I've got a basic Lionchief Starter Set u36b locomotive. I left it idling for an extended period of time and the sound shut off. The engine had power and the lights were still on. Shut the Transformer off and turned it back on and still nothing. I let it sit for a while with Transformer off and then tried it again and it worked. Haven't tried it since. Is it okay to let them idle for extended periods of time? Any idea why it might have done this?
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Lionchief engines sometimes have a timeout. Remember, this is a starter engine designed for children who might leave it on, leave the remote on, and then do something else.
So yes, you can power them as long as you want. There is no smoke unit and the board doesn't care in that it should never overheat or burn up.
However, both the engine and the remote firmware may have timeout features and you may have invoked it.
Also be aware of the variations over time in the Lionchief architecture and boards. Early Lionchief was RF only- a proprietary signal that is NOT bluetooth. Those engines typically also did not have the "not connected to remote" sound chirp if the engine is powered but the engine isn't talking to a remote, and thus you get prime mover sounds at idle and not the chirp. Later engines added this just to help users diagnose when the remote was connected or not. Again, Lionchief as a starter engine has never had conventional operation, and thus always required a remote to run.
And again, both the engine and the remotes typically have a timeout feature in case a child was running, then walked away, and either left the remote on or the engine on, but not moving. The remote tries to save the batteries but the engine also can time out after a certain period. Power cycling both (turn off for a bit, then turn on) resets both sides of the system and they should reconnect.
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