New Visionline GG1

TJ Wallace posted:

 Called customer support, no help. 

 

Did they suggest things and it didn't work?  Did they just ask you to return it with an RA?  Both are being helpful but may have not yeilded the desired results.

Short of troubleshooting your Legacy / TMCC setup which I could assume is fine then you'd probably have to open it up and check for board seating issues.  I haven't seen one of these open yest so I'm not sure what you'll be getting into if you don't want to return it.  The pantographs I believe also act as the antenna.  Could they be shorting to the shell somewhere?

Hi Marty,

Thanks for the reply, they did give me a few things to try, nothing I had not already tried myself. Just seems like it is starting in conventional mode, it wont dart off just sits and runs. It does seem to work in conventional mode, I only have a short programming track but do have forward reverse horn, bell and panographs go up.

Thanks again,

On your test track, I assume you have Legacy or TMCC connected and the base plugged into a properly grounded outlet?  The one wire to the outside rail?

Yes I do, 

Sounds like the engine is not seeing the TMCC signal.  One thing that I've fixed a few times is the TMCC receiver module falling out of the RCMC.  The pins are also delicate, and I've replaced one on the receiver.

Thanks John,

i agree it is something inside the engine, I am not going to fool with this brand new engine, guess I will be sending it back, 

Thanks for the reply,

Each body mounting to frame mount has an insulator (plastic) mounted on them and I have seen some that have fallen off in assembly.  Now your body sees ground and you cannot address the engine.  The body is your antenna.  Worth opening up to see if you have this issue.  If you separate the body from the frame so no continuity is present,  using jumper wires to put power to your locomotive, power it up and see if you can address it.

MartyE, the body is the antenna not the pans.  That is the reason for the plastic insulators pictured below.  Each body post (6) needs these.  I have seen them missing.  The six screws that attach the body to the frame also have insulating washers on them.  Please take note  to ensure the washers are present on the screws.

Thanks Marty,

I figured you would know, maybe I will give it a look.

Thanks again,

The new GG-1 is no problem to work on.  This one had the same problem TJ had.  

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

The new GG-1 is no problem to work on.  This one had the same problem TJ had. 

Easy for you to say.

TJ,

   I know you want to run your new GG1, however at the very least I would contact Lionel again and get permission to send the brand new engine to Marty or GGG under warranty. The new engine should work properly, you personally should never have to do repairs on it

Just my 2 Cents,

PCRR/Dave

He shouldn't have to spend $20-30 shipping it either!  Besides, Vision Line stuff ships free to Lionel both ways for warranty support, so if he ships it anywhere, I'd ship it to Lionel.

Marty,

you are correct only has 1 of the 6 insulators, i put it on the track and held  the shell up so it had no continuity, still starts up when track power applied

I would call Lionel and get an RA number.  You may be into the RCMC board.  Only 1?  Ouch.  While it is open, it does not hurt to look at the antenna board.

That's some sloppy work for a VL engine!

John, I am in love with the blue LED effect on the pans.   As soon as repairs slow down, ALL my MTH G motors will have that installed.  It is one cool feature Ryan made happen.

Did any of the GG1s use the pants as an antenna?  Could of swore one of the models did. 

Marty, I guess I could pretty easily add flickering LEDs on the pans, I think I could do a decent job.  I wouldn't have the sound effects to go with them, but one out of two isn't bad.

MartyE, I know older semi-scale models used the pans for antennas, I don't know if the JLC scale model did.  I suppose I could look...

I worked on a JLC recently and it used the roof hatches.  Marty, it does ring a bell.  John talked about that a year ago.  It would be the way to go.   

Right you are Marty, it was the roof hatches! 

Since the VL GG-1 doesn't use the pans for power, no reason they couldn't have used them for the antenna.

Ok. Sorry for the misinformation. Thanks for the education. A lot of this would be easier to figure out with some diagrams. I appreciate the insight from you guys. 

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

I would call Lionel and get an RA number.  You may be into the RCMC board.  Only 1?  Ouch.  While it is open, it does not hurt to look at the antenna board.

Hi Marty,

I did re-seat that board and checked the connection on the shell while it was apart,  no luck. I will be sending it back was just hoping for a easy fix. Thanks again for all your help.

TJ

Thanks everyone for the help, will be sending it back to Lionel.

TJ Wallace posted:

Hi Guys,

Brand new Visionline GG1  starts up instantly on it's own when power applied to track. Will not take program function or reset function  ( running all the time ) Does not seem to be communicationg with remote.  Not the track, or Legacy remote several other Legacy engines work fine.  Called customer support, no help. 

Hate to have to send it back to Lionel any ideas ? Thanks so much,

TJ,

My new VL GG1 had the same exact problem as yours, right out of the box, when power was applied to the tracks it would come up in Conventional mode and not respond to TMCC/Legacy commands.

I figured it was a bad or loose radio board, called Lionel, got an RA, and retuned it to Lionel. I received it back this week, it works perfectly now. The repair work order stated they replaced a bad radio board. The round trip didn't cost me a dime. Took a couple of weeks from start to finish.

Thanks Craig,

I know it will be taken care but have I been waiting so long to get this engine and now forced to wait a few more weeks.  ��

Tj,

i know how you feel, I felt the same way.

The good news is Lionel paid the shipping both ways, the problem was fixed, Lionel has a 2 year waranty on VL locos, and an expert repaired it, not me.

Very Early Semi Scale GG-1 used the panto for antenna.  I have one, had the LCRU in it.  G

That was a great way to get it done.  I am in the process of trying to get my hands on a good size number of those plastic mounting bushings.

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

That was a great way to get it done.  I am in the process of trying to get my hands on a good sized number of those plastic mounting bushings.

Marty,

You are probably going to need them. The tape they used to insulate the shell from the chassis does not look like it will last forever either. More fixes down the road I think. 

Thanks, TJ

I am with you on the tape.  On the plastic bushings you will notice a tab on the side.  That tab goes on the body side of the mounting stud.  The idea is to keep the body and frame from saying hello.  I am a fan of some of the features of this engine and have not been quick to talk it down.  For the ones people complain about on the forum, many are standing tall and run very well.  Lionel spent good money to design this engine.  I feel bad things happen with the people who assemble it.   When you send it to Dean at Customer service, he will fix you up.

I know it hurts to have this issue with a new engine but better now than when it is out of warranty.

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

I am with you on the tape.  On the plastic bushings you will notice a tab on the side.  That tab goes on the body side of the mounting stud.  The idea is to keep the body and frame from saying hello.  I am a fan of some of the features of this engine and have not been quick to talk it down.  For the ones people complain about on the forum, many are standing tall and run very well.  Lionel spent good money to design this engine.  I feel bad things happen with the people who assemble it.   When you send it to Dean at Customer service, he will fix you up.

I know it hurts to have this issue with a new engine but better now than when it is out of warranty.

Marty,

Yes I did see the tab, and while it does work ( if they are properly installed ) cant help but think a better insulator could probably have been designed.  I am not a design engineer by any means, I have just seen in 40 years of auto repair things that work well and things that dont. Not knocking Lionel, I have many, I know it will be taken care of, just a bit frustrated. Like anything else, great when it works, disappointed when it doesn't 

TJ