Help with K-Line Baby Big Boy

Doesn't like the lower voltage?

Elevated the engine and gave it full voltage. No smoke.

Try reprogramming the R2LC, perhaps it's not properly configured.  That may prevent conventional smoke operation.

Tried that John. Still no smoke.

After reading your post I remembered I had and extra board. Put it in, programed it, smoke. Not as much as in command but a good stream.

Thanks John and Chris.

That's really odd, if the smoke is controllable in command, I can't imagine what on the R2LC would affect it in conventional.

Observations of the K-Line Big Boy, or mine anyway.  It's a poor smoker unless you hold the smoke high button in command.  When in neutral the fan pulses, so I almost never see any smoke.  When running conventionally it is weak.

Hmm...  A tuneup of the smoke unit and the Super-Chuffer and I'll bet it could be smoking really good.

My Allegheny is similar, it is funny K-Line must have different code.  G

Most of the K-Line smoke units I see are the standard 27 ohm resistor dumb smoke units.  With a simple tune-up, they smoke as well as the Lionel dumb 27 ohm smoke units.  I've never noted any difference in the K-Line R2LC code, the one I just worked on had a C08 version, same as most Lionel units of that era.

I have.  I agree it is listed as C08, but they also make different sounds when triggering features on and off, that some Lionel models don't of similar vintage RS 4.0.

But the dumb smoke, smokes perfect in TMCC and better than my Lionel versions.  But the pulsing of the fan in conventional I have seen.  I didn't believe Sinc, until I saw it in mine.  And it wasn't diesel strobe versus steam code.  G

The pulsing of the smoke in conventional is easy to fix.  The R2LC is programmed for a strobe and not for smoke!  I've gotten several to "fix" with that issue.

Both the Big Boy and Allegheny pulse in neutral in conventional (I have both.).  Never tried playing with programming to fix it as the rest of the locomotive works as it should, so I just left it.  As for a tune up, I plan on opening both of them some time to oil the fans (Both are screamers, so I leave the smoke off for now.), add the chuffer board, and add cruse.  I may even upgrade all the lights to LEDs while at it, as well as a super-cap pack and charging circuit.

I've had several locomotives come in programmed incorrectly and the complaint was minimal or no smoke.  Reprogramming for a steamer with smoke or a diesel with smoke solved the issue.

I have heard that some K-Line models have a pulsing smoke at idle to slow down the smoke, don't know that I've ever had one of those.

You didn't completely read my post, I said it wasn't the diesel versus steam code.  If in fact there is documentation if pulses in neutral, which Lionel's don't seem to do.  There must be a code difference.  G

Are you sure the K-Line models that pulse are feeding the fan directly from the R2LC?

Yes, it is the dumb smoke unit that get AC input via R2LC and the smoke unit converts the AC input to DC for the fan.  So, if the fan starts pulsing the smoke unit input AC is being pulsed.  G

The only time I've run across that is when someone programmed the R2LC incorrectly.  None of my K-Line steamers have done that.  I'll have to keep my eye out for that feature and check what the R2LC firmware code is on them.

Code 08 R2LC.  Of course the K-line RS have the chips soldered on not like Lionel's that are removable.  So I assume it was part of the Licensing issue.  Plus they had their own cruise motor driver so it may have needed some different code too.  I know it had different Cab-1 commands to activate or deactivate the cruise functions.  G

The cruise function commands go to the cruise module via the serial data stream.  I've replaced several R2LC boards in locomotives with K-Line cruise with standard Lionel C08 boards, everything worked perfectly after the change.  This is the same as TAS or ERR cruise getting specific commands from the CAB1 to configure cruise parameters, both use the standard R2LC firmware.

If you wanted to do the mods for me John, I'd be happy to send you my Allegheny so that you could see this pulse in neutral function and figure out 1st hand what's the deal. 

Good one  G

I'll watch my mailbox.

I guess my point is that you really don't know what the code is in the R2lC unless you talk to the folks that made it.  The Lionel employee's I have communicated with don't know all the details with all the R2LC because it was before their time, and those former employees did not document everything.

We do know that some R2LC had interoperability issues with certain aftermarket motor drivers.  All cleared up when matched to the correct R2LC.

Maybe Lionel gave blank R2LC with a basic code laid out, and TAS, ERR, K-Line and others modified the code to what they needed and loaded it.  I just don't think you can know, unless the guys at Lionel and K-Line told you what they did.  Mike can probably add some insight since he ran TAS and used the product.

All I can report on is the things I see when I work on them.  The pulsing fan is one.  The difference in Cruise codes and wiring is another, the soldered RS 4.0 chips is a third, the RS 4.0 activations sounds is another.  But I don't think any of those employees from that time period still work for Lionel.   I can't imagine that they didn't find a bug or two that needed addressing on the initial run of C08s, but there is no documented revisions to C08 and it was a mainstay.  Every program written has a bug or 2 that need to be corrected.  G