I just bought and received this legacy steam engine and 30 minutes into operating the smoke unit quit. Has anyone else out there had this or a similar problem? I also have a legacy GP-7 which is having similar problem. Thank you to anyone who can give me some insight on this problem. Needless to say I am very disheartend having looked forward to getting this new engine.
#9,
After you add the smoke fluid blow down the stack. Sometimes an air bubble forms there and if you blow down the stack it will clear. Hope this helps?
laz57
Thank you laz57 for your response, but I’ve been there done that many times with my other engines. I wish the problem was that simple. I 've got an e-mail into lionel about it, but I’m pretty sure they will tell me to send it to them for repair. I sent them my legacy GP-7 last year and it took 6 months to get it back. I’ve tried resetting the engine to no avail. It acts as if it is not responding to the signal from the comand base. I’m baffled and angry.
#9,
Sorry for the bad luck on the smoke unit. Could it be a lose board or wire? I also just got the F-12, nice engine great puller. The only thing I wish it were a bit louder whistle and chuff, other then that it works fine. Oh well good luck and also [#welcome] to the forum.
laz57
I just got my GP-7 back after waiting 8 months for a new smoke unit to come in. I run mine with the older TMCC remote. I didn’t know that the Legacy smoke unit has 4 positions. Low, Med, High, Off. I ended up running it with no fluid thinking it was off and it burned out. I have it turned off with the switch under the truck now and don’t use it. If I upgrade to a Legacy controller I will start using it again. All of my post war smoke units run like a champ. They sure made them good back then. Good Luck
STEVE
Legacy engines do go through smoke fluid a lot quicker than their TMCC cousins. I regularly refill mine when smoke output starts to drop off. The thing about the GPs are the poor funneling system they use. You can see more about it here!
Thanks MARTY for the info on the smoke units in the GPs. Well done.
laz57
Marty, thanks for the great information. When I’ve got time tonight I’m going to try that myself. As for my F-12 ,it is with a service station and I beleive will likely be sent to lionel for repair. Just what I was afraid of. I sure hope it doesn’t take 6 or 8 months.
Marty, I opened up my UP GP-7 and what a mess. I don’t think the seal was ever on right. I’ve cleaned the mess up and have the engine upside down on a soft towel to drain any fluid out and I will start from scratch filling it with fluid so I will know I’m not over filling it. As I was writing this the repair shop called and said my F-12 was fixed!!! He said he put the engine in conventional mode and it smoked like crazy. Then he said he kept “fooling” with it and it began working again in legacy mode. Good news that it’s fixed but I would like to know how it got turned off in the first place so it doesn’t happen again. How strong is the fan in the GP7??? Thanks for the help you guys.
You be the judge…
Steve,
I have not checked the forum lately but I had the same issue with my F12e… I opened mine up which was a very tight fit! I thought that boiler was going to fly across the room trying to pry it with my fingers. But getting by that it was just the connector that came off the circuit board. All was well. But I did note something. I can only turn smoke on and off after engine is in parked position Aux1 + 0 with TMCC. then toggle AUX1 + 8 or 9 to turn smoke unit off or on. In Legacy the smoke unit cannot be turned off… I have tried everything, reset, remote reset etc, nothing. So if I want to turn the smoke unit off or on I pick up the TMCC remote.
We should all get a 5U4G vacuum tube, it’ll solve many problems!!!
Ralph
I put my GP7 back together last night, filled it with fluid and got a lot of smoke but the fan is not blowing it out like I saw on your video. I know the fan is just not working. Do you have any sugestions? other than dropping back ten yards and punting.
Do you have a digital multimeter to test voltage, resistance, continuity, etc.?
If you don’t. Get one. It will save you your sanity. With the shell off make sure the connector is firmly on both boards. and inspect the wires. Next with the POWER OFF. check the fan leads with the continuity checker.
If nothing remove the connector at the board, take a 9v battery and put the two leads to the motor, does it work now? If not you need a new fan motor. IF so go back to the mother board were the smoke connector is coming out off, now with the power on and the connector removed, hit Aux1 9. now measure the voltage, are you getting a reading? If not your board is bad.
Thanks for the info. Yes I have a digital multimeter, an invaluable tool over the last twenty years building layouts. I used to take apart the old conventional stuff but I’m not sure I’ve got the guts to start messing with computer boards. But then nothing ventured nothing gained. I will let you know how I make out.
Can you hear the fan running? If so I would assume blockage of some sort. Try it with the cover and funnel piece off and see if you get anything.
Marty, I had the cover and manifold off and I can see the fan down the intake hole. The fan was not moving so I nudged it, then powered up and it was spinning but it is not spinning fast enough to produce the column of smoke your getting. After powering down I have to nudge the fan again to get it moving. Thanks again for the help. I’ll keep you posted after I fool with it some more.
So is the resistor producing smoke, its just the fan not blowing it out?
The resistor is producing a lot of smoke, the fan is just not spinning fast enough to blow it out. I assume it’s not blowing fast enough. I can’t imagine there is some kind of blockage inside the smoke unit itself. Anyone else out there with a similar problem with there legacy GP7?
Steve and Jdaddy,
We all seem to have the same problem with our F12’s. The smoke will not operate in legacy mode. This seems to be a problem with many if not all F12’s. When I got mine back from the repair shop I assumed it was fixed but he simply had turned it on with regular TMCC. I think Lionel needs to adress this. When a person spends as much money as we all did for these engines they should certainly operate as advertised. I will be e-mailing Lionel soon. Maybe we all should.