I bought all 8 of my lighted fastrack bumpers back in 2005 time frame. May be the newer manufactured ones are more flaky than the older ones that have been on my layout for years with no issues at all.
I'm not defending Lionel like the other poster said, just posting that all 8 of mine worked out of the box and are still working today.
I'm hesitant to buy more because of so many people complaining about the recent ones DOA by members, but I'm sure once Jon posts his article in OGR, this can be overcome. There really isn't much to these bumpers if you look underneath. I'm sure Jon has an easy to fix for those loose / sloppy connections.
May be these lighted bumpers just need a "redesign" from Lionel since so many are experiencing problems with how they are being manufacturing now. At a minimum, Lionel needs to be made aware that more QA testing needs to be done before they are boxed up and shipped out.
Remember the Fastrack flashing grade crossing with gates had issues with its plastic gears getting easily stripped. Lionel recognized the problem and pulled them from the market for about a year or two before the redesign was re-released and the problem was fixed.
Some people sent them into Lionel for repair, and were given new redesigned ones when they were available rather than just a repair that could happen again.
If you have DOA lighted bumpers, take them back to your dealer where he can report the issue and replace it if they have more stock (may be even test in the store), or contact Lionel so they are aware of the issues, and/or just fix it yourself if you are inclined.
I know you shouldn't have to do that, but unless enough people let Lionel know, how would they know to fix or redesign it?
Hopefully, they will see the posts on this forum, but I would contact Lionel directly to make sure.
