hooking up a new voltage regulator for smoke unit

Hi Gerry,

I might be mistaken but  that part you ordered isn't the correct part. It looks like you ordered a voltage light board instead of the regulator. Again it's hard for me to see but it sure looks like to wrong part

alex

Gerry

What is the model number of your engine ?

I'm with Alex, I can't tell what you have.  If you have the right part, the pads on the new one match the existing one, just ignore the wire colors.  I don't recall ever seeing one of those with a blue wire, but who knows...

What part number specifically did you order and receive?

Alex,Good to hear from you hope all is well,the engine number is 6-28855,the part i ordered is #691ACRGES2 ,on my invoice it says AC REGULATOR/DIESEL[CODE ES2],& it was $30.00,i didn't see any other regulator on the list ,unless i missed it.

That's the right regulator, just match up the wire positions from the old circuit board and the new circuit board, the pads are the same for the two parts.

OK John,thats what i was going to do ,but i wanted to be sure first,sorry i couldn't get back sooner ,my computer was't responding,but all is ok now,i will post how everything turns out.

Guys,

i still think that's the wrong part, the part number is correct but it looks like the part that was pulled off the shelf is some kind of lighting board. Lighting boards always have blue,yellow and white wires, regulators always have red, brown ,and black wires. If you go to the parts list look at number 72 that's a lighting board and it has blue and white wires. The only way to tell if that's the correct part is to cut off the heat shrink and see if it's a regulator. I hope I'm wrong!!!, just trying to be safe then sorry.

C REGULATOR / DIESEL (CODE ES2)

Good point Alex, I've never seen a blue wire on the regulator before either.

Alex,Part #72 is the engine shell,anyway i just finished hooking everything up & guess what,you guessed it,when i put the engine on the track & powered it up,it instantly tripped the breaker,i have no clue as to  what the problem is,whatever it is ,it's beyond my knowledge.

Gerry that part that you received is some kind of lighting voltage board. They put the wrong part in the parts bag you received. You're  going to need to call Lionel send that part back to them and let them know you need the correct part. Let's hope for the best that nothing else is shorted out.

Thanks,

Alex

You're close to Alex, I'm sure he can set you straight.

Alex, I contacted lionel & they esnt me a blank e-mail for me to send to them discribing what the problem was,& the part number i ordered,i also sent them a photo of the part they sent me & a photo of the original part,you were right ,it was not the right part,i had to take the shring wrap off to confirm that it was the wrong part,i am now waiting to here back from them,i will keep you guys posted.

That looks like it has a crystal can, I can't imagine what that is.  It doesn't look like a simple voltage regulator!  It's certainly not the smoke regulator, Alex scores a 100% on that one.

At this point, Lionel should offer to fix the engine, at no cost to the poster, in case that wrong part caused additional problems....

-Pete

There is this other shrink wrapped board is it possible that this is the regulator for the smoke unit?

No, That is the 5V regulator for the Motor driver board.  The picture you showed of the one your removed is the ACREG regulator for smoke.

Unless Lionel Revamped the design, the one they sent is not the correct item as Alex pointed out.  Bummer.  Not a good start for your first try at this.  I am sure Lionel will send the correct one.  G

It's not clear what they sent him, it's a board I haven't seen before.

Lionel has responded & they asked me to send them pictures of the engine & the shell,they also asked me if i got the engine number from the box,i don't know why they would ask that,& they also asked if i saw another regulator anywhere on the engine,i told them i did not see anyother regulator like the one i had. I have sent them the photos & i am waiting for there response. They did respond quickly to my original request.

Keep us posted...would like to see how Customer Service handles your issue.

-Pete

Can you post closer picture of the other side of the regulator Lionel sent.  I would like to see that.  G

There's no doubt that Lionel will take care of this issue, to me it was just a case of the correct part ordered with the correct part number on the bag. They just put the wrong part in the bag, in the automotive business we use to call it (boxed wrong )

Gerry keep us posted

Alex

They're just trying to figure out how it got on the shelf with the wrong part number.

GGG, George, Here is a picture of both sides of what they sent me,still waiting to hear back from them.

    Alex, I agree with you, someone made a mistake, like i said before there is noly one regulator on the parts list,so there is no question that it was there error. Will keep you all posted as to what happens,i finally get up enough nerve to try & fix something myself,with the excellent help from the forum members & i run into this problem,it's a big let down for  me,hopefully things will turn out ok. 

Well what they sent is more then a basic voltage regulator.  Interesting. G

I don't have a clue what that module does, it appears to have a can that looks like an oscillator, very interesting. 

OK,Here is the response from lionel:

       ''  It seems that the voltage regulator for the smoke unit is located by the driver board that has the aluminum heat sinks. It is wrapped in heat shrink. Please verify.

The other regulator board i believe was for lighting and it was eliminated on later runs.I am having trouble locating it,but will keep trying .''

      So the only other board wrapped in heat shrink is this one : [see photo],this is what they are saying is the smoke unit regulator, i don't have the knowledge about electronics to be able to say what this board is for,can anyone say for  sure whether or not this is the  smoke unit regulator?,is this located next to the driver board?,i have no clue as to what a driver board looks like.

Pardon my "french", but you're talking to someone that doesn't have a clue!  The first one you identified, and ordered, is the actual smoke regulator.  Either he's not getting what you're saying, or he doesn't know what he's talking about.  Let's hope he's just not understanding what you're trying to tell him.

In your first post, the picture below is clearly the regulator, and it even says ES2 right on the uP label!  What you were sent is a mystery module, I have no idea what it is.

They just need to send you the right part, hopefully you haven't toasted anything else with their mistake!

It's 100% certain that this is the smoke regulator pictured below.

Look, all speculation aside, even I know the OP hasn't been sent an AC regulator. What he has been sent is either a lighting or 5 volt board such as is/was used to power a small DC motor. It looks like it has a capacitor mounted on it, which could mean that it is either, but it's definitely not an AC regulator. Never mind the wire colors, which are no guide to what it is.

Isn't time to go to the source and email Mike Reagan about this because I'd expect the right part to be in the OP's hands by Monday?

i have ordered at least a couple of hundred replacement parts from Lionel, including AC regulators, and they have never, ever sent me the wrong thing. Can't understand why this is different.

Lionel seems to have had a turn over in folks, but regardless the customer presents a picture of the item he needed, and the item he got and they are not the same.

I can tell you this, that is not a standard Voltage regulator, and it does have components on it that look like they can control a smoke unit/receive serial data.  It would be nice if Jon Z sees this and chimes in.  G

What speculation?  We know it's the wrong part, and have stated so multiple times.  You're just singing with the chorus, we get it.

Clearly, his remedy is through Lionel, I think we all know that and have stated it multiple times.  The fact that you never got a wrong part isn't really germane in this discussion, since this is clearly the wrong part.  I have received the wrong part a couple of times, but usually they're spot-on as you say.

The only "speculation" here is wondering what the function of the module he got was.  I'm just curious as to the function of that module, I've never seen one of those before.  I'd also want to ask someone why it was marked with the part number of the AC regulator.

OK, Sorry,I may have misunderstood there response,so i sent them another e- mail last night asking them if they could clarify there last response,here it is:

        ''Helo Gerald

                 My mistake,i was confused about the one we sent you. I thought the regulator in the first photo was not the original,not what we sent.

OOPS on my part....sorry.

 I will have an ES2 sent right out."

         Best regards,   Dean

   They also sent me another e-mail saying that the part has been shipped,i hope this time  it is the right one,& when i put it in everything works ok. There was some confusion on my part,which in the e-mail i sent last night i apologized to them for, & there was some confusion on there part to. I think they deserve credit for there quick response to this matter,i am very satisfied with how they so far have tried to make this right,it is hard for me to communicate back & forth with them because of my lack of knowledge about electronics,so i was very gratefull for all the help i got from this forum,otherwise i would not know what to do,thanks to all of you!!!!!!!!!

    I will let you know when i get the new part installed,hopefully it is the right one,if it doesn't work there could be other issues with this engine.

I'm glad it's working to be resolved, I just hope no additional damage has been done with the wrong part.

I imagine we won't find out what that other part is.  G

I am not sure if i should have started a new thread or not so i just wanted to post the final results,the right part arrived today & i put the smoke voltage  regulator ,in & so far every thing seems to be working OK,the engine smokes good,there is  some smoke coming out of the front of the engine,but it could be because the top of the smoke funnel came apart,& i tried to glue it back,i suspect that some smoke is leaking out from the funnel, right now everything else seems to be allright, so i am not going to worry about it. If anyone wants the wrong part that lionel sent me let me know,because i have no use for it,& no one seems to know what it is for,including me perhaps if you saw it in person you might have a use for it,it is free & i would gladly send it to you. Thanks to everyone for you help,without which i could not have done this.

Gerry I would take it.  Curiosity to know what it is.  G

I'd be interested to know what it is too so if you get it GGG perhaps you can post your conclusion. To me it looks like a lighting or DC motor regulator board but I can't enlarge all of the photos above for a good look.

George, It's yours,i will mail it tomorrow,you would be able to use it,if you can figure out what it is,me even if i knew what it was i wouldn't know what to do with it.

Gerry,

Glad to hear the engine is up smoking and running!!!!!  A happy ending

I'm also interested to know what George (GGG) figures this part to be.

Thanks,

Alex

Gerry Thanks, Will post what I find.  G