Lionel 6-25412 18" aluminum passenger cars lights not working

@Jeff2035 posted:

The diner car interior lights flash on and off, consistently. (sounds work fine)

Today I put power to the track and now the observation car lights do not work (but the drumhead does work).

1. What could be wrong? (I have many other passenger sets from the early-mid 2000s and I have never had a problem with the lights).

Dirty wheels or rollers?

Mike

Mike, good question.

No, brand new and shiny.

First time they have ever been on the track.

And, I just cleaned all my track two weeks ago before running my new Acela.

If the dining car is flashing at a steady rate, it needs to be reprogrammed.  The lights are driven from the smoke (feature) output of the R2LC, and it's probably programmed to be a strobe.

Thank you.

I’ll check when I get home from work.

These cars also have an interior light on/off switch.  For the observation make sure you didn't accidentally switch it to off.

Marty, thank you.

I have checked the switches and snapped them back and forth several times in case there was some minor corrosion that could be cleared with the motion. No luck.

@Jeff2035 posted:

Thank you.

I’ll check when I get home from work.

Did you get any of them working again?

@Jeff2035 posted:

Mike, good question.

No, brand new and shiny.

First time they have ever been on the track.

Unfortunately they're not brand new even though they may appear to be.  The Lionel website says that these cars were produced in 2005.  That was almost 20 years ago now.

It's not just running on track that could make them dirty.  So, although the wheels haven't been run and may look to be shiny they may be oxidized, or perhaps coated with a protective agent applied at the Lionel plant, or the original manufacturer's plant.   Just sitting in the presence of good old air for all that time might create some oxidation.

These things happen.

Mike

gunrunnerjohn and Mike,

1. I followed the reprogramming instructions in the manual and now the lights do NOT flash. Hurrah.

Great suggestion gunrunner and please don't ask why I did not think of that. The diner now works perfectly, lights and announcements.

2. I just cleaned all the wheels and rollers. And, I always use the Bachman conductive oil on the roller axles and axles on the trucks. However, lights still do not work on the 2 cars, except the drumhead on the observation. If I have time tonight, I will follow the directions in the manual and open up the front end of each car and try separating the plug and checking to see if all the lamps burned out (doubtful). I will verify the plug connections are tight and free of corrosion. Mike, thanks for the suggestions.

Success! Corrosion was the culprit.

Not on the plugs, though.

The ground wire coming out of the floor is connected to the outside of the floor by a screw holding down the solder lug that the wire is soldered to.

When I removed the screw and lug, the screw holes and area around them looked a little cloudy. I took a fine file and polished them up.

I then reattached everything and put the cars on the track (a coach and the observation car) and wow, the lights worked. Thanks gunrunner and Mike.

We love success stories.