I would be careful poking things down the stack,might damage a heating element or something.
I think that many good issues have been raised. for now the answer is to get the feel of the smoke feature and pick up tips where you can.
jim pastorius posted:I would be careful poking things down the stack,might damage a heating element or something.
And when you do, don't get mad if Lionel charges for the repair.
Quite the thread. I am not much for smoke so I don't expect to have this problem. Put a few drops in, make sure it works, shut the smoke off.
Let me and anyone else who has Lionel's ear suggest a solution on future engines. Install an overflow tube on the smoke chamber so excess fluid is ducted under the engine onto the track. All modern sinks and bathtubs use this method as well as most gas tanks on motorcycles. When you see oil on the tracks you know you are putting too much in. Less of a problem than damaging the circuitry.
Pete
PJB,
your comments - about the manufacturer having no culpability for something which is obviously a design defect
Where did I say those words? Please, help me understand! (Now, I'm intentionally being condescending!)
I'm done trying to have a conversation with someone who resorts to smoke and mirrors when he doesn't have the spine to own up to what he meant by his words.
I'll forgive you the personal insult (aka "mud slinging") in light of the good news that you're finally done misinterpreting my statements to match your distorted view of the world.
I think you guys are being too hard on the OP. Yes he may of have made a mistake but lets have a show of hands of everybody that never made a mistake.
Also condescending responses does nobody any good. I'm surprised by some of the people who criticized the OP and others.
I am also surprised by Lionel wanting to Charge $300 to fix the big boy.
Believe me if it was me and I spent $2000 on a engine and I had his problems and Lionel wanted to charge me $300 for the fix, I would have told them to refund me the amount I paid for the engine.
Was there ever a solution to this Big Boy? Was it repaired? What was the final outcome.
I'm wondering which of the three smoke fluid fill ports is the most vulnerable to overfilling & leaking on the circuit board? My guess is it's the one under the sand dome next to the switches...
Joe
Yes it was Repaired I had to pay for repairs .I did not receive old parts back.
I am late to this post but here goes. I feel sorry for the original OP because...
I had same issue because fluid on rcmc or what ever that boards name is it lies directly underneath the fill tube for the blowdown smoke unit and guess what 2 screws for the blow down fill tube on mine were stripped guess where the smoke fluid went for the blow down fill tube. now granted mine was most likely the rarity but is possible more than one had same issue as mine?
now to be fair on this yes I did open mine up knowing warranty voided but I fixed my fill tube but was already to late rcmc board was already kaput and I also pinched antenna wire and fixed it lionel said no to warranty work due to tampering so I also paid $300 for its repair to replace that rcmc board the antenna wire and ironically the small heat sensor near front smoke stacks.
now there is a small plastic sheet but it does not cover the rcmc board entirely and spilt smoke and or leaking fluid from that tube will find its way onto that board !! draw your own conclusions from that.
point being if more BBoys come in with same board issue maybe lionel should see a pattern and yes step up to the plate and give others benefit of the doubt is all I'm saying if engine shows no tampering by owner.
Joe ..... you are correct the most vulnerable board is directly under the switch cover plate for the blow down fill tube!
Threads like this is why I don't use smoke...
feel for the OP.
StPaul posted:I am late to this post but here goes. I feel sorry for the original OP because...
I had same issue because fluid on rcmc or what ever that boards name is it lies directly underneath the fill tube for the blowdown smoke unit and guess what 2 screws for the blow down fill tube on mine were stripped guess where the smoke fluid went for the blow down fill tube. now granted mine was most likely the rarity but is possible more than one had same issue as mine?
now to be fair on this yes I did open mine up knowing warranty voided but I fixed my fill tube but was already to late rcmc board was already kaput and I also pinched antenna wire and fixed it lionel said no to warranty work due to tampering so I also paid $300 for its repair to replace that rcmc board the antenna wire and ironically the snip...
It's kind of a dilemma since you clearly only opened it up because there was something wrong with it. And it begs the question if Lionel's tech would have correctly diagnosed it due to the stripped screws and fill tube. So it should have been warranty.
But on the other hand, setting a precedent of fixing engines that were opened up is a risk. Not all if many at all are capable of self repair without increasing the damage. So it's a logical policy for a company to reject warranty, but I don't like it. I would hope they lost a tidy sum on fixing customer Vision Line warranties before this rule was made.
A few things why cant lionel coat there boards with something to make them fluid proof? Also id be tempted to open that up myself and replace them or is the issue parts arent out? My other question is will all the technology why cant they make either a indicator light or a shut off when the fluid gets low. Honestly i hate adding smoke to my VL BB Because always worry about over filling or then it vapor locks. Sometimes if i go a few drops to much then i have to run it a bit to get it smoking. But then i want to make sure it dosent burn the batting hate to have replace that. Also lionel wanted 100 bucks to replace my smoke unit VL hudson. Ended up doing that myself for alot less. With help from people on this forum thank you
StPaul posted:
Joe ..... you are correct the most vulnerable board is directly under the switch cover plate for the blow down fill tube!
Blow down on the BB is ejected differently then how steam on this model is released. When you think about it, Its pure fantasy. Besides, Lionel put the fill port precariously next to switches and circuits below it. The O ring seal is a joke that keeps popping off and worse, blow down smoke when it works is erratic. Best thing to do is lift the sand dome cover, turn blow down switch off and forget it exists. Lionel charging $300.00 for repair while under warranty on a bad design is an outrage.
joe
