Lionel 4-6-4 Hudson Smoke Resistor Problem

Erica Ann,

Welcome to the OGR, the guy you want to Talk with is GunRunnerJohn, he has some of the coolest Chuffer & Smoke Unit on the market today.

Calling Guns the lady needs your professional help!

PCRR/Dave

Hello ERICAANN,

welcome to the forum 

well, the manual for this loco states;

"An idle locomotive will not smoke; press AUX1 and 9 (press for a maximum of 10 seconds) to engage the smoke generator at idle/in neutral. When the smoke unit is on always keep a small amount of smoke fluid in the Locomotive’s smoke generator; the generator’s element can become damaged if operated without fluid. Smoke production is greater at higher voltages and when the Locomotive is pulling a heavy load or long consist."

It's possible the smoke unit has sustained a little damage from the previous owner leaving it on without smoke fluid in it.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I had the same thought about damage from the previous owner. The original wick was very dark around the resistor and the sleeve was pretty toasted. That's why I removed the sleeve and replaced the wick material.

I was going to replace the resistor with a either ceramic coated 25 Ohm or 22 Ohm, 3 watt resistor to increase the smoke output as noted in the many other threads, but was wondering if there might be a problem with the triac that controls that smoke unit on the circuit board that's causing what seems like excessive voltage going to the resistor.

Hi Erica, sounds like you did the right things.  Did you clean out the small air hole in the chamber and not cover it over with the new wicking? Also what material did you use for the wicking?

Hi CCA,

Made sure the two air holes were clean and the piston was free and moving up and down as it should. Spring on the piston is in place. I used pink fiberglass insulation that I cut to size to fit the interior of the smoke unit. Made sure the new wick did not block either one of the air holes.

Welcome Erica Ann,  When you press aux-1 and 9 and  hold it that puts full track power to the smoke unit. Are you saying your just turning the smoke on and the resistor is getting is getting that hot? Do you have a meter?

Doug

Hi Doug,

I have found to turn on the smoke unit requires about a one second hold down of the 9 button using the AUX-1+9 command. Anything longer than that and the resistor begins to glow red even with 4-6 drops of smoke fluid in it.

Yes I do have a meter.

Welcome aboard Erica Ann!!!!

Thank you CHESSIE1971. I appreciate it!

If I'm not mistaken from reading a post by Gun Runner John, I believe the smoke unit should be receiving 9 volts coming from the board when running at 18 volt track power. Could someone confirm this?

Hi Erica Ann welcome to the forum and good luck fixing you engine !

Alan

Lionel made many Hudson locomotives.  It is always a good idea to throw out the product number first.  Welcome to the Forum.

From Erica Ann's initial post;

"my recently purchased Lionel 6-28007, 4-6-4 Hudson."

The product number was provided.

 Welcome to the forum Erica Ann.

Hi.....you are correct.  About 9-12 volts ( depending on where your transformer track voltage is set) the smoke unit when running under TMCC control. When you push #9 this is the on, and smoke boost.  This gives the smoke unit full track voltage while pressed. Only use in short intervals or will overheat the resistor.

Since the smoke unit boost works, I doubt the triac is bad, sounds like replacing the smoke resistor would be a good first step.  I like a 22 ohm for that unit, and I'd suggest gently knocking the ceramic coating off the resistor with a Dremel wire wheel, you'll get better smoke performance.

Thanks for the help guys.

I have ordered both 22 & 25 Ohm, 3 watt ceramic coated wire wound resistors. I'm going to give both a try, but have a feeling the 22 Ohm one is the "hot" setup for this smoke unit. I'll let you know.

I know from reading GUNRUNNERJOHN's past posts on the topic that the 22 OHM resistor shouldn't put too much stress on the triac.

Greg, understood.  It is always good to see a new member that knows enough to do that.  That was an observation of how she presented a good post.  As I stated, Lionel made many Hudson locomotives.  Not everyone gives information (product number) to work with.  She made a smart move by following GRJ.

Erica Ann

Ive heard of some success using pink insulation in the smoke unit but think you might be better off using either MTH or Lionel  wicking material

Welcome to the forum

Hi Steve,

I've used the pink insulation in several locomotives based on the recommendation of my local Lionel repair tech at America's Best Hobby & Trains. Joey is very good at what he does and it seems to work well and it's cheap!

In case anyone's interested, this is my 4-6-4 Hudson after undergoing a complete new paint job and new decals.

The pink fiberglass works OK, but it tends to char quicker than the real wick material.  That just means you have to replace it more often to keep up good smoke performance.