I received a 990 Legacy Command Set after it had been out of stock for seemed to be forever, and finally got the opportunity to run an American Flyer Challenger I bought a year and a half ago that sat waiting for power. Although a Lionel American Flyer Y3 and an SD70ACe work perfectly well on the Legacy system, the Challenger does not run more than a foot or so before stopping. Turning the red velocity control on the handset in either direction, even slightly, gets it moving for a few more feet, and then it stops again. The erratic running displays the following symptoms:
- stopping after a few feet; LED firebox LEDs go out (with Odyssey on or off, in Legacy or Command control, with either Steam or Flyer Pulmore modes)
- both the headlight and cab lights flicker when the locomotive is running but burn steadily when it is stopped
- The speaker in the tender has a persistent hum until Railsounds start. The hum stops for a second when the engine turns off (the sound quits with an abrupt "pop"), and then the hum starts again as long as the track is powered.
I have eliminated the usual suspects--the antenna is electrically isolated from the frame and the wheels and track are clean. Resetting and reprogramming the engine make no difference. I understand that this type of problem was not uncommon among initial purchasers of the Challenger; but until the 990 Legacy Command set was available again, I could not try it out.
Is this a problem with a circuit board, or is it likely to be something else?
