lionmaster challenger problem

I have that engine as well, If it's covered under a warranty I would start with that first. Otherwise things that have locked mine up are the traction tires. I accidentally got some smoke fluid on them, they stretched and would lock up the engine. It started to occur only when I was running it, not pushing by hand. The tires become enlarged and get stuck between the wheels. The other thing I've see is loose side rods. Some of the side rods on these need to occasionally be tightened. If they become loose they can also lock up the wheels. It's it neither of those I would try to reprogram the engine. I'm assuming that you're running in command mode, you didn't say. If you decide to take the shell off I would caution you to be very careful. This model have some very small very delicate wires in there can can easily get pulled out, pinched or otherwise broken.

Davety, I did check the traction tires they are ok ,tomorrow i will check the side rods i didn't even think about them ,other than that the only thing left for me to do is take the shell off & see if there is anything out of order .

I took the shell off & i don't see anything out of place ,checked the side rods & they are not loose ,one thing i did notice was the front motor i can turn as much as i want by hand in either direction without any problem ,but the rear motor only turns just so far in either direction & then it stops it feels spongy when it stops by spongy i mean it feels like it is hitting something soft ,but i won't try to force it any further ,is there anything else i can do myself short of taking the motor out which is not within my capability .

I see a side rod or something on the side that is laying down that does not look correct?? 

Jim

Those rear drivers should spin like the front one so it appears that is where your issue lies. I know that you're not very comfortable working on the engine so taking it to a repair shop may be the next best step. If this was my engine I would try see if the issue was with the rear drivers or the motor by separating those two. There is a screw holding the driving wheel  set in place on the bottom. If you decide to try this be very careful as there is some wires there and another piece that the motor need to attache to the wheels to make it actually turn them ( I'd show you a picture of that but the Lionel parts website is currently down). Once the rear wheel set is removed (you don't have to undo the wires, just the connection to the motor) you can then spin the wheels and motor independently from each other. Whichever one feels spongy / stuck vs spins freely will tell you if it's a issue with the wheel or the motor. I will once again caution you on trying this as it would be very easy to loose a piece or otherwise break something. Good luck.

carsntrains posted:

I see a side rod or something on the side that is laying down that does not look correct?? 

Jim

Good catch Jim. That looks like the opposite side from you photo with a out of place driving rod. That appears to be exactly the issue I was talking about when checking the driving rods. Those screws can become loose, especially if you have changed the tires on this. Those need to be tight, but not over tightened. You should have a tool for that in the shipping box.

Davety ,Is there any way you could point to in the picture the exact side rod that does not look right ? ,i was looking at the everything on both the front & rear wheels as i was spinning the motors to see if i could catch something different betweenthe front & rear ,but so far i haven't been able pinpoint what is different ,i will continue to keep looking to see if i can spot the problem ,i am not sure how far i am willing to go myself when it comes to taking the rear wheel set off i will study this much more closely & i think i have found the tool you mentioned ,will try it to see if it is the one .

Rotate the front set of drivers so that the main rods match the positon of the main rods on the rear set where the linkage is hanging down.

Use the front set of drivers as a reference as to linkage position.

If the bolt holding the linkage to that rear wheel on the rear set of drivers is loose ( do not remove it).

Its a matter of pulling the "out of place linkage" outward a bit, this will allow for free rotation of this linkage to reposition it. There are notches when you push it back in to hold it in place. Snug the bolt back up to hold it there.

As Dave mentioned you should have a tool in the box for tightening the bolt

I marked the bolt location in red for you, it should be the one on the opposite side. you can use the linkage from the front set of drivers as a guide to aligning the rear. Once you have the rod in place it should slide in a small notch and then you tighten the nut down.

Good news ,i went back down to the layout & i looked more closely at the side rods & i was spinning the motor by hand & watching where the rods lined up between the front & rear & they were not lined up as RICKO HAD mentioned ,i loosened the screw & lined it up with the front rods so both are now in the same position put the engine back on the track ,powered up & off she went without any problems ,at least the time being ,but i will keep checking to make sure everything is ok,if it wasn't for you guys pointing out that a side rod didn't look right i don't know if i would have ever figured it out ,& RICKO ,i didn know about any notches ,i just tightened the screw ,being that it is working ok ,should i go back & see if it is in the notches ,or just leave well enough alone ? ,it makes me feel good when i can repair things myself ,but i couldn't do it without your help ,one thing i forgot to mention was DAVETY was that the nut you circled wasn't that one it was on the other side where i had to make the adjustment ,again many thanks for help ,this forum is the best !!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you got it figured out, a lot of this hobby is figuring things out. The notch I was referring to is for the screw that I circled. If you don't have to mess with that I would suggest that you don't.

Davety ,You are right about a lot of this hobby is figuring things out & for me this much more difficult because of my lack of knowledge ,but thanks to the great help from the members of this forum i am picking up little bits of knowledge on how to do the less complicated things ,one area i will never be really be good at is electronics ,but i am ENJOYING ,making these small repairs .Thanks again for your help.   

Davety posted:

carsntrains posted:

I see a side rod or something on the side that is laying down that does not look correct?? 

Jim

Good catch Jim. That looks like the opposite side from you photo with a out of place driving rod. That appears to be exactly the issue I was talking about when checking the driving rods. Those screws can become loose, especially if you have changed the tires on this. Those need to be tight, but not over tightened. You should have a tool for that in the shipping box.

Thanks!  I'm happy to have helped!  

Jim