Trials and Tribulations with my Legacy E6

Hey Mike,

If you are handy you could take the engine apart and check to see if indeed the motor is dead or if it is something else like a loose or broken connection.  If it is truly the fan you could replace it yourself and save a lot of money (they run 6.00ea plus 9.00 shipping).   I would definitely test it first before buying a new one and definitely look for loose connections.

I remember I bought mine used at a show.  I ran it for 20 minutes no problem, then all of a sudden the chuff sounds stopped working.

I took it apart and found out the Cherry switch had broken (just worn out from so many clicks per revolution).  I looked up the part on the lionel website, ordered it and replaced it myself (about 13.00) and presto, sound was back.

A lot of times its simple things that go and not always the electronics.

It would have cost me like 75.00 plus the cost of shipping had I sent it back to Lionel.

If you are not handy that way maybe another member is close by could take a look for you.

It's out of warranty.  As Sean said, take a look at it yourself.  Most steamers involve removing 4 screws and carefully removing the shell (usually a plug or two to disconnect for the lights and antenna handrails).  There's not much to the smoke units, so a simple motor replacement shouldn't be bad.

Sorry to hear of your problems Mike, This sounds like the same problem as before. What date did you have it repaired the first time and how long does lionel stand behind their repair work?

Good Luck and I hope it won't cost you to much, Maybe you can do it yourself, Lionel might talk you through the repair on the phone as they did once for me.

Mike,

I'd agree with the above posters and look at replacing the fan motor yourself. I have the same loco which has been back to Lionel twice for smoke issues during it's warranty period and now the fan motor makes a wheezing sound so I'm sure I'll be looking at the same replacement / out of warranty issue in the near future.

I've come to accept that the smoke units (not just the batting but the motors, etc.) on these locos are all pretty fragile and have to be looked at as having a very finite lifespan.

The replacement process isn't too bad and once you get one under your belt, you won't have any concern if it happens again.

If it's out of warranty I'd take off the body shell and have a look at the fan motor to see if if there is a broken or loose connection or whether the fan itself has got jammed. If you are sure that the rest of the smoke unit (i.e. the resistor and the board that power it) are functioning then most likely you have a fan motor wiring problem; the motors themselves seldom fail and you can test whether it works simply by putting DC battery power to the + and - connections on it.

In any case, I think a complete replacement main smoke unit for this model can be got from Lionel for $38 and it would almost certainly be cheaper to replace the whole unit rather than send the engine back to Lionel.

BTW, if you have not taken the shell off a modern Lionel steamer before the trick is not so much getting it off (as noted in an earlier post it's generally only four screws to remove) but putting it back on without pinching any wiring. The steam effect smoke unit and its associated wiring will complicate this. I have taken to taping all the exposed wiring in place away from the screw mounts and any place where the boiler shell adjoins the chassis.

Good luck!

I agree with the above, a properly operating smoke unit will still need new wicking at some point so "opening it up" will be a maintenace thing.

I replaced the smoke unit fan in my legacy k4, it was noisy out of the box, I opened it up and oiled the bushing and it quit altogether a year layer.

Ordered a new fan from Lionel and replaced it. My smoke unit is almost impossible to hear now

IMO Lionel had a "bad batch" of fan motors in the last couple of years, and there have been numerous threads on them failing.

** If you decide to investigate it yourself, I typically remove the screws from the bottom turn the locomotive back on its wheels while holding the shell on. I  make sure I have something about half the height of the locomotive to set the shell on when I lift it off. This will ususlly allow enough slack in the wires that you can set the shell down and asess things. I only unplug what I absolutely have too, many times you can leave the wires going to the shell attached and still service the smoke unit.

Remember there are plenty of folks here on the forum more than happy to help you along the way.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have taken the shell of the E6 before. There are just so many wires to pinch though you have to be really really careful! 

I will take a look "under the hood" at a later date and get back to you guys about what I find. Thanks for the help again everybody!

Mike,

Send me an e-mail so we can talk.

I know how to fix your loco.

Don't do any more work on it.

That's all I ask.

Eliot

Hey Eliot,

Email sent buddy. Thanks! I will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks for the tip!

Hey Todd,

Yeah well all good things must come to an end! I feel like the model train gods and I are in a constant battle over this locomotive to see how gives up first! I will keep you posted about what happens with the locomotive.

Hey guys,

I just would like to thank you all for the help you have given me. It is extremely disappointing to have a dud of a locomotive but again extremely good to know that I have support from guys WITH experience. 

To be honest, I do not feel comfortable doing a smoke unit replacement on this locomotive. I may be easy to you guys but the one time I opened her up and saw all the wires all over the place that was it for me. I don't want to make the problem worse. Hopefully I can get some help. Stay tuned!

Thanks again! 

Hey everyone,

I wanted to just give a update on the situation. 

I emailed Mike Reagan about my problems two weeks ago and have not gotten a response back. Still waiting to see if anything will occur. 

Thanks!

Try sending your question through their online form.  I sent them a question about getting my Legacy system repaired and heard back within a day or two.

http://www.lionel.com/ContactUs/

Have tried a local Lionel authorized repair dealer?

Joe

Well, look at it from a positive point of view. Perhaps you're lucky to have such problems.  It's a luxury to have such engines and engage in such an expensive hobby.

The way these engines are getting, they're becoming like most luxury items. Buying it is only the beginning expense. There's also the matter of affording to keep it.

LOL very true! 

Yes and the nearest one is an hour away and with gas being 3.55 a gallon...... 

Hey Todd,

Yes they already told me that they are not taking anything until March. Maybe since February is already almost gone Mike will be getting back to me soon. He is a good guy and I have dealt with him before so I trust his judgment. 

Don't want to whine and make people feel bad for me but this engine has been a pain in the butt for a while and I'm pretty tired of it. Anybody else would be too with what I have had to put into it. 

A lot of my home appliances are not repairable as a practical matter, but we expect our complicated toys to be repairable.  Are we expecting too much? 

If you still need repairs, might I suggest Trainz in Buford, GA. They can do a really good job, once they repair it, you won't be having problems. Stay away from Lionel headquarters in Ohio. I have had nothing but issues.

A lot of home appliances don't cost several hundred or even a grand or more either. Its not a toaster over we are talking about here. If you spend several hundred dollars on your engine, and you take care of it, you want it to last a long time.

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the tip. At this point I have received no reply from Mike Reagan at Lionel and so I probably will pass on the opportunity to get it fixed. For what it is worth I have already put too much money into this locomotive for repairs and have to "pull the plug" now to stop the bleeding. Everything else on the engine works great expect the smoke units which I can live without. 

Its disappointing that I can't even get a simple email reply now. I don't think I will be buying any other Legacy engines any longer unless they are proven to be reliable with no issues whatsoever. Having a one year warranty for locomotives that are notorious for breaking down often is just ridiculous.