Thanks for the info. I tried the tender by itself. I get bell & whistle no other sounds in either R/S or signal sounds mode. I'm using conventional Z4000 I haven't tried my Lionel TMCC early version.
When I coupled the engine back to the tender, slow speed backward & forward, bell & whistle,lights No smoke, or idle sounds
At least I haven't seen or smelled smoke from any of the boards. Thanks for the heads up about staying with the same thread.