Cab Light blinks 3 times Crescent Limited, 4-6-2, (6-11334)

Sounds like you've covered all the bases in the "easy fix" department.

Thanks Marty, I was hoping agains hope I guess.  There was one technique I read that worked. Turning the engine upside down and leaving that way for a night to let the fluid drain out.  I didn't do  this as I was unsure where the drained fluid would go inside the engine and thinking it might make the problem worse.  What's your take on doing this?  

I'm not sure that will help.  If the motor is throwing an error because it has fluid in it that won't get it out.  I've had this a few times.  I got lucky a couple times by adding a drop of oil to the motor shaft.  I've also replaced 2 motors.  It's not a hard job. 

I'm sure guys like GRJ and GGG have done a ton more than me.  Hopefully they may have a few more suggestions before you dive in.  A spare motor or 2 is not a bad thing to have on hand though.

Replace the motor, it's not that difficult.  If you're tried the air and the motor still doesn't run, time to install a new one.  Marty is right, keep a spare motor or two around.  I try to keep the Lionel diagonal mount at the MTH motor, they work in almost all the cases.

OK, thanks. If I screw it up will you fix it for me? 

I'll do most of anything for a price.

Well, alright then. 

Red arrows to body screws.

Thanks. I did replace the fan motor and all is well. I also put power to the old motor I replaced and it ran fine. Why would it cause a problem even though it still spins?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Replace the motor, it's not that difficult.  If you're tried the air and the motor still doesn't run, time to install a new one.  Marty is right, keep a spare motor or two around.  I try to keep the Lionel diagonal mount at the MTH motor, they work in almost all the cases.

What is the part number of the motor, please? I should probably have a few of these in stock.

regards

Roy

6101154130.  I use many of these each month.  If you are testing the motor with a battery, use one with about 5 volts left in it.  Many guys hit the motor with a 9 volt motor and insist the motor is good.  At 9 volts, you can sometimes get a bad motor to spin a bit.  Today, Lionel uses this as the primary motor that fits just about everything.  The same goes for the reservoir/fan chamber.  That motor and reservoir/fan chamber is used in the high end locomotives and LionChief Plus.  I am a fan of this set up.  No longer do we have to be concerned with the resistor hitting the side of the chamber and shorting out.  Even at retail pricing, the smoke fan motor is very cheap.  You are going to pay shipping so you should throw in one or two extras to have on hand.       Being the Lionel Tech for Charles Ro, we order them in batches of 25 often.  This is a good post as it reminded me to get an order in as I am down under 10 on hand.  

FWIW, to get a stock Lionel smoke unit to smoke it's best, throw away the fiberglass pad and use the eight inch rope style wicking (reaganized)  part number 691SMKP008.  If you have to replace the resistor, seat it down a bit lower in the bowl to push the wicking down.  This is so the incoming air from the fan motor does not get blocked in any way by wicking sitting high in the chamber.  .  You want to get all the air flow you can get to push the smoke skyward.

If you are a fan of a big smoke show, contact GRJ  and he can get you hooked up with equipment to get the job done.

ToledoEd posted:

Thanks. I did replace the fan motor and all is well. I also put power to the old motor I replaced and it ran fine. Why would it cause a problem even though it still spins?

The sensor is checking the amount of current the motor draws.  If it's drawing excessive current, it will send out the error code and get turned off.  A normal smoke motor should draw in the 25-40ma range running at 5V. I've found motors that drew around 350-400ma at 5V.  They appeared to run fine, but clearly they won't work in the smoke unit.

Like Marty says, a 9V test is not very informative.

Thanks Gentlemen.

Thanks. I always learn from you guys.