No chuff sounds on new Lionmaster Big Boy

[pmilazzo]

I have finally gotten around to putting my new Lionmaster Big Boy on the tracks. I can hear the clicking noises in the front which I believe is normal to signal chuffs to the the railsounds.

What's not normal on mine, is I don't have any chuff sounds at all! I have tried a reset, and adjusting the wireless tether slightly with the engine running to see if I could make it align better on straight sections, but no improvement. It wants to run silent. I do have steam blowoff, whistle, bell, and crew talk, just no chuff.

There is a lot of natural light in the basement and I will try again later tonight when it gets dark but I didn't hear any chuffing in a dark tunnel either so I not expecting an improvement. I did test the rear coupler via TMCC which goes through the wireless tether I believe tells me that the wireless alignment is fine since the coupler opened. Only the chuff signal going to the wireless is not working properly.

Has anyone had a similar issue and know how to resolve it. I'm thinking that there may be a loose wire from the chuff switch going to the board or IR connector somewhere, but that's a guess.

By the way, the switch on the bottom of the tender is set to Railsounds.

[pmilazzo]

I just talked with Lionel today and here's what they told me...


It sounds like the serial data signal is either not making its way to
the tender, or the tender's railsounds system is not processing the
signal properly. Recommend a visit to an authorized service station.
Trainz.com in Buford would be a good choice.

[pmilazzo]

Just a follow up.

I sent the engine and tender to Trainz per Lionel's recommendation for a full diagnostic and warranty repair. The next day, Marty, the tech contacted me that they narrowed it down to the R4LC board and a 5 Volt regulator. This circuit controls the synchronized chuff and puffs of smoke. I didn't test the smoke unit before, but it would not work when they tested it.

Since Trainz can't get this Dynachuff part from Lionel until August after the parts move is complete, they advised me to just have the engine replaced from where I bought it. I then called Just Trains who is shipping me a replacement and paying for the DOA one back.

Both Trainz and Just Trains were extremely helpful and first class operations. It's unfortunate that this part is bad, the engine is just gorgeous.

Interesting enough, in my older TMCC Lionmaster Big Boy, I had to replace the exact same dynachuff board so that it would smoke which I didn't notice until I was getting ready to sell it. It always chuffed though. If I remember correctly, the board cost about $30 to replace and was a very easy job.

Hopefully, the second time is the charm.

[rkneisel]

Paul,

That was great service from both Trainz and Just Trains. After hearing many complaints about customer service these days on many vendors (not these two necessarily), it is nice to hear that when problems happen, some out there listen.

Rick

[pmilazzo]

The end of the story...

Just Trains kept their word and sent me another Lionmaster Big Boy which arrived in 2 days! I put this one through all the tests, including smoke and this one passes with flying colors!

Inside the new box is a return shipping label for the old one, which I will UPS back to them today. While I can't confirm 100%, this one was packed slightly different the first one which leads me to believe that they may have tested it out before shipping it out to me to reduce the chance of another D.O.A.

Anyway, this one works flawlessly and as designed and I'm very happy. It has also helpd identify some inner tunnel walls I need to widen by 1/16 of an inch for about 4 inch stretches so some filling, sanding, and more black paint should correct the problem since the inner tunnel liners are built with blue styrofoam. I also will need to use more single tunnel portals rather than doubles to make sure I have proper clearance or extend the mountain on one side. Need to think about that.

Once again, I can't praise Just Trains enough and they are definitely a first class operation.