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You don't need to replace the smoke unit, the most that it might need is a part or two.  It's more likely that the smoke voltage regulator module has died if you get absolutely no smoke, they are pretty fragile.

 

Before you do anything, you need to zero in on what the real issue is.

 

Does the fan run on the smoke unit?  A stupid question, but are you sure the smoke switch is on?

 

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn
Originally Posted by Drawbar Cruson:

Yep he smoke switch is on. The fan spins, bud smoker will not get hot

The most frequent failure is this smoke regulator.

 

 

That's followed by the actual smoke resistor.

 

 

With a meter you can check the smoke resistor, if you read anything from 5 to 7 ohms, it's most likely OK.  My money is on the smoke regulator, but either of these can cause the symptoms you see.

All you need is the smoke fan motor, I believe it's $$7.50 MSRP at Lionel.  You can probably find it with someone like BoxCar Bill on the forum here and save the rather expensive Lionel shipping charge.  Given the room for the smoke unit, I'd probably put the MTH smoke motor in it, they've worked very well for me, and I typically use them if they fit, they're about 1/8" longer than the Lionel motors.

 

I recently opened up my older Lionel UP dash8 because the smoke quit working.  I had the same symptoms in that the smoke fan turned very slowly or not at all.  I found out that the fan motor itself was filled with smoke fluid.  So what I did was remove the motor and sprayed it with canned air (like you use on your computer keyboard).  Sprayed the fan in both directions, turned it upside down and got as much of the smoke fluid out as I could.  Worked fine after that. 

 

This my not be your problem, but it's something to check on.

 

Also, after I did this I found that the fan motor was turning in the wrong direction (common Lionel problem) so I reversed the fan wires.  Smoked very well after that.

 

I don't think I ever saw a bare resistor not have some char.

But its exact operating controls in this situation? That is a mystery to me.

All mine are using elements direct from the track because that's what I had on hand already. If it was regulated at the element, it isn't now.

Something I didn't see mentioned and corresponds with Drawbars last post.

Smoke regulator? I assume you mean voltage, or current regulation for the fan, or the element, and not control of these by another board. (Johns swap should answer that control leg question).

Have you checked voltage at the motor plug with load and without?

The element?

 While regulators normally just quit outright, a low or high can happen too.

You may want to see that its delivery is ok.

The motor may be filled, and operating bad sure, but it may not be getting the full power it needs.

 Sitting upside down on a tissue for a long period might reveal more oil that the air cant draw out. And if it was 100% full, multiple positions.

 

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