Lionel Southern Crescent

I suppose keeping it shut off is out of the question?  Since I get skewed by the other person that lives here if I "stink up the house" by running smoke, it would be a good options for me. 

if its only 8 months old, still under warrenty.

I wouldnt do anything drastic until I contacted Lionel.

and/or take it to  aservice station.

Three blinks is a problem with the smoke unit fan, it seems Lionel has gotten a bad "batch" of these fans in the last couple of years there have been numerous posts with the same issue.

I've had the same problem with my legacyk4, fan was noisy out of the box,oiling made it last another year then it quit altogether and I got the three cab light blinks.

I decided to fix it myself as a replacement fan is a fraction of the shipping to Lionel. The new fan makes almost no noise and the shutdown/three blinks resets automatically the instant the problem is fixed.

If your comfortable tinkering, replacing the fan will likely fix the issue, if not, contact Lionel via email at the "service/repair" question topic on this link:

http://www.lionel.com/ContactUs/

Rick

Have you powered off you engine for awhile such as for 30 min and try to turn it back on and see if the smoke fan unit works at all?

Ken

Directions for blinking light in the cab are in the owners manual on page 31.

Locomotive Diagnostics.

Powering it off, or reprogramming the id# will reset the diagnostic as well.However, the locomotive tests the fan the instant the loco is powered up, if it senses too much draw it will shutdown and blink the cab light again.

Mine does the same thing but since I don't use smoke I just let it slide. Runs very nice and has become a favorite to just let it go.

Send it back to Lionel, my Legacy 4-4-2 had the smoke problem, as well as my Legacy Shay and my Legacy SD70Ace. I am 3 for 3 on Lionel Legacy engines so far having to be returned for smoke unit failures right out of the box. Lionel's Service Dept. is the best, they almost have to be since their Quality Control is in the toilet. I am waiting for UPS to deliver today my 4-4-2 which was in for both smoke units not working right out of the box. I shipped it to them Monday last week and they received it Wednesday afternoon. Quick turn around with Lionel Service, Mike R. is doing a great job over there. If you are a veteran they will provide free shipping.

Gee I hope mine works better then that when it arrives this afternoon. If not back it goes.

Thanks everyone,

i would take it to an authorized service center but the closest one is a 3hour drive away.

I think I will leave the smoke off till I get up the nerve to try and replace the fan.  Is there directions for this proceedure anywhere?

you might get lucky and when you

iopen her up, it may just be a loose wire

Haven't got it on the track as UPS just delivered it, but the report from the Tech at Lionel states they replaced the fan motor part #6101154130 and the gasket/fan housing, part # 6101150208. I have read numerous reports that it is the fan housing gasket as well as the fan motor, and some fine tuning to the gasket has to be done also. Call them and get a RA and send it back. You only pay shipping one way if not a Veteran, probably less then $15.00.

I agree Lionel is doing a great job with there service; even though, my smoke unit is still not properly working.  They let you know via email when they received your engine and notify you when it is being shipped back.  Unfortunately, my issue happens irregularly so at this point I am thinking it would be better to take it to service center to show them what is happening in person rather than sending it back and Lionel not finding anything wrong with it again. 

Test ran mine and wow, she sure smokes now! The whistle smoke is as heavy as the stack though lol!