Smoke unit help

Well, I take engines of all types apart all the time.  OTOH, I have been doing it for a very long time.  It's not insanely difficult, but if you don't know what you're doing, there are pitfalls that can result in more problems than you have now.  It all comes down to mechanical ability, that's a question really only you can answer.

Thank you gunrunnerjohn.  In general I am pretty good at taking things apart and puting them back together as long as there aren't springs.  The modifications you guys all do is a whole different story but I think if it is as easy as get a new smoke unit and just replace it I would think I could handle that. 

Would you have any advice on how to find what the smoke unit is without taking it apart first?  I can't seem to find the parts breakdown for this engine on lionels site.  I found the Santa Fe SD45 from 2018 uses this smoke unit cs-6802771200-p.  I would assume it is the same but we all know what they say about assuming.

I am also wondering if it could be something as easy as taking it apart and replace the batting and maybe resistor but I haven't been able to find where you get those.

Thank you again for the help.

There will be no parts breakdown on such a new unit, Lionel doesn't get the parts listings up for several years.  It won't be any problem to find the smoke unit, it's pretty obvious.  The sticking point is, It is quite likely to be wiring and not the actual smoke unit.  It may also be the RCMC is a wire was pinched during assembly and shorted to the frame.  Opening it is just how you get to see if you can track down the issue.

Thank you Gunrunner for all the quick responses.  I will sleep on it and build up some courage to take the shell off and take a look.

Thank you again for all your help.

Probably the smoke batting, it seems many of the 22 diesel engines came with insufficient amount of batting. I have had to replace most of my newer diesel engines batting, both LC+2.0 and Legacy were affected. After the replacement they all smoke well

Thank you Chuck, I guess I need to try to rip it all apart and take a look.  Maybe I will order some batting before I do it.

Thank you for the help.

Raptor, you said you can hear the fan running and can “feel air”.  Can you feel heat, too?  If yes, there may be nothing wrong with the smoke unit; you have an air bubble blocking the smoke unit outlet.

Try blowing down the stack with your mouth or a compressed air duster.  I blow down the stack every time I refill a smoke unit.  A bubble forms in some engines  all the time - others, not at all.

Good luck!

John

I can't feel heat it seems like room temperature air.  I have tried lightly blowing down the smoke unit but nothing at all compared to compressed air so maybe I need to try a little harder.

Thank you for the suggestion.