K-Line Caboosw

Not sure about your marker lights  Have you taken the shell off to look around inside?   As for the advice you got about the melting that is true   The K-Kine smoke units run very hot and there isnt any insulation between the shell and the unit  If you leave it on the track too long you will seee warping above the smoke unit   Most of the K-Line cabooses have a switch beneath it to turn the smoke unit off

I have looked inside, without taking the shell off. I see wires going to the marker lights. I have turned off the smoke unit. It does smoke like a champ! I have been advised to install a resistor to the smoke unti to keep the voltage down. I can't help but wonder if the marker lights are blown because 18v's is too much for them to handle. I know how delicate LED's can be. I've blown a few, learning how to wire up accessories.

I had one of these some time ago. Yes, the marker lights should illuminate.

In addition to what Ben mentioned above. Some cabooses just have an on/off switch underneath.

Others also had a command/conventional switch to allow the smoke unit to be safe for higher voltages. I don't recall what this caboose has. It should be obvious on the bottom of the chassis.

I had no issues with any of the lights at 18v.

The K-line caboose markers are incandescent bulbs.  Do the interior lights work?  If not, you will need to test the circuit with your multimeter.  Test for continuity from the rollers and from the wheels to their respective wires.  Not sure about your particular caboose, but some of the K-line Cabooses used springs and contact plates to close the circuit between the truck/floor assembly and the shell.  One of my contact plates was broken.  See this thread.  Then check and test the wiring in the roof of the shell.  If all the wiring tests OK, you may need to remove and replace the incandescent bulbs or install LEDs with a diode and current limiting resistor in series.

You can use the smoke unit in command environment by lowering the voltage with diodes. This was also discussed in the other thread.

Bob

No con/cmd switch on the bottom. It works very well, other than the marker lights. I have turned off the smoke unit, for now!

I'll probably take the shell off to look if the wires for the marker lights are loose. May add a resistor for the smoke unit layer on. But I wanna get these marker lights going before I invest any money or other time to it.

Interior lights & smoke unit work as they should. Just no marker lights.

@Hippieroofer posted:

I just purchased a K-Line Caboose. It has illuminated interior. Smoke unti & is supposed to have illuminated marker lights. They do not illuminate.

Model K616-1752

I was told to not run it on my Command layout because pumping 18v's into it will eventually melt the shell because it's not wired correctly for that type of voltage. Does anyone have any info on this item?

The lights in the marker housing are Incandescent and just might be out, the smoke units tend to melt the roof line, everything else is fine in Command. BTW I run all my engines in 16.5 volts with no issues. Some older engines have a mix of LED and bulbs, helps things to last a little longer.

I thought gunrunner john posted years ago about adding a filter, etc to reduce the power.

Hipperoofer.....I'm getting ready to do several of these of these. I use grj's LED passenger car boards one led segment of three overhead and two very small red leds in the marker lamps. I adjust the markers to be way dimer than the over head lights. It requires I think a 220 or so resistor.  Also the one I have open has very dim markers at 18V. I disconnected the smoke unit. On mine the ladders pop out at the bottom to free the roof. If your interested I'll post the value of the marker resistor when I do the conversion.

Richard

Thanks for the info. Gonna ship it off to one of the train guys I know. He's gonna install a better smoke unit & get the marker lights going for me.