Ok Grand kids got wire out. How hard is this to fix? How can it be done? Any suggestions on what to do?
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It's not too hard, but you have to be good at fine soldering. Once you remove the heat shrink you can resolder the wire to the solder pad, but be careful not to bridge the solder pads. Use a piece of electrical tape and small 4 inch wire tie to re-wrap the contact board.
If it is less than a year old you can ship it to Lionel for a warranty repair. If not, do what Chuck said.
I'd use another piece of heatshrink to cover it after the repair. If you extend it a bit more, it'll provide additional strain relief as well. FWIW, I hate black electrical tape for any repair, it turns to a gummy mess way too soon!
The problem I found John is fitting a new piece of heatshrink over the contact box. I have tried to do that without success. I have cut a piece of electrical tape the same width as the original shrink wrap and a couple of turns around the drawbar and the contacts and the box, then use a black 4 inch wire tie to hold the tape in place so it won't unravel. And if the wire breaks again, much easier to access.
Yep, I remove the drawbar to stick the tubing over it, then shrink it after the repair is done. Did I mention I really hate black electrical tape? 
Moonman posted:If it is less than a year old you can ship it to Lionel for a warranty repair. If not, do what Chuck said.
Maybe my brother-in-law was too honest and the Lionel employee who answered his phone call inquiring about service the day he called didn't appreciate his honesty, but when he spoke to them about warranty service for a similar problem informing that person his son had pulled lose a wire in a different LC set, he was informed it wasn't a warranty issue since it admittedly was due to deliberate cutomer abuse. So much for furthering positive customer relations, Lionel.
The replacement drawbar with harness has not been available from Lionel for a long time. I sure could use a few of them. I tried soldering one but it didn't work out. Like you said Chuck, very fine and hard not to bridge the solder.
ogaugeguy posted:Moonman posted:If it is less than a year old you can ship it to Lionel for a warranty repair. If not, do what Chuck said.
Maybe my brother-in-law was too honest and the Lionel employee who answered his phone call inquiring about service the day he called didn't appreciate his honesty, but when he spoke to them about warranty service for a similar problem informing that person his son had pulled lose a wire in a different LC set, he was informed it wasn't a warranty issue since it admittedly was due to deliberate cutomer abuse. So much for furthering positive customer relations, Lionel.
Yes, we're supposed to "overlook" all their mistakes, but make one yourself and they don't want anything to do with you!
Ok now that U solder the connections one time it will run must times it just sits there and you hear the steam sounds no buttons work on the remote. The batteries in the remote are all good. Help what else can be wrong?
Sounds like the remote/conventional switch is in the conventional position.
Where is that switch located this is from a Lion Chief Polar Express
Do you have a early Lion Chief, or Lion chief plus?
I think Lion Chief its not Bluetooth how can I tell if it is?
There will be a switch under, not in the cab to switch between the 2 modes. The instruction book that came with the set will specify.
It's a LionChief Polar Express. It does not have a conventional mode. Only LionChief Plus locomotives have these.
Ok its. LIONCHIEF Polar Express I got it used for the grand kids so what can I do ?
The next step in take to your Lionel dealer. Either the remote is now bad, or the circuit board in the engine has failed.
I think the remote mite be the problem is there another way to run this engine i have a Legacy 990 and a TMCC
If it is a LionChief, it will only run with its remote.
It's possible, but doesn't it seem unlikely that the remote would have coincidentally gone bad or a board failed at exactly the same time that a wire was simply pulled out of the drawbar ?
1. Are you sure everything was working correctly immediately prior to the wire being pulled out ?
2. Does the red light on the remote go on when you turn on the switch ? Even though you say the batteries are good, have you tried installing new batteries in the remote ?
3. Did someone try and push the wire back in and possibly shorted the connection ?
3. Can you remove the tape and send a close-up picture of the solder job ?
I dont have a LOCAL dealer here any more they closed up. Who is a good reasonable place to get the remote looked at that will not charge me an arm and a leg to do it Or is there a way to test it?
Ok the Red light goes on when turned on it blinks when I turn it to forward or reverse also once in a while I can turn it on and it will make all the sounds from the controller and run the engine when I stop it I cant get it to run again
If the whistle blows and it runs erratically, I suspect the controller is good. Next is the circuit board in the engine, or the locomotive motor itself.
Sounds like you have intermittent operation, which is always difficult to diagnose, but can also be indicative of dirty track or lack of voltage at certain points on the track. Are you sure the track is clean and you have good power to all parts of the track ?
I am not aware of any easy way to test the remote's operation, other than to try and run the train with another remote running on the same frequency or an orange Lionel universal remote controller (assuming your engine is new enough to run on the universal remote - some of the very early LC's are not compatible with the universal remote). If yours is and you plan on adding another LC train for the grandkids, you could try purchasing a used universal remote off e-bay and seeing if that works. If it doesn't, you still have the universal remote to use with another train, so nothing lost and you know it's the train, not the remote. If you were near a train store my suggestion would have been to take the train over to their test track and see if it runs with a universal remote they have. Anybody in AL have a universal remote to lend out ?
Having said all that, if the track is clean and has good power all around, my guess is that the intermittent operation is probably in the train (possibly a cold solder joint), not the remote.
Hah - what Chuck said !
Yep, I remove the drawbar to stick the tubing over it, then shrink it after the repair is done. Did I mention I really hate black electrical tape?
John, are you serious, don't you like black electrical tape?
Ray
Does any one know how to tell if it is an early Lionechief? I dont want to spend the money for a universal remote if it dont know if it will work on not. As i said how can I tell?
The latest firmware should run most LC and LC+ engines.
This is the list of exceptions from the Lionel Website. I am tagging Rudy @Railsounds to see if this list is still valid.
6-81287 Union Pacific Steam Remote Freight Set
6-81331 Iron Arry
6-81332 Iron Bert
6-81031 Lionel Junction Dinosaur Diesel Remote Set
6-81288 Lionel Junction Pet Shop Diesel Remote Set
6-30228 0-8-0 Chattanooga Set
6-30233 Pennsylvania Flyer Remote Set
6-81259 PRR 0-8-0 Remote Broadway Limited
6-81262 Union Pacific Flyer Remote (0-8-0)
6-30207 Santa Fe RS-3 Remote Scout Freight Set
6-81263 Jersey Remote RS3 Passenger Train
6-81480 John Deer Remote Set
6-30206 Alien Invasion Remote RS-3 Set
6-81101 Remote Polar with 10th Ann Logo
6-30218 The Polar Express Remote Set
6-30183 Lionel 2-4-2 Remote Scout Steam Set
6-82151 Bass Pro Shop 2-4-2 LionChief Scout RTR Set
6-30205 2-4-2 Remote Xmas Set
6-30214 Peanuts Halloween 2-4-2 Remote Set
I thought Lionel sent a memo that the latest firmware now includes all Lionchief engines?
Chuck Sartor posted:I thought Lionel sent a memo that the latest firmware now includes all Lionchief engines?
I know at least 1 Thomas set was non-compatible. That's why I tagged Rudy to see if this list is still correct. If not he will get it off the Lionel site and clear up any confusion.
To the wizards on this board: what is the purpose of the 0.3 ohm chokes on each motor lead of the 10th anniv PEX Lionchief Berk? Doing a repair on this loco and one choke committed suicide; jumped the wire to the motor and loco runs fine. Set 81101 and part 6108791103; probably tied to the receiver board; thanks much; Falcon70
