Need help trouble shooting Lionel Legacy 4-6-0

This engine has an IR sensor, one sensor on each of the draw bars. You need to make sure they can see each other in good alignment, …..as far as the app and remote you’re using, I’ll let the electronics guys weigh in on that …….but it sounds like the tender is not being told what to do by the engine ……the engine sends the signals to the tender, and the tender responds.

Pat

Thanks Pat -- I've checked the IR connection -- everything is perfectly aligned and looks good. I also noticed about half the time when I turn on the power there's no sound at all -- I have to lift the tender from the track and set it down to get it to connect. I'm beginning to think there's an electrical fault somewhere in the tender.

When you first apply power to the track, the tender should sit there silent till you address the locomotive. …..at least that’s how it works with cab 1 & 2, ….the app, I can’t answer,….

Pat

Check volume settings on app, they could be turned all the way down

Thanks Tom, I checked that -- volume settings are all maxed out. In fact when I mute the sound, nothing happens. The app and Universal Remote is simply not communicating for some of the functions. When I press the bell on the ap, the button turns blue as though the bell should be sounding, but there's no sound other than the idyl steam sound. The horn button does nothing and neither does the rear coupler.

My guess is that the either the IR transmitter or IR receiver have the wiring fault.

I’ve noticed that a lot of smartphone cameras can detect an IR LED when it’s flashing. If you have another locomotive with a tether that works to compare with, you could determine if your smartphone can “see” the IR transmitter when on.

If that works, then when you press the whistle button, you should see the IR flicker at different rates.

If you can determine that the transmitter is working, then you have probably narrowed it down to the tender.

Does the seller offer returns?

@rplst8, thanks for that -- I'll take a closer look at the IR connection, but unless there's something easily fixable, I'll have to return it. I have two Legacy diesels that run perfectly on my layout with both the App and universal remote, but don't have any other steamers test it against.

@RickO fortunately yes, returning it is going to be my best option, but being new to Lionel I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything simple.

Did you try the engine IR transmitter test Bob suggested?  Virtually all digital cameras will see the output as a purple glow in the viewfinder.  If you see that, it's almost surely the tender that has the problem.  A common issue is a broken wire under the heatshrink on the drawbar, easily repaired.

Here's an example.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Here's an example.

Thanks for the example John! I was too lazy to go down to the train room and snap a photo, lol.

This is exactly what I was referring to. My phone has three cameras on it, and only one shows the glow of a working IR LED. That’s why I recommended trying it on a known working locomotive first.

Interesting, I never tried switching the cameras, I have the Samsung Galaxy S21.  It has four total cameras if you count the front, I just open the default camera and look, that selects the default camera, this one.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Interesting, I never tried switching the cameras, I have the Samsung Galaxy S21.

Yeah, normally CCD and CMOS imaging sensors have an IR and UV filter. Over time, the post processing and sampling has gotten better, plus High Dynamic Range photography has gotten more popular. I suspect this is why on some sensors they’ve ditched the glass filters.

Thanks All;

I did check the IR transmitter from the loco as suggested and confirmed that it appears to be transmitting a signal to the tender. A close inspection of the tender doesn't indicate any loose or broken wires. I paid a premium for this unit (i.e. more than new) because it was sold as a display unit and was never run. The fact that it's defective doesn't sit well with me well so I've decided to return it rather than try to fix it myself.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions though.