LC+2.0 Big Boy intermittent sound crackle/cut out

Video uploader/player seems broken - the uploader says everything is OK but the player shows a 0s video which is useless...

Seems to have been because the video was recorded in 4k. I exported it at 1080p and uploaded it again and now it seems OK. Good to know!

I had a very similar issue with my Pere Marquette Berkshire. The speaker would "pop" and there would be a periodic crackling sound at specific points on a given layout. I thought it was a track issue since it would occur at specific portions of the layout, but now sound doesn't play at all. All I get are crackling and popping sounds.

I would assume the issue is with the speaker (on both your loco and mine), but it's interesting that Lionel couldn't replicate the problem, which is making me second-guess...

One thing I've noticed about this issue is that it sometimes doesn't start happening until I've been running the engine for a while.

Earlier today I set up a simple oval of track, 060/072 curves with 30" of straight on each side, and ran the big boy around in conventional mode using a spare Z1000 transformer. It took a few minutes, but I did hear some chuffs cutting out as it ran around. I took some video of a loop around. The video file was too big to upload all at once, so I split it into 3 segments. It's sometimes subtle, but I noticed it at a number of points. Each list of times is for the video directly below it.

• 23s
• 39s

• 3s
• 12s

• 16s
• 24s
• 37s
• 39s

You'll notice that this loop of track is Fastrack and I only have a single power drop. However since some cut outs occur when the locomotive is literally on top of the power drop, it doesn't seem like this could be a power delivery issue. Also when running on my layout in a TMCC/Legacy environment, the loco doesn't slow down, lights don't flicker, smoke doesn't stop, etc when the sound cuts out.

If this was somehow power related, is there any reason the sound would be affected when no other part of the locomotive seems to be? Are there any specific potential root causes that would point to?

Just for diagnostic purposes to see if track power is cutting out and causing the crackling, pop the top of the tender off and install the 9 volt battery and see if the issue goes away.

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Just for diagnostic purposes to see if track power is cutting out and causing the crackling, pop the top of the tender off and install the 9 volt battery and see if the issue goes away.

As far as I can tell, this loco doesn't have any place to install a 9V battery.

I'm 99% sure none of the LC+ 2.0 models have battery provisions for the sound.

I had a similar issue with a Lionmaster.  Try cleaner the lens and emitter on the coupler and using a contact cleaner on any of the internal connectors and especially if there is a physical volume knob.

No wireless tether on this one. I actually 3D printed a "belt" for lack of a better term that slides over the combined drawbar/tether and keeps it from loosening up as the loco is running around. The videos I posted earlier were with that attached. Maybe I can use some rubbing alcohol and clean the connectors, though

Much better to use something like Deoxit-D5, made specifically to improve contact functionality.  I actually spray this into a needle-point bottle so I can apply it sparingly, the spray is too energetic.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Much better to use something like Deoxit-D5, made specifically to improve contact functionality.  I actually spray this into a needle-point bottle so I can apply it sparingly, the spray is too energetic.

Thanks @gunrunnerjohn I've ordered some of this to try out!

Well, deoxit hasn't made any permanent difference. May have helped for a few days, but the issue occurred again pretty quickly after it was applied.

I'm currently on hold to speak to Lionel service. I purchased this loco the day after Thanksgiving last year, so the warranty is nearly up. I'm going to ask them to replace it under warranty since I've tried many things to resolve the issue and they weren't able to fix it.

I'll update after I get off the phone with support - stay posted!