Legacy berkshire

I think this may be caused by a loose wire or a loose connection to/from a control board. That's what I would look for.

On the locomotive or the track?

You can easily check the track, but I think it is in the engine from what you said.  I would also guess you do not run this much, and therefore the connections could have become oxidized during storage.  I have this same engine.  I do run mine with either my TMCC CAB1 or Legacy CAB2 remote.

A video would be helpful. The buzzing could be a noisy /bad smoke unit fan.

The 3 flashes of the Cab light is the onboard diagnostics saying there's a problem with the fan.

Cycling the power may be getting the  fan to behave.

Good catch Rick.

I'm with Rick, the buzzing is probably the smoke fan, and when it draws too much current, you get the diagnostic blinks and the fan shuts down.

Replacing the fan motor will probably fix this one, the blinks are screaming out the solution!

So should i replace both fan motors at the same time? Or would it just be the main one? Also what is the easiest way to get the blades off of the motor?  and yes correct i dont run it much i think its been a couple or more years i keep it in the original box  in the box just like how they shipped it to me stored away in the closet

Three blinks is the main fan motor.  You simply grab a blade with the needle-nose pliers and pull straight up, they're a friction fit.  When you replace it on the new motor, make sure it's slightly below the level of the bowl but NOT rubbing at the base.  It has to be allowed to run freely.  Also, note the polarity of the old motor and maintain it for the new one, if the fan runs backwards, the smoke volume and velocity will suffer greatly.

Thanks gunner i will be trying that tonight also do u think that will take away the buzzing as well

Does the buzzing stop when the cab light flashes?

Good call when i cycle it and the cab light doesnt flash and the smoke comes out it goes away

Is there a switch anywhere on the engine (bottom, perhaps) to turn smoke off  ?

If so, do you still get the buzzing sound with smoke turned off ?

While you have the smoke unit open, you might want to at least place a small amount of oil on the other fan motor shaft. I place a small external DC power to work the oil into the shaft.  Listen for the improved sound of the motor.

Also, there is a small red gasket on the DSMK units that is easily broke when you pull it apart.  Lionel does sell these as an individual part.  I have to replace them about 50% of the time.  Usually when the smoke unit has been over heated.

Hmmm.  I wondering if the smoke fluid got back into the fan chamber and dried and this is causing the fan blade to rub.  You'll know better when you see it.  I saw this on one repair I did.

@DaveGG posted:

Hmmm.  I wondering if the smoke fluid got back into the fan chamber and dried and this is causing the fan blade to rub.  You'll know better when you see it.  I saw this on one repair I did.

Smoke fluid doesn't typically dry, but it does affect the oilite bearings of the motor.

Agreed.  But for what ever reason, that is what I found in a vision Big Boy smoke unit I repaired.  That had other problems including a heat damaged fan blade.

Yep, when the fan stops, they frequently melt, seen that a number of times.

I might not get to it tonight i have to drag everything back out and hook it up but i will have to try it with the smoke turned off i feel like i should just change them both out cause in the past four days ive had the engine opened three times working on this smoke unit it a big pain in the butt is there a way to check the motors with a digi multi meter cause i hooked them up with a old used 9v and they turn every time

In order to properly test a smoke fan motor, you need to be able to vary both the voltage and monitor the current.  The error is actually triggered by excessive current as a rule.

thank you im going to work on it today will let you know the results

Got to it today oh man this thing smoke comes out everywhere 🙂 is it normal that smoke comes out the whistle hole even when not blowing the whistle when blowing the whistle it come out of the whistle and some blows out the normal smoke stack as well a little bit. the three flashing lights is gone it still has a buzz but it is a lot better now

The dual smoke unit will have some leakage between the chambers, so you will get some amount of smoke out the whistle and vice-versa.   Some are better than others, it all depends on how good an air seal is with the felt pad under the chamber separator is.

Smokin!! In conventional control. I love it!

Looks like the piston packing may be an issue. But the back draft in the firebox can't be good😉

Hmm,  Something doesn't look right. Yes, I would expect some leakage, but that amount is excessive.  You may want to take a look at the smoke funnel on top of the smoke unit and make sure it is positioned correctly with/under the main smoke stack. Just a thought.

When you disassembled the smoke unit, was the red gasket in good shape? Were you able  to re-use the red gasket?

Also, does the buzzing only occur when the smoke unit is running?  If so, you may want to look at the fan blade position and see if it is at the correct height/position so it does not rub against anything.  It's strange you would have buzzing if you replaced both smoke fan motors. I was not able to distinguish the buzzing sound when I watched the video.  If you would like, post a video with the sounds off? Sorry about the thought of taking it apart again...

I have to sing with the chorus after seeing the video, something is certainly wrong.

Sorry to sing with the choir, but that’s not good, ……eventually, that smoke reconstitutes itself back into oil, and it’s gonna collect all over your boards…..the very very expensive boards…..

Pat

Dave ill get a video of the buzzing tomorrow, also there is no red gasket anywhere on it i have grey gasket which is brand new that i put on the original one i took out was green and it is still good i saved it. I wish there was a way to look at it while it was running can i do that with the boiler off and all the lights cause it would be the three wires in the front and two wires in the back that would not be connected with it off

So here is everything for the dual smoke unit which one is the red gasket #3 on the smoke unit breakdown is the new gasket i put in i ordered it from lionel its like a grayish color the original one was green

Yep, item #3 is the one.  Mine flaked apart when I had to rebuild mine.

As far as running your engine with the the shell off -
Yes it can be done.  But I believe this engine has the smoke unit mounted to the boiler shell and therefore if you disconnect the wires to the shell, you will not be able to troubleshoot the smoke unit.  Having the lights disconnected should not be an issue.  You can also disconnect the wires (plug in) for the antenna.  With the shell off, the the signal from the remote  will reach the required board, allowing you to control the function of the engine.  Oh wait, you are running this as conventional are you not?  In any case, conventional control should work as intended with the shell off.

Do you have access to a stationary test track with rollers?  If you did, you would be able to have the shell off and supported along side the engine chassis.  And with the engine stationary (not moving), you would be able to see what is happening.  You would not need to have the tender attached to test the engine in of itself.

In photo #1, the funnel I was referring to, is item 20.  It mounts to one side of the dual smoke unit.  The other side, as you know, has an elbow that then attaches to the clear plastic tubing that goes to the whistle steam outlet port.  Just make sure these are all connected "properly".  There is lots of small screws involved.  By the way, inspect the tubing as I had to replace some of mine. Over time they can deteriorate from use/heat.  Mine was actually cracked and was somewhat brittle.

Hope this helps.

Ok got the train out bought to take it apart finally got my repAir table cleaned off, so i can use it and i wont have to move it constantly. i do have a set of rollers i can use

So upon diagnosing the smoke is coming out of the intake for the fan for the whistle steam