Hi! Newer to the Lionels. My kid got a 1997 Little League set (X1110 LOCO, DM1803 -40 watt?- power supply. The train seems not be getting enough juice! Hooked it all up right (I think) and light comes on, it rumbles a little, but then the power cuts off (controller light goes out) when power is dialed up (shuts down at about the yellow power zone on the controller with no train movement). It does reset when power turned down, but somethng is keeping it from get'n go'n each time it is tried. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

 

I am not an "O" guy. dose it do the same thing with nothing on the track?

 

When was the last time you cleaned the rails on the track, the loco motor, and the motor's pickup rollers and drive wheels? It could be that things are dirty to the point where that little 40W can supply enough power to make the motor run. Is the symptom the same with loco only vs. loco with cars-in-tow?

It could also be some sort of a wiring short in the motor itself, separate from the light circuit.

Does that loco have an e-unit (auto reverse mechanism)? If so, where is that switch set ... engaged or disengaged? Is it possible it's disengaged, but "in memory" of it's last engaged setting, which could be with the loco in "neutral", hence ... no go?

TJ

 

Somethings shorted out somewhere (why the light goes off). I have a similar set, the NYC flyer from the same time period. Make sure no wires are touching, all wheels are on the track and nothing else metal is across the line. If it's still a no go, there is either a short in the engine wiring (pop the shell off and take a look), or in a lighted caboose (not sure if your set has one or not).

My locomotive shorted out when it's smoke unit died. Disconnecting it fixed the issue. You might want to check that out.

Turn the track power up without the train on the tracks. If the light goes off, somethings wrong in the track wiring.

If it works, put the engine on by itself and repeat the process. If the light goes off, your engine is the issue. If that's the case, pull the shell and do a visual inspection. My smoke unit melted a bit when it went out, so look for any signs of that. If that's the case, cut or unsolder it's wire (the headlight will go out, but you can bypass the smoke unit and wire it straight in, or replace the smoke unit) and try again.

 

Thanks, guys. I was monkeying with it some more (just powering it up with the train only on the track). It did the same thing (groaned a little, then as you added power, it would shut off near the "yellow" area of the control dial.

After a few minutes of this, the LOCO began to smoke from inside. I could look in & see one of the power syncs (I guess that is what it is) had actually dislodged. The circuit board got so hot, it de-soldered!

I found an other e-unit (old one) in the box. This must have happened before, although unless this is just "normal" for these, I don't see why it would be blowing these boards out. I guess I'll replace it, the motor, reverse switch and smoker, to be sure...and clean the track too.

I did notice the LOCO had seemed to be pulling very slightly towards reverse, no matter if you hit the direction switch or not. So, maybe the theory of a "stuck memory" has some possibilities. Thanks a whole lot for the quick replies!!! I'll order soem parts and let you know how it comes out. Tom.

 

That's the problem with the modern circuit-board electonic locos ... they don't smoke when you want 'em to, and they do smoke when you don't want 'em to!

Sorry to hear the news.

Let us know if we can help you through the rebuild. (We have a few talented modern electronics gurus here.)

TJ

 

You need to do some checking before you apply power after installing the new electronics. Odds are that the old electronics were OK until you applied power and made the smoke come out.

 

I'd start by running the DC motor with a low voltage DC power supply and make sure it runs properly. If the board was loose inside, chances are that's what killed it.

FWIW, those little locomotives take a $15 electronics board, so it's not that expensive to get a new one.

 

Thanks

Thanks for all the good input. Hilarious about the units smoking when they shouldn't, etc.
I ordered another board, but I do have the some suspicions that something else may be afoot. Sprayed the track with WD and wiped it down, and will let it set overnight to dry, but will try the "LOCO-off the track" power-up to see what it does (please, not the power supply...). The smoke unit is also a little ify by the looks of it, so a disconnect there might be in order to build my confidence during the rebuild. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again! Tom.

 

If there is no switch to disable the smoke unit, you might consider adding one. Those units will quickly cook the wick if there is no fluid in them. I'm pretty sure the smoke unit is tied to the track pickups, and doesn't have anything to do with the electronic reverse board.

The only other issue that sometimes comes up is the DC motor croaks and takes out the board. That's why I suggest a test of plain DC on the bare motor to make sure it runs properly in both directions.

 

I did some searching. The set is uncataloged. The engine is model number 18658,so it is the time period of my 8632. They should be identical. SO search for 8632 for pictures.

I ran x-1110 engine in the LIonel manual and got a hit on 6-18650 so it is the same series and made in 2007. This is a new rev of the manual here.

I also got a set manual, not specific but generic for that engine.

The set manual id is 71-1910-250. I think 250 is the shell mold.
The recent engine manual is 70-8616-250