for markers and class lights, all the way back to the 5V PS/2 boards.

Is this the RK Imperial Allegheny?  The manual tells you how to remove the shell.

Sorry Pete, I was unaware of that!  (I do a lot of assuming...)

Hey John.  Again, I was definitely unaware of that.  Unfortunately though, the manual was not included with with engine... Which reminds me, I planned on trying to look it up on the internet here today.  Any pointers?

Thanks,

Mike

Take the product number and type it into the box at www.mthtrains.com and it'll come up.

I just did a search for Allegheny and then specified RailKing and 2008 as the search modifiers.

Here's the link to the 2008 RailKing Allegheny Locomotives, all of them appear to be just different roadnames of the same Imperial Railking model.

There is a manual link to download the manual.

John! Thank you.  Little embarrassing, BUT.... I use MTH website a lot.  I use it to find out information about things people are selling both here on the forum and on the bay.  Always check to see if the PS2 loco is "lit up" then check the product locator.  I never noticed the catalog tab right next to it, oops.  Thank you though, that will help I think.

It's that extensive ASC training.

Actually, I never used that for a long time, but at some point I noticed it and realized it was quite handy to locate stuff for a specific year.

Perfect, got it all printed out for myself.  Too bad it doesn't come in color!  John, do you know, are the cab light and firebox light, the same bulb?  I skimmed over the manual and on page 15, it seems to indicate that they are separate, but I'm thinking they are not?

Color?  You are spoiled!

The cab light and firebox light will be two separate bulbs.  The firebox light is right behind the firebox, the cab light is typically at the top of the cab for steamers.

LOL, sorry!  I just figured it'd be nice to have.

Okay, then maybe there is one out, because if I shut off the cab light, the firebox light goes out too.  UNLESS... you can access it through a submenu.  I found those last night playing with a SD70 and DCS... this is starting to get fun, but I have a lot to learn still.

They may be wired to the same lighting output, there are only a limited number of outputs available.

The standard wiring diagram for a steamer with a lighting mux board shows the cab light and firebox light on the same output.  The headlight(s) are on a second output, and the marker lights on the third output.

You should have separate control of those three entities.

Mike,  For MTH RK and even others the Cab light and Firebox are on the same circuit and go on and off together.

Does your boiler front open?  Some models they open and that may give you easy access to the class lights and push in the LED with small tweezers.

If not and you have to remove shell, you will most likely also have to remove smoke unit.  You really need to watch how the wires are routed and be careful reassembling.  The worst thing you can do is pinch a wire reassembling.  That can cost you a board repair.   G

Mike, the smoke unit should not be an issue. All of the wires for the class lights are attached along the top of the boiler. The smoke unit stays attached to the frame. You should have easy access to the wires after lifting the shell off. All of the engines I have seen that use these 2mm LEDs (including K-Line and Lionel) only use them for class and marker lights. Cab lights and firebox lights are either incandescents or a different type of LED or LED cluster.

Pete 

The cab and firebox lights should always be 6V incandescent for stock PS/2 locomotives.

Pete do you know for sure with this model about smoke unit location?  I said "may" for a reason.  But many MTH units have smoke units attached to the boiler.  So access to lights and classification markers can be a PITA.  As John said for MTH PS-2 only tender Markers and Engine classification are LED, every thing else is 6V bulbs.  G

G. I will have to defer to you as you have no doubt worked on many more MTH engines than I have but I have yet to encounter a smoke unit attached to the boiler.

I can see where on an articulated this might be the case though. Where it is not, the boiler will have a horizontal split which allows the smoke unit to stay on the lower boiler half as the upper half of the boiler and smokebox front is lifted away.

Pete

In this case, I think we can assume Pete is correct.

Okay.... thanks to Patrick H, there are single LEDs in each of the classification lights.  The one in question is actually working, its either the lens is scratched/dirty or the LED is down too low.  I will have to take off the other one to see what that looks like.

FYI, the classification light housings are held on by a single phillips head screw and come off very easily. 

Once I take off the other housing I will post pictures and what I find out

I suspect the LED is simply positioned wrong, that's a very common issue.

We may unless the instructions are older ones which has happened before.

Pete many of the scale engine have it in the boiler.  The RK stuff does tender to be on the chassis.

Mike, that is good that the screw access is available.  I imagine you just need to pull it out some more.  Much better than having to take the shell off.  G

Well, I have a PS/3 Imperial Big Boy in for repair, and it also has the chassis mounted smoke unit, so at least one other model seems to have it.  I've seen more chassis mounted smoke units than shell mounted ones for MTH.  A lot of Lionel stuff has moved to the shell mounted smoke units for steamers.

John and G 

That is definitely the case.  Took both housings off and its quite obvious, take a look....

Work on more scale stuff and you will see them.  G

Nice easy one and you don't have to remove the shell, that is always a good thing.  G

Thanks, but now I have another issue... kind of worried about this one.  

I had the engine on the track and on, fooled with the light for about 15 minutes, lens on, lens off, lens on, lens off, holding the wire to force (gently) the LED into the house.  Start up, shut down, start up, shut down.. you get the picture.  Worked every time.  The one time pushing the housing back on I heard a click and now the engine won't turn on and the remote says "check track"

any ideas?  I'm going to post yet another "help" thread here after I hit submit

Answer provided in the DCS section.  G