Lionel FEF #844 - A bit scary...but all fixed... | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum

Hi Everyone,

Took delivery of my UP #844 FEF Northern the other night. Fired her up...and...headlight/cablight/front market lights/emergency lights, all dead.

Interestingly enough, everything else on the locomotive worked just fine. I attempted to reset the engine and went through the various Aux2 command functions, none of which solved the issue.

Now I am in by no means a technical expert on these models, and I tend to shy away from disassembly, but my curiosity got the best of me and I removed the boiler (it's only three screws that are all very accessible). Lo and behold (and please see attached picture) an electronic clip was almost completely disconnected from one of the engine boards. I reconnected and all lighting features on the engine work like a charm!

Woo hoo...Alex M....you'd be proud of me bud! thumb

And here she is...

Best,

Michael

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7/1/167:31 PM

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GrometOGR Forum Member

"low and behold" not "long behold".

7/1/167:48 PM

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F30MSportOGR Forum Member

I appreciate the detailed grammatical analysis gents.

I'll be more careful with my next post.

7/1/168:12 PM

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Silver LakeOGR Forum Member

Grammar Police with thier shiny home-made badges are always on the prowl. Eternal vigilance is a small price to nit pick.

I'm glad you were able to self diagnose and fix your engine. There is nothing worse than a non-starter straight from the box.

7/1/168:35 PM

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Alex MOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Mike

Great work , I am proud of you.

Glad it all worked out !!!

Enjoy, Alex

7/1/168:43 PM

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Hancock52OGR Forum Member

Well done. I think you deserve the AlexM "B*lls of Steel" award for opening up a brand new engine.

7/2/163:19 AM

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F30MSportOGR Forum Member

Silver Lake posted:
Grammar Police with thier shiny home-made badges are always on the prowl. Eternal vigilance is a small price to nit pick.
I'm glad you were able to self diagnose and fix your engine. There is nothing worse than a non-starter straight from the box.

Yes, apparently quite the tough crowd here...geez.

Thanks very much. Couldn't agree more, quite disconcerting to have issues right from the factory, but it's part of the hobby and I'm happy I was able to rectify with minimal effort.

Happy 4th of July!

Michael

7/2/167:43 AM

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F30MSportOGR Forum Member

Alex M posted:
Mike
Great work , I am proud of you.
Glad it all worked out !!!
Enjoy, Alex

Thank you buddy!

Happy 4th of July to you and Dina! See you in August.

Michael

7/2/167:45 AM

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F30MSportOGR Forum Member

Hancock52 posted:
Well done. I think you deserve the AlexM "B*lls of Steel" award for opening up a brand new engine.

Ha, thank you. As I highlighted in my initial post, it wasn't all that difficult to remove the boiler. Effectively, you have three screws securing the assembly in place (two under the cab and one under the front pilot). Just take extra care when removing the boiler, as there are a multitude of wires connected to the boiler itself. This is not an exercise I partake in often, and it's incredible to see the inner-workings of these models; you truly garner an appreciation for the level of sophistication.

Happy 4th of July!

Michael

7/2/167:50 AM

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kjstrainsOGR Forum Member

Great job, Michael! Having to take an engine apart new out of the box would make me nervous but also frustrating that does not work as it should. I have taken many of my engines apart and each time it is a learning experience to figure out what is wrong with it.

7/2/1610:15 PM

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J DaddyOGR Forum Member

That's right drive and own it like you have pair!

I am glad it was an easy fix. My older black 844 quit smoking. Opened it up and sure enough it was the connector that disconnected from the board.

7/2/1610:20 PM

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F30MSportOGR Forum Member

Ken, J Daddy,

Thank you for the comments guys. Sometimes it's good to get the hands dirty!

Happy 4th!

Michael

7/3/1611:05 AM

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PATSTRAINSOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERFORUM SPONSOR

Great job

7/6/169:17 PM

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BrukOGR Forum Member

So satisfying finding that a loose plug is the problem. Most of my newer engines and customers that I have worked on. Which are straight off the shipping pallet have that same issue. Which is more than I care to share. This shows how much Q&A is being preformed....

7/7/162:07 AM

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