More ?s about ERR operation

How old is the upgrade? 

Did you do the upgrade, or did someone else do it?

Is the TMCC/motor driver in the tender or the locomotive? 

What are you using to control it, the CAB1 or Legacy CAB2?  Typically, when you brake, it'll start moving again with the CAB2.  However, the Cruise Commander and the CAB2 will stop and stay stopped in R100 mode, at least mine do.

The upgrade was professionally done last Feb but I'm just getting around to running it.  Wanted it for this year's holiday layout.  

The controls are in the loco.  Only things in tender are back up light, coupler and speaker.

I'm using Legacy Cab2 in Cab1.

I'm not familiar with R100 mode.  

Additionally, the original motor was swapped out with a can motor.

Since my earlier writing things have gotten worse.  I was running it just to see how it ran at different loads and speeds.  I add two postwar Madison cars that I recently cleaned and lubed the wheels.  After 5-6 minutes it slowed.  I felt the motor and flywheel and it was really hot.  I think the replacement motor is undersized for anything but very light consists.  Also, the lights, head and back up stopped working.  

Basically this is a locomotive that wasn't a good candidate for upgrading.  

I don't know what is happening, but at this point I'd suggest letting someone look at it if you don't feel confident about taking it apart and checking stuff.

If it was only done in February, I'd send it back to whoever did it.

I know there's a larger motor available but it'll be sticking out of the end of the cab.  I have a bundle in this little engine that won't.  Putting anymore into it (including shipping it back to the builder) is just throwing $$ away.  Perhaps after the holidays I'll try to put it back the way it was and use the upgrade parts in another loco.  

Thanks for your help.

John

Can you be more specific about what you have?  I can't imagine the motor is so small that it can't pull at least the locomotive and tender around without overheating.  It sounds like something is very wrong!

I'm not sure moving the parts to another locomotive is going to help if they've failed in that one.

I did just run it five minutes without any cars and it was okay, no obvious heat.  It ran smooth and quietly.  Tomorrow I'll add a couple modern lightweight freight cars and use it where I can for short durations.  

I would like to know why the sounds and lights stopped working.  When I get caught up I'll take a look under the hood for some obvious stuff like pinched wires.  

A visual inspection is certainly the first step, when you're in there if you post some clear pictures of the installation, we may be able to help you along.

Try swapping a speaker.  It could have been defective and just failed.   Does it have a volume adjustment pot?  If so it may be off, or a wire broke off switch.  Did you try it in conventional and does it work fine that way?  If so back to a Reset and volume up via TMCC as procedures to test.

As far as brake, yes once released the engine returns to throttle set speed.  G

It's a brand new speaker, part of the upgrade.  I did get 8ohms at the jack?  I'm not familiar with resetting TMCC.  I'm a seasonal old Legacy and conventional user with a memory that needs resetting every winter.  I looked at the Legacy manual for TMCC, Cab1 stuff and realize I need to look somewhere else.  Any suggestions where to find this info would be appreciated.  

Also, the lights going out are a symptom of something (I think) related to needing a reset of some sort.  

I'd just like to get some run time and photos with this train.  It's a newer version of the original 726 my father and I ran for many years.  

Thank you all,

John

Ask the installer whether he used the current Railsounds upgrade or one of the older ERR sound cards he may have had on hand. They do not work the same, particularly with Legacy.

Jim

Last February may be the older RS4 package from ERR, the transition was sometime back in that range.  That's why the pictures would be useful.

John,

It may be even older than that, back when it was not really a version of Lionel Railsounds at all, but an ERR in-house product before they became more closely affiliated with Lionel. An installer could still have had one on the shelf.

I've had trouble with those older cards using Legacy.

Jim

Are you talking about the Sound Commander?  Those haven't been available for a few years, hard to believe it's one of those, not to mention the sound was pretty limited.   ERR has been using the RS4 boards for a number of years up to about a year ago when they went to the one board RS5 based solution.  The ERR component of the old setup was they're own power supply and motherboard, that also appears in some Lionel products.

John,

    After addressing engine press Aux1 and then 3 several times. Aux1 6 lowers the sounds. You may have lowered the sound, use the procedure to increase the sounds if its the old Sound Commander. I wish ERR still had them. I have a couple left, they are just the right fit in Williams NW2 with a Cruise Commander.

 Bill

Okay Bill,  I'll try it tomorrow.  Been helping the wife with more pressing matters... like Christmas decorating and trip to the Acme.  I'll report back tomorrow.

As far as the sound, I can say this, it fits in the locomotive which is pretty small.  A 726 Anniversary Berkshire.  That's why the larger motor wouldn't work, stuck out the back of the cab.  

I actually have another weird idea.  I'm wondering what it would take to activate a postwar air whistle.  I could run my older original tender that came with the old 726.

Could I power up with a ZW instead of the brick and simply use the whistle controller?

It's actually the sound I was going for to start with.  What a Frankenstein heh?

Thanks for all the help men,

John