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I am hoping someone might be able to help me.  I just received my Visionline GS-1 Brass Hybrid engine (2031411) back from the Lionel service department.  I had to send it back for repair because the whistle steam smoke unit was not functioning at all.  Lionel repaired the smoke unit and shipped it back to me.  However, when I place the repaired engine on my track and power up the track using the Legacy Cab-2 remote, instead of just the number plates lighting up and then having to power up the engine using the Start Up button, the engine is already "on" with all lights on and smoke coming from the main stack and "at rest" sounds playing from the tender.  All switches under the sand dome on the engine are turned on, except for the Bluetooth switch, and the Run/Program switch is in the Run position.  When I try to communicate with the engine using the Legacy Cab-2 using the Engine ID I had assigned before sending it in for service, it doesn't work.  If I try to communicate with the engine using Engine ID 1 or 99, it doesn't work.  If I turn up the throttle, it doesn't work.  If I try to put the engine in Program mode and assign it an engine ID, it doesn't work.  The Lionel Service department is closed until Monday, so I was hoping someone on the forum might be able to help me before then.  Anyone ever have this happen and/or know how to fix it so that I can communicate with the engine?  Thanks for the help!

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Power it down and back up again. I have seen a glitch with some recent Legacy engines where on first power on- because there are multiple control boards- each with it's own processor trying to run it's code, they get out of sync.

If it STILL doesn't work, then test conventionally, and then test with bluetooth. If those work and TMCC/Legacy still doesn't- then we suspect an antenna problem.

Vernon... thanks for the advice.  I first tried to power up and down a few times with the Legacy Cab-2, and it still didn't work.  I don't think I can try conventional mode as I only have a powerhouse and powermaster synched up to a Legacy system, but maybe I am wrong.  But I did try Bluetooth..... so interestingly, I was able to blow the whistle and ring the bell, but moving the throttle on my phone app would not move the engine in either direction.  The other thing to note is that the cab light flashed once every three seconds or so, which I assume is not a good sign.  Even more disappointing is, when I blew the whistle, I still didn't see any visible smoke coming from the whistle area of the boiler, so not sure if my problem was really fixed or not.  Not sure what else to try.

Beings this engine was just shipped back to you from Lionel, take a good look at the handrails, from one end to the other, …..these are the antennas for the engine, …look carefully and make sure they are not touching anything but the stanchions they are mounted in, and the plastic isolators where they terminate both at the front of the engine, and by the cab ……..I’m with Vernon on this one, it’s sounding like an antenna issue …..

Pat

Thanks to everyone who replied in an effort to help.  I was able to talk to a Lionel technician, and after some efforts to fix the problem over the phone, John, you were correct, it has to go back for repair.  By the way, I was very impressed that when I spoke with the technician, he asked "is this the issue that was posted on the OGR forum?".  Hopefully all will be fixed when I get it back in about a month.  Thanks again for the everybody!!!

@prh2j posted:

Thanks to everyone who replied in an effort to help.  I was able to talk to a Lionel technician, and after some efforts to fix the problem over the phone, John, you were correct, it has to go back for repair.  By the way, I was very impressed that when I spoke with the technician, he asked "is this the issue that was posted on the OGR forum?".  Hopefully all will be fixed when I get it back in about a month.  Thanks again for the everybody!!!

Working now?

BobbyD and Marty... thanks for following up and asking me how it all turned out.  Yes, all is well in the end.  I had to return the engine to Lionel a second time, and this time it came back fully operational.  Thanks to the Lionel Service department for ultimately getting it working properly for me, and also for expediting the service time for me on the second go around.

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