Just received this Legacy steam locomotive. Sounds work. The engine will not respond to the throttle so it will not go. Instead, cab light blinks. Anybody know a easy solution?
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How many blinks in the pattern?
1 Main drive motor stalled.
2 Smoke 1 element problem.
3 Smoke 1 fan problem.
If equipped with whistle smoke...
4 Smoke 2 element problem.
5 Smoke 2 fan problem.
I think its time Lionel move the diagnostic codes to the front of the manual eh John?
We keep moving them to the front page of the forum, I guess that's similar. 
1 blink. Is there an easy way to fix this or is this something I will have to ship out to have fixed?
Have you tried rotating the wheels by hand? Is there something binding? Have you tried a reset? I believe it could be one of two things, something binding "stalling the motor" or a bad motor driver board.
I can't remember the manufacturing date of these, you may still have warranty if its new. Warranty is 1 year within 3 years of the date of manufacturer. Date should be on shipper if you have it, there should be a date on the manual as well.
I have tried rotating the wheels and they don't turn. Are they supposed to rotate freely?
Originally Posted by davidbross:
I have tried rotating the wheels and they don't turn. Are they supposed to rotate freely?
yes, pretty freely. mine does not take much effort to push manually.
It takes a little effort but legacy locos have "backdriveable gears" which allow the wheels to be manually turned. This design allows for coasting in a lashup situation if one loco is faster.
You can also set the loco on the track (power off) and try pushing it.
This is the Northern 4-8-4, right?
Chances are something is either jammed in the drive or you have a bad motor. Look closely at the rods and see if there is something simple causing the issue. A bent rod that's hitting something is not uncommon, or perhaps a rod screw has loosened and is hitting as the wheels turn.
To add to what John said, check that the brake shoe detail isn't rubbing on the traction tires. I normally check the position of the brake shoes on new steamers and adjust accordingly, loosening the brake shoe screws on the bottom of the loco and then place a small flat blade screwdriver between the wheel and brake shoe for spacing and retighten screw.
Something was definitely jamming the wheels/drive train. They would not budge. I ended up applying significant pressure and rocking them back and forth. Apparently that repositioned things just enough that the motor was able to kick over. Everything moves easily now. I will run her tomorrow to make sure that she continues to run but it looks good so far.
I would check the rods very closely, and as Rick says, the brake shoes. I've seen cases where a screw is loose and the rods would occasionally jam.
When I have any issue with the rods getting loose, I use the blue Loctite to keep them from backing out. There's an even lighter hold purple version that will work as well. Don't use the red!
