Sound not working properly in Legacy engine

The fact that jiggling the tether gets some sound strongly suggests there's nothing wrong with the sound board.  I suspect the wire that brings the serial data to the tender is compromised, that would cause the tender to come up on conventional mode and respond to the transformer whistle/bell controls.

John, when I tried jiggling the tether a few months ago when I first started working on it, it did make the sound come on occasionally, but you had to really force it in tight and it didn’t always do the trick . The new tether fits much tighter but no matter what I do with it I cannot get to work. When I plug in the K-Line tender, it works fine, which makes me think it’s the board, not the tether. What do you think? I should add that it was just a few months past the three-year cut off for Lionel to repair it and I can’t find anyone around here to fix the darn thing and Lionel won’t take it for repair

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

John, when I tried jiggling the tether a few months ago when I first started working on it, it did make the sound come on occasionally, but you had to really force it in tight and it didn’t always do the trick . The new tether fits much tighter but no matter what I do with it I cannot get to work. When I plug in the K-Line tender, it works fine, which makes me think it’s the board, not the tether. What do you think? I should add that it was just a few months past the three-year cut off for Lionel to repair it and I can’t find anyone around here to fix the darn thing and Lionel won’t take it for repair

There are two parts to the tether, perhaps it's the other end.  In any case, that's where I'd be looking for the problem given the fact that the sound board works in conventional mode.

And by the way, which color wire brings the serial data to the tender?

Do you think perhaps it’s actually where the socket is in the back of the engine rather than the problem being in the tender?

Neal,

Based on what you stated in your initial post, you changed tenders and the K-Line tender worked.  I am assuming that means the sounds in the K-Line tender worked with the Lionel engine.  So, this is pointing to a Lionel tender issue, correct?

Open up the tender and see if you can do a continuity test on the tether on the tender from the plug to the termination on the boards.  You may need to insert a very small piece of wire into the plug end to be able to test the wiring.  Do not use too big of a wire.  It will enlarge the female ends and cause even more issues when you attach the tender to the engine.  I am assuming the made end of the connection is on the engine.   Also, check to see that the wires from the tether are seated correctly.  I looked at the Lionel parts site and this engine is still too new for the parts breakdown being listed.

Best,