NW2 Horn Problem

Move the whistle lever only half way.

The classic Lionel transformers and their whistle/horn activation controls have 3 positions:

Off - No whistle
Pickup- High DC offset just enough initiate the command
Hold - Minimal DC offset to hold the whistle command active and an additional +5V Boost to for older air whistles

The modern electronics generally only react to the Pickup and not the Hold position.

On the ZW, the Pickup position is selected by pushing the whistle lever partway, but not all the way to the stop. Turn it just shy of the Hold position (just shy of the position that provides the 5V boost that brightens the headlight and speeds the motor).

This is documented in the Lionel literature:

Let us know how that works out for you.

Thanks for the info. I had no idea about that. Turns out after getting into the loco a little deeper, turns out the switch was bad-sometimes, so I got a new one coming.

Joe