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Polar Express Power Pack Recall

Roundhouse BillRoundhouse BillOGR Forum Member

Last Friday I got a call from Don Heimburger, the owner of S Gaugian and Scenery Unlimited, telling me that Lionel had notified dealers to stop shipping out Polar Express sets.  I called Mike Reagan of Lionel to see why.  He said he issued the order, but since he did not have a Polar Express to test he was not going to tell me why he stopped the shipping.  I told him I would call next Wednesday (tomorrow) to find our what his tests showed.  I plan to do that in the morning.

 

This afternoon I was called by one of the members of my club who bought nine sets for family and friends.  I had told him this past weekend of what I had heard.  He called Charles Ro, where he bought them, and asked about the problem.  He was told that there were defective power packs in some of the sets, Some would not power the locomotive to run and others would not power the engine and 3 cars.  This problem has been discussed in a number of threads here.

 

Anyway, Charles Ro is sending him nine new power packs and my friend believes that these units have increased capacity.

 

I will find out tomorrow all I can from Mike Reagan about the exchange of power packs and place the information here.

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Roundhouse BillRoundhouse BillOGR Forum Member

Here is what Lionel just sent out to dealers:

 

 

We apologize for the delay in responding to our request to hold off on shipping the 6-49632 American Flyer Polar Express sets to your customers who have so patiently waited for these sets to arrive. We received some initial feedback from customers who were concerned the sets would not operate properly with the included power supply. We took the time to review the set once again and have determined that the set, as packaged operates fine using the included 18VDC wall transformer included with it. In the event any of your customers have any performance issues with one of these sets, please have them contact Lionel Customer Service directly at 586-949-4100.

 

It is important to note that if your customers add the two separate sale American Flyer passenger cars to the base set that the included transformer will likely not power the set at the top end speeds. This is due to the transformer having just enough current to handle the locomotive, tender and three cars in the set itself. In the event your customers plan to operate the set with 5 cars (the base set plus two add-on cars) they will need to purchase a transformer with more current, such as our 6-81603 72 Watt DC Transformer ($55.00), which is currently available; order from your dealer.

 

We apologize for the delay in getting this information to you, but we wanted to ensure there was nothing that had slipped by us in delivering a world-class magical train to the S gauge community.

 

Thank you,

Lionel

Last edited by Roundhouse Bill
RT Rusty TraqueOGR Forum Member

As I read the response, it is up to the customer to call Lionel if the original brick won't power the basic set and Lionel will (likely) replace it with one that will still only run the basic set.

 

If the customer wants to run with the extra cars, they'll have to plunk down another 55 bucks for a 72 Watt brick.

 

I'm sure the non-model railroad purchasers will be glad to hear that.

 

Rusty

Roundhouse BillRoundhouse BillOGR Forum Member

Rusty... Did you miss this?

__________________________

"It is important to note that if your customers add the two separate sale American Flyer passenger cars to the base set that the included transformer will likely not power the set at the top end speeds."

__________________________

 

To me this says it works OK at everything but full speed.  That is what mine does with 5 cars.

O ogaugeguyOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by banjoflyer:
Please correct me if I'm wrong as I don't know much about electronics, but is appears the Acer brick has 4 pins so would that then mean 4 wires connected to them and if the plug has only 2 wires then how are the 4 wires spliced to 2 wires to make the power supply work optimally? 

Don't forget that with a little effort and very little expense you can make your own power supply for these sets that puts out 18VDC 5A and 90 watts.

Here's how:

1. Buy this power pack off ebay = $12.99 shipped

 

 

 

 

18V-5A-90W-AC-Adapter-Charger-Power-Supply-For-Acer-AL2032W-LCD-Monitor-4-Pin

 

(The plug is the wrong type but that's OK)...

 

2. Buy this plug off ebay for $2.81 shipped:

 

 

 

3. Cut off the plug from the power pack.

4. Splice on the new 5.5mm plug. Polarity doesn't really matter here with two rail track so put either wire with either wire.

5. The 5.5mm OD  X 2.5mm ID plug should fit in the track power section easily now.

6. Test the track power voltage with a meter. It should read 18VDC.

7. You are done! and it only cost you $15.80!

 That sure beats the $55.00 Lionel wants for the 6-81603.

 

Disclaimer...You use these modifications at your own risk (as with all things in life) and I make no representations as to the operability or compatibility of these suggested changes with your equipment.

I'm going to order one for myself and I'll post results when I get it finished.

Mark

 

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