Oh oh, three blinking lights in the cab

What engine is it?

That is bad luck...What engine is it?  The shipping along adds up quick.  May be Lionel will let you take it local to get it fixed if there is an authorized place nearby.

It's an sd70ace.  ive e mailed lionel to see what my options are.  It's very hard to enjoy an engine when it's in in a diffrent state

i was just running one of my engines and it quit smoking but has 4 blinks? i'm about to just turn off all the smoke units and give up on them

Yep, thats what I have done, modern diesels don't smoke much anyways.

Regarding cab lights blinking, there is a page in the owners manual that defines the sequence of blinks.  For my Pere Marquette and VL Big Boy, the last page in the manual has that info.

For the Pere, here is a copy of page 30:

 

Locomotive Diagnostics

Your locomotive includes built-in diagnostics to monitor the condition of the main drive motor and smoke system. If a problem is detected, the locomotive's cab light will blink a diagnostic code. If you see the light inside the cab flashing, press RESET (for LEGACY operation), 0 (for TMCC operation), or DIRECTION/power interruption (for conventional operation to attempt to clear the problem.

The locomotive will immediately check itself again. If the problem persists, the cab light will blink the code again. Note that smoke-related errors can be reset a maximum of three times. On the third try, if the problem still persists, the smoke unit will be shut down and must be returned to Lionel Service for repair.
Turning the smoke unit switch to the off position will disable diagnostic checks of the smoke system.
Number of Blinks       Diagnostic Code Description

1        Main drive motor stalled.

2        Smoke 1 element problem.

3        Smoke 1 fan problem.

4        Smoke 2 element problem.

5        Smoke 2 fan problem.

Big Boy Codes:

Number of Blinks       Diagnostic Code Description

1        Main drive motor stalled.

2        Smoke 1 (Stack smoke) element problem.

4        Smoke 2 (Stack smoke) element problem.

6        Smoke 3 (Whistle smoke) element problem.

8        Smoke 4 (Blowdown smoke) element problem.

Bagelman.... before returning for repair do the engine reset if cab still blinking turn the smoke switch off and reset engine again then turn smoke switch on if no cab blinking turn smoke switch off let engine set for a day.

 

the smoke fluid may have gotten to smoke fan motor during return shipping from lionel!!

 

next day prior to powering up track and engine turn smoke switch on and then power all up if no blinking cab light try adding a few drops if you see smoke all is good.

 

the cause of cab light blinking sometimes! but not all are due to smoke fluid getting into smoke fan motor and it sends a false positive!

 

I have had this happen so many times mine are self inflicted due to overfilling smoke unit.

but sometimes my engines do it and for no reason so this is what I do has saved me a whole lot of shipping charges.

 

you have nothing to lose at this point except your time.

St. Paul, that is a great bit of info.

When mine came back from Lionel service, the tech said that I had flooded the fan motor.  Your technique is a good one to try.

Thanks

Not positive on this but!
seems on this forum I read that to clear the locked out smoke unit all you do is slide program switch use same engine id# press set and slide program switch to run. this will clear all 3 attempts at doing an engine reset.
can anyone confirm this?

All you have to do is remove power for a few seconds, then you'll get 3 resets again.

 

However, if the problem still "exists" when you power back up it will immediately shut down again.

 

Fan motor shutdown and 3 cab light blinks is triggered by the fan motor drawing too much power, for whatever reason, flooded with fluid, impeller rubbing the gasket etc.

 

Legacy locos "test" the fan motor upon power up, this is practically undetectable unless you have the smoke unit apart to see the fan motor spin. Its just a split second "zing". If too much power draw is sensed it will shutdown.

 

Once the problem is resolved, i.e. repairing/lubing, or replacing, the fan motor, it will automatically reset on the first power up after the repair, after it" tests" and voltage draw is normal.

Here is a reply from Mike Reagan that he sent me concerning the 3 blinks. Hopefully this will help someone.

 

Gene

 

What you are describing is a fault thrown by the electronics in your cab forward, the 3 blinks in the cab light indicate a high current fault detected on the main stack fan motor. This can often times be a fluke, as the electronic control module inside the locomotive is designed to protect the outputs. Pressing Eng + its ID number + AUX1 (straight arrow key) and the circle R (reset) key on the touchpad will reset the output. This will allow you to turn the smoke unit back on using the smoke icon keys. If the cab light flashes 3 times again, pressing the reset key will clear it.

If you happen to have a can of compressed air you can shoot a blast of air down the main stack, which will cause the impeller to move slightly. Once you do this try turning on the smoke unit again. This should, for all intensive purposes clear the error and turn the smoke back on. If it does not and the cab light continues to blink 3 times then the loco will need to make a trip into service to have the smoke unit fan motor for the main stack replaced. 

Thank you,
Mike

I have tried that. The motor came on for about 4 seconds then you can hear it die. Then the cab blinked.  I have had so many issues with this engine I have decided it is not worth the frustration. I have ran this engine less then a full hour since I got it a few months ago. It has been to lionel twice and now it needs to go to them again.  I want a refund on this.  This hobby is suppose to be enjoying and not such a headache. I'll be calling them monday and telling them I have had it with this engine and want a refund

 

That would sound like it would. I let the engine sit and still having the same issue.  It going to go back to lionel.

I let mine some unit dry out. I placed it upside down for the the night and did the compressed air the next day. I refilled the smoke unit with 15 drops of fluid and it has worked flawless sense then.

 

Saved a trip to Concord and shipping expenses.

 

Worth a try. I also use the dropper included with the engine to make sure I do not put too much fluid in it.

 

Gene

Bagelman ......   assume engine under warranty but, If you care to do some work yourself change the lionel smoke motor for one from mth even some of the techs here are saying to switch them out and are having a good result.

 

but if a return to lionel you decide I would call customer service and ask for free shipping this time due to same issue it went in for and just returned.

 

did you try my idea or Mike R's

 

 

 

From RickO:

Legacy locos "test" the fan motor upon power up, this is practically undetectable unless you have the smoke unit apart to see the fan motor spin. Its just a split second "zing". If too much power draw is sensed it will shutdown.

 

 RickO is correct; I have a ZW-L with the ammeters.  When I power up my Pere, the ammeter shows 3.75 amps immediately for 4 seconds, then it drops to about 2.25 amps after a few seconds, then 1 amp with smoke set at medium.  When I go to speed step 105, it goes up to 2 amps and holds.

 

I like all the info on resetting and solutions to get the smoke unit going again.

I am now very conservative on adding fluid and use the Megasteam needle dispenser to add fluid; its drops are smaller than the ones from the Lionel pipette.

 

What mystified me when my smoke unit quit, on startup, it would blow smoke thru the stack for an instant and then stop with the cab light blinking 3 times.  Now, I think if I had the solutions mentioned here, I could have saved a trip to Lionel.

I wonder if the smoke units were designed here or in China?

 

 

 

 

I know opinions are numerous; but there are fellas on this forum that you might try to fix your engine.

Its the overly sensative (IMO) onboard diagnostics. Too much of a good thing,maybe?. 

 

Its supposed to protect the main board from more signifigant damage by the fan motor "pulling" too much voltage.

 

I've had "pre legacy diagnostics " fan motors completely stop. A couple drops of lube a few spins of my finger to work it in, and they work fine to this day, 5-10 years and counting with no other damage to the loco.

 

Prior to this diagnostics system. I "imagine" some folks have had board failures due to bad fan motors, but I dont recall an epidemic of postings( if any) the way we see this dignostics/fan shutdown of recent legacy stuff.

 

When this started happening a few years ago the fan motors were obviously bad, screaming like banshees due to irregular/defective bushings.

 

Now the slightest resistance shuts them down. Some have commented this happens less once the fan motors "run in"/ loosen up a bit. I suppose thats tough to do when the unit shuts them down.