I have a 4-4-2 Lionel engine from a roughly 2006 starter set whose smoke unit is no longer working properly. Can it be repaired or must it be replaced?
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Depending on what the problem is I’d say it can probably be repaired but that depends on what the problem is. Resistors (the heating element), fan motors, and wicks can all be replaced but without seeing it in person a guess on my part would be just that, a guess.
Just a quick suggestion, put some smoke fluid in, let it sit int neutral for a minute or so, then blow down the smokestack. If smoke billows out all over the place then you’ve got a bad smoke unit fan motor. However, the most common problem with liquid smoke units is burned-up wicks, if the wick are toast that unit’s not going to smoke.
Wayne, can you figure out why Ellie stopped posting and see what she might advise him to do?
I can try, Ellie’s dropped “off the radar” in the past with no explanation, I sent an e-mail but got no response. I can try again, wouldn’t hurt.
That would be good; we need someone here who knows how to properly repair trains, unlike myself.
Thanks guys. I opened up the engine to pull out the smoke unit (both motor and smoke unit come out the bottom) and it appears that the smoke unit is factory sealed, but I may be wrong. I could not find any such unit on eBay or Trainz so I’m out of luck there. I am hoping that it had received too much fluid and will begin smoking again after enough run time. I did drain what I could from the stack last night.
Try going to the Lionel website https://www.lionel.com and click on “Support.”
Try and find the parts diagram for your 4-4-2, if you’ve got the model number it’ll make things easier. If the smoke unit’s still available from Lionel you can order directly from them.
I’m guessing your locomotive’s a model 6-28652 or similar so try searching for that.
One thing I should add (And just remembered!) is some Lionels from that time period (2006) are anemic smokers to begin with and only put out when they’ve got a load on them, such as pulling a train of at least six cars and at speed.
Will do.
Well, I went to the Lionel website and searched smoke units. After looking at about 80 items, I found the exact smoke unit I have been talking about. Unfortunately, it is out of stock. I am writing this on an iPad and have a picture of the unit on the iPad also but don’t know how to post it.
Speaking of anemic smoke units, I purchased one of the first Polar Express sets in 2004 and couldn’t believe how poorly it smoked. I finally had a friend put in a better unit. I think you may be on to something there.
That’s a shame! If you’ve got the part number try these folks, the MAY have what you need.
https://ttender.com
All are Lionel parts dealers and worth a look. I’m glad I could be of some assistance.
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Thanks again.
You’re VERY welcome!
BTW, I met Paul the owner and founder of Trainworx at one of the York shows, a very nice guy and I had quite an enjoyable and informative conversation with him.
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For those of you who may have been reading this thread I just found a picture of the smoke unit I have been talking about on the Lionel website.
Yeah, I looks to me like a self-contained and irreparable unit, when it goes bad you have to replace it. Best of luck with the hunt for a new one!
Thank you. It’s all part of the enjoyment and misery of model electric trains.
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Will wonders never cease. Here’s the scoop. I bought another 4-4-2 Lionel starter (used) about a month ago and after a few days of running, something started overheating inside. I quickly turned it off and decided to investigate. I found that some previous owner had soldered a resistor ( I think) in the smoke unit/light module. See picture above. I could find nothing else amiss and figured this must have been the problem. Now the important part. In putting things back together I discovered that the method used for grounding the smoke unit module wasn’t actually grounding at all. It is a wire attached to one of the screws that hold the front truck on. I then found on the motor frame a screw that really did serve as a ground and ran a wire from it to the grounding wire of the smoke unit and it worked.
Well, I thought, maybe that was the problem with this most recent 4-4-2. So I pulled it apart, ran the wire, and now the little engine is puffing away.
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Huh. My 4-4-2’s smoker is grounded through that screw and it seems to work just fine.
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Old model railroad joke:
Modeler 1, on the other side of the backdrop “Does your engine have a smoke unit?”
Modeler 2: “No.”
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I know. I bought several starter sets around 2004-2006 which I gave to grandchildren, etc. over the years and they all worked fine as is. I don’t know if the several taking’s apart and putting’s together has anything to do with it or not. I do know this: when I had the engine upside down in a cradle I built, I clipped the hot wire to the roller and tapped the common to the wheel, and the wheels spun as expected. When I tapped the common to the screw on the engine frame, they spun. When I touched it to the boiler shell where the screw that holds the front truck goes in, I got “nada”. In fact I tapped several places on the chassis and elsewhere trying to find a spot to activate the motor, but found no other. So I decided to use the one on the motor frame, and everything is now working.
Okay, now I’m still kind of puzzled and now need to go and check mine.