This forum has twice been such a help–dare I ask a third question? I have three programmed TMCC locos running. All respond fine to programmed run controls. One (14504 ATSF F3 ABBA) works fine, all Railsounds complete. The second one (71-8062 ATSF Hudson) responds to running controls but makes no Railsounds except the idling sound as it circles the loop. However, I can activate its bell and whistle manually off the ZW. The third loco (14544 SRR E6 AA) was doing fine but suddenly, without any command from the CAB, Railsounds volume fell off and is now almost inaudible. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I have a Lionel H16-22 that I recently purchased, new-in-box, that was manufactured in 2002. After a couple of sessions, and a derailment, (I use 5 amp inline fuses to protect the engines) the sound just didn’t work. I tried resetting the engine, and still nothing.
I sent it back to the retailer, and they replaced a board, and no problems since.
First try resetting the engine.
Kurt
On the engine that is making low volume sounds check the physical volume control (this is a small potentiometer whose location varies from engine to engine). I have an F-3 “B” unit where the volume control is one of the roof fans. Second, check the AUX keys. There is a set of keys used to raise and lower the volume from the keypad of the CAB-1. This specifics would be on the plastic overlay (if you still have it) or in the manual for the engine. For the loco that is making no sounds first check to make sure the engine still knows it’s master ID. This is a program feature that you set by sliding run/program to program and then enter the master code. These codes program the receiver board to send appropriate commands to the engines feature set. The codes can be found in the back of the owners manual or on the lIonel web sites:
http://www.lionel.com/ForTheHobbyist/GeneralTipsAndFAQs/InstructionstoRestoreTMCCfunctions.pdf
Thanks, but sound volume controls (tender or F3 fans) are working and AUX volume controls haven’t been lowered (they seem to have no effect on volume anyway). ================The ATSF Hudson tender makes idle sounds but nothing else; problem can’t be the sound board because bell & whistle work fine off the transformer in conventional mode (except no chug–does the engine communicate with the tender to create chugging sounds?). =================On the SRR E6, the sudden low volume could indeed be the sound board crashing. Will reprogram and try again.
The chugging sound is either accomplished through a sensor on one of the tender wheels, through a tether (rare for Lionel) or through an IR sensor between the tender and the engine. The wheel sensor or IR pair might not be communictaing properly. Check for loose wires or allignment issues.
The 71-8062 number just doesn’t compute. If it is a Lionel TMCC equipped engine, then it should have a 6-XXXXX number. The 6-14504 F3 set, and the 6-14544 set make sense, but not the Hudson.
In any event, the Hudson should have a tether connecting the tender and engine. It needs to be connected for communications to exist between the “chuff switch” and the RailSounds package in the tender.
Also, there should be a switch on the bottom of the tender marked RailSounds/SignalSounds. Make sure it is in the RailSounds position. If not, you will get exactly the sounds you mention.
If that doesn’t get it done, then you’ll need to check the “chuff switch”. This is a cherry switch that is usually triggered by the forward motion of the cross-head/smoke unit lever. Sometimes the metal contact on the cherry switch gets bent. I usually fix these by gluing a small plastic shim onto the metal strip on the switch.
And of course the easiest thing is to go through the TMCC re-program protocal listed above!
Jon [8D]
Starting with Railosounds 4 (or maybe 4.5?) The sound processor and the amplifier boards were split. It is possible that the amp is blown, that there is a problem with a speaker wire, or the amp board is not seating properly in the socket on the “motherboard”.
Jon, Chuck et al–Thanks again! This ATSF Hudson is from the 1997 Warhorse Freight Set 6-11838 (loco and tender marked “3447”). There is no switch on the tender marked Railsounds/SignalSounds–just an on-off switch. There is no tether between engine and tender, but there are two small “black boxes” at the tab-coupler which I think are the IR sensors Chuck mentions. Since all Railsounds except the chuff work in conventional mode, I’m sure it’s not a soundboard problem. The lack of chuff seems likely to be caused by IR sensors. No sure that you mean, Jon, about the chuff switch. There is no “chuff switch” on the exterior of the loco–do you mean inside?
Some of the loco’s get the chuff signal by using a pair of magnets mounted on one of the axles and a “reed” switch on the bottom of the loco. As the axle turns, the magnets pull the reed switch closed and provide the input for the board to designate a “chuff”.