We have 2 MTH Camelbacks that smoke but the smoke comes out of the stack and just drifts back. No puff, really killing the crew. I took one apart and their is a small vertical cylinder near the smoke unit w/ a fan to blow air into it. The Fan appeared to be gunked up with smoke fluid. I cleaned it up, and it worked on the bench. but once we put it back on the track, same thing, smoke rises up and makes an immediate turn for the cab. Any ideas on how to fix? Thanks, Dave
Dave,
Remove the four screws from the to of the smoke unit chamber and carefully pull the circuit board off. Check the wicking to be sure it doesn’t obstruct the flow of air from the fan.
I agree with Jim, sounds like the wick is blocking the exit port.
Also note that the fan is on only when the engine is moving. (unless it is a PS1 engine).
Run the fan motor with a DC power pack while the smoke unit is disassembled. Run it for a while, varying the voltage… the motor is surprisingly robust. I have done this while spraying some CRC contact cleaner into the small openings in the motor housing to clear the motor brushes and commutator of built-up fluid residue(my fault from overfilling(s)). You should notice an improvement in motor speed, enough to flex the fan vanes at higher rpm/voltage. Run it in both directions. The motor should now run very smoothly and start up without coaxing at the lowest voltages.
Clean the fan housing with the CRC and be sure to repack the wicking into the fluid chamber carefully to avoid any interference while reassembling.
I had to go through all of these steps finally when the fan motor just would not start after reassembly a couple of times.
Rob
I had same problem and it was the wick getting in the way. Need to make a path through it.