[doorguy41]

i took my lw transformer apart to clean and inspect the connections for the direction and whislte button. and now when i put it back together the direction button doesnt stick up like it used to.... thinking the switch lever that is on the switch is on the bottom instead of the top of the connector piece?... didnt seem that hard when taking it apart.. confused..

i plug it in and the train made noise and started to run without the power on. also the light on the power lever was on, woithout advancing the throttle to any amount of voltss...so i shut it off quickly.

any help would be great.

 

[T-Man]

Smoke is Bad

At least you didn't cook anything. I don't know the transformer but something is connected that shouldn't be. So something is bent, put in backwards, or some wire or a foreign piece is sticking to something it shouldn't. Whatever it is it had to be something you did so retrace your steps. Good Luck. It's always good experience to mess up. Next time you will know.

 

[T-Man]

Is this the transformer?
http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=LW
I can get some info from the service manual.