Legacy Steam Help

AJ, 

When you add smoke fluid are you blowing air into the stack to push the fluid down , so it gets into the batting. It seems the fluid is building up at the top of the stack and blocking the air way. 

Alex

It could also be the smoke motor is having a problem, hard to know without seeing it.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

It could also be the smoke motor is having a problem, hard to know without seeing it.

Yes exactly, smoke motor might be  intermitting  

Next time you run it, try setting the smoke unit to HIGH and then max out the efx function on the CAB-2. That should put the smoke unit into "max" mode.  You do maintain 18v at the rails right?

Volphin,  Yes I maintain 18 v at the rails.  I have several larger engines including a big boy that run just fine.  This is the only steam loco I've ever had this problem with.  

Alex M, I use a needle smoke applicator to make sure that the fluid isn't just sitting at the top and gets into the batting.  I don't think its a motor problem because whenever I start it up the first 5 minutes it runs perfectly.  If I was having a similar problem during the first few minutes after start up or running it at different speeds I would think motor.  I don't get whats wrong.  

Gun runner John, in your experience have you ever encountered something similar to what is shown in the videos?  Is it possible to have build up that would be causing this issue?  

Aj

Even though you’re using a needle  applicator the fluid can still be pushed up and block the stack. The fluid sometimes bubbles up, You need to blow down the stack to clear any blockage. Give it a try and see if it works. 

Alex 

My experience with the smoke fading has been the smoke regulator dying, I have several different types in stock because it happens that often.  Sadly, this locomotive uses the integrated electronics with the RCMC, so if the regulator is dying, it's expensive!

Obviously, if the smoke motor is not working properly, that can cause similar symptoms.  My course of action would be to replace the smoke motor first, it's cheap.  Also, make sure the impeller isn't slipping on the shaft as it's a press fit.  Finally, check the integrity of the connectors and wiring between the smoke unit and the RCMC.

How expensive Gun Runner John? Ball park...

Well, the expense is based on what is wrong.  If the RCMC is really failing, that will get pretty expensive.  OTOH, if it's something with the smoke unit, which is probably more likely, it's in the $20-40 ballpark I'd imagine.  One quick test I do with something like this is to swap the whistle and stack smoke connectors at the RCMC.  If the problem follows the smoke unit, that's good.  If the problem moves to the other smoke unit, that's bad.

Just a thought, if it was a smoke unit problem, wouldn't there be the 2 or 3 blinks of the cab light like other rcmc eqipped Legacy engines? 😜

Rod

The cab blinks are only if the smoke motor is drawing excessive current, but those motors can fail in other ways.  If it draws too much current, it would indeed probably be blinking the three blinks.

The smoke unit in my ATSF FEF 3751 went south at a train show a couple of years ago, and I replaced the heater element and the fan motor to no avail. Still get the two blinks. I am thinking it must be the rcmc board is toast. If I do a reset and leave the smoke off, all is normal, until I start the smoke again. And there is no smoke of course.

Rod