"FIXED" Intermittent smoke on #5335 hudson

If you disconnect the fan from all train power you can check it with a 9 volt battery.

Thank you Jeff..........I found an DC transformer and used it with real low setting, the smoke unit and connections inside the locomotive are good, issue must be from the tether back.

Clem 

I have found on similar engines that the tether connector on the engine is too far from the rear edge. To fix that I remove the circuit board and file the mounting holes oblong so you can remount closer to the shell, basically as close as you can get it and still fit the shell over it.

Pete

Sounds like a tether issue if sometimes it works and some times it doesn't, but you can check for loose impeller also. G

Hello.....Well I got it to smoke, really doing well until I pushed the labor button , then it went back to intermittent smoke, also the front green marker lights are now intermittent in sync with smoke, also now has a stutter in motion, takes off at full throttle even though the remote is 16 mph, no stopping it, had to pick it up. now my remote shuts down. Doesn't want to hold its sound settings either. Time to put it away and take it back to shop on tuesday. I seem to remember PS3  doesn't like the labor button.   

Sounds like the smoke motor may be drawing excessive current, or you have some loose connections.

How did you think you fixed the smoke ? What did you do?  G

Hello G and JRJ...........I couldn't find anything wrong, so I just put it back together. I took the tender shell off also. I decided there is nothing wrong with this engine, at least mechanically, everything looked really good and neat inside. Started up just fine, had to adjust sound levels again, whats with that?  I have the sounds turned down real low so I could hear and feel the fan running, but no heat. went back to settings and turned the smoke up, now its working Made it about 200 feet at 35mph smoking good ,sounding good even turned down on low volume. Tried the Labor button oh boy more smoke and heavier sound  came around the corner and now the intermittent smoke is back and now I noticed the green front marker lights go off when the smoke goes off didn't notice that B4. Come back to where i started slow it down chuff and smoke in sequence   Then it took at full speed, picked up the cab to lift the drive tires and remote does not respond! set at 16mph, then shorted out on track and power tripped (180 brick). Then I noticed the remote shut down, the batteries came loose. the foam inside is missing. took it out because on this new remote the foam is to stiff and the door won't close. I should try my other PS3 steam seems like I have this smoke problem with all of them when I use the Labor button. Meanwhile that 4 unit MU I was having trouble with run like top and that SD40 I had issues with now no problems with a new blue battery, but I think that speaker is not the best. I'll try a feature reset on this runaway Hudson. Then a factory reset on my nice new program track with dedicated power and TIU   Notice this time I didn't try to sell them cheap John.  Oh by the way these are all 120" curves and 4 180 bricks.

Thank you !!

Clem

Sounds like a bad tether or the PCB at the rear of the engine has a broken solder joint.  Probably 5V line which would cause lose of smoke fan and tach reader.  Maybe markers too, depending on how he wired it.  IF this is recent, take it back to get fixed.  G

Thank you for the help everyone

Good afternoon all is well with # 5335

Took it back to shop yesterday, caught him at a rare less busy time .  To fix the  intermittent  marker lights both MUX boards had to be replaced, and the smoke unit was a bad tether, internal wiring right next to the plug. This is a wire tether.  

Thank You Brian 

One wonders why both MUX boards were bad, that doesn't ring quite true with me.

Hello John........ I don't think they where bad but different, this was an early PS2 round charge plug.  He explained it to me, however I do have a short term memory issue, so I won't say more because I forgot   All I know is it all works now

Thank you 

Clem