#1 does the set have bluetooth- an obvious bluetooth logo on the bottom of the engine? If it has bluetooth, then you can use the Lionchief app to adjust volume. No bluetooth, then you have to use the remote.
Lionel made a video describing BOTH methods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-an9ZSyLZ0
#2 I've talked about the most common failures walking into the local shop for repair and this happens EVERY year.
- Lionchief drawbar wiring failing from flexing. The speaker wiring is soldered to the specialized Lionchief drawbar connection. The problem is, the thin wire used with very few strands and the heatshrink over the connection is NOT good strain relief. The wires are often tied up short in the loco leading to it pulling and ripping on the wires as the drawbar swings when going between straight track and curved track. But the real killer here is that many of the 0-8-0 locos also use the tender axles for outer rail pickup because the engine has traction tires on the drive rear axle, and thus the blind sets may not even touch the rails leaving only the front wheels for pickup in the engine. So, the drawbar carries 3 wires, 2 for speaker, 1 for pickup from the tender truck wheels to outer rail. The problem is, that same broken wire event can cause a short between AC track power and either of the 2 speaker wires instantly blowing the amplifier and sometimes the entire Lionchief control board.
- Also inspect your typical Polar Express or other steam engine eccentric cranks for looseness BEFORE running the engine. If you run with them loose, they will beat and shear off the indexing tabs or little pips, and then the linkage rotates and jams. Again, catching it loose before running, you can prevent damage. If it gets run loose, it almost always destroys the parts. Below is a loosened one that has swung out making a huge and thus binding stroke for the linkage.
- The pivot point should be just to the side of the center of the axle.
- Ignore the wire pin fix, but the position should be as such
