Problem with PE Locomotive please help

[ARRCDSPR]

I have a problem with a Lionel Polar Express Set I just purchased and I am looking for some advice or suggestions. I am new to the hobby and bought a PE set online with two fastrack addon sets (inner loop and outer passing track) and the 5" and 4.5" small straight sections required to put it all together. When I took the set out of the box the Instruction DVD did not work. It just made a horrible sound in my DVD player (other DVDs work fine). So I had to use the small paper instruction booklet to put the set together. Unfortunately, this booklet does not have a troubleshooting guide so I am asking the community for your help. Anyway, after setting the track up under the tree and hooking up the transformer, I put the train on the track and slowly opened the throttle and nothing happened. Well, almost nothing the lights in the passenger cars came on but the locomotive did not work. I rechecked all the sections of track, made sure they were all tight together, I checked the transformer connections, I made sure the flanges on the trucks were properly on the ball of the rail. I even ran a small K-Line ARRC MOW Speeder around the track and it worked fine. The headlight does not work and tender whistle does not work. The wheels on the locomotive seemed to be locked up. I figure either I must be missing some little thing or I have a defective locomotive. If it is defective what do I do? I live in Alaska and there are no Lionel dealers up here that I know about. Any suggestions?

[MartyE]

I'm not sure this applies since your headlight is not coming on but it's a shot. Check the switch inside the cab of the locomotive and make sure it is in the "ON" position. This might have gotten thrown and locked the engine in nuetral. Also check the pickup rollers for and gunk although being new I doubt it.

If you move it a bit on the track while the transformer is on does the light come on at all? Also the whistle is polarity sensitive so make sure the Red output of the transformer is going to the center rail and the Black to the outside rails.

Let us know...hopefully with the brain trust here we can get you going!

[spankybird]

Does the new Lionel engines start in netural? If so, then you will have to press the direction button once to put it in forward.

[ARRCDSPR]

First of all thanks for the suggestions. I called Lionel Tech Support today and figured out the problem. They were helpful but I still am not too happy about Lionel's quality control. The red wire (postive connection - I think) was dissconneted to the locomotive electric motor so I will need to run to the local hobby shop to get that fixed. As for the tender, I computer board is b/o and they are sending me a new one as well as a new DVD. Both of these repairs I will need to pay for out of pocket which is not problem for me but if I was a kid? I mean to have three broken things right out of the box is just not accecptable. I thought Lionel was known for its durabilitly. Overall, I would give Lionel an F for quality control, an C- for tech support, and a B for its product. I think that would average around a D to D+. Are you listening Neil?

[Anonymous]

"Both of these repairs I will need to pay for out of pocket which is not problem for me but if I was a kid?"

Isn't the set under warranty? What are you being charged for?

"Any warranted product which is defective in original materials or workmanship and is delivered by the original consumer-purchaser to Lionel L.L.C. or an authorized Lionel L.L.C. Service Center, together with proof of original purchase will, at the option of Lionel L.L.C., be repaired or replaced, without charge for parts or labor. In the event the defective product cannot be repaired, and a replacement is not available, a refund of the original purchase price will be granted. Any products on which warranty service is sought must be sent freight or postage prepaid, as transportation and shipping charges are not covered by the warranty."

[ARRCDSPR]

I need to clarify something in order to be fair to Lionel. Yes the product is under warranty, although since I bought the product online and I live in Alaska and there are no "...authorized Lionel L.L.C. Service Center." within 5 hour drive. Furthermore, "Any products on which warranty service is sought must be sent freight or postage prepaid, as transportation and shipping charges are not covered by the warranty.", the shipping charges far out exceed the cost of repair not to mention the shipping time. It is just the price you pay to live in such a beautiful state. Therefore, I will pay for the repair at the local hobby shop and it all be good. Bottom line - the kid will have a train under the tree. Although this brings up another point. Since our hobby shops do not carry many Lionel or O gauge products i.e. Fastrack, if I want to expand my empire what is the best online hobby store?

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ARRCDSPR

I Since our hobby shops do not carry many Lionel or O gauge products i.e. Fastrack, if I want to expand my empire what is the best online hobby store?

Try
Davis Trains
Charles Ro
Justrains

[cnw1995]

Just goes to show what I'm thinking about - I thought PE meant Pacific Electric...

[Anonymous]

I had, and still have, the same problem you seem to be having with the whistle on the Polar Express tender. Great train set by the way. Santa set the train set up the night before and tested to make sure all worked. The engine worked, the lights worked but the whistle did not. Today, the day after Christmas, I took the tender apart to make sure all the wires were connected properly; all appeared in order. I had, before that, also made sure that the red wire of the terminal track was connected to the center rail of the track and that the black wire was connected to the outside rail of the track. Put everything back together and all worked again, except for the whistle. So here is what I did next. Took the red terminal wire and connected it to the black post on the transformer and connected the black terminal wire to the red post on the transformer. Slowly increased power and the whistle worked; it remained on steady until I pressed the whistle button on the transformer. Problem is you would have to hold the transformer’s whistle switch constantly to keep the whistle off and let go to have it on. I am not an electrician, but it seems there is a problem with the wiring somewhere. You might at least try the above method to make sure the whistle motor inside the tender works and maybe someone else here can post additional assistance for both of us. Happy Holidays to all!!

Regards
Jacques

QUOTE: Originally posted by ARRCDSPR

I have a problem with a Lionel Polar Express Set ... tender whistle does not work. I live in Alaska and there are no Lionel dealers up here that I know about. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I have the same whistle problem with my PE set (Christmas too). I switched the wires on the transformer and it worked but would not stop as well. Anyone know how to fix it without tech support and new parts. I am in the Military in Germany and wouldn't you know it, NO LIONEL DEALERS!

[Anonymous]

Add another PE with problems. Our whistle stayed on all the time as well. And to silence it, you had to press the "Bell" button down on the CW80.

Then after an hour or so I think our 4yo bumped the track and the train derailed. And since then, the CW80 does not work at all. (No green light, no output at all_

Luckly, I have a 40W controller from another starter set to keep the 4yo happy. Even that one works for a while, then the contoller does not switch directions. Maybe with the engine and the couch lights going, might be a bit much. Have to turn all power off for an hour or so before the controller allows train to switch directions.

I'll be calling Lionel tomorrw (Dec 27) to see what is up with the CW80.

[daan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevin.m.harvey

I have the same whistle problem with my PE set (Christmas too). I switched the wires on the transformer and it worked but would not stop as well. Anyone know how to fix it without tech support and new parts. I am in the Military in Germany and wouldn't you know it, NO LIONEL DEALERS!

There is a Lionel dealer, but not in Germany. He's in Switserland, so you could ring them and ask what they think it could be (the speak german and Schwiizerdüütsch) The dealer locating service on Lionel.com will provide you the number and adress. (but they are not exactly cheap, as you would know. It's switserland.)

By the way, where in Germany are you stationned?

[daan]

Kevin, you could also try these guys:

Sie finden uns in Dresden,
in der Passage des
City-Center-Dresden Montag bis Freitag von 9-19 Uhr
Sonnabend von 9-14 Uhr


Unsere Geschäftsadresse:
Friedrich List-Platz 2
01069 Dresden
Telefon: 03 51 - 4 96 58 31
Telefax: 03 51 - 4 96 58 33

This is a germans USA train shop, also selling 0 gauge.

Or the american train shop:

Monica Ross
Rebhuhnweg 58
22459 Hamburg

Tel : 040 / 552 58 94
Fax: 040 / 552 58 94
email: [e-mail]

And last but not least "Spur O shop" on ebay.de, also having spareparts.

[Anonymous]

COtrain,
let me know what they say about the CW80, ditto on the problem there as of a few hour ago!

daan,
Thanks for the numbers, I will give them a try. I am in Wurzburg.

[daan]

@Kevin, when my topography doesn't leave me blind, I guess Würzburg is quite a bit out of direction from Dresden or Hamburg. As far as I know the "spur 0 shop" from the german ebay operates from München, which should be closer.
The swiss dealer is in Kloten, near Zürich, which is also closer to you as Hamburg or Dresden, but you'll also have an hour or 2 to drive down there. They are however official Lionel dealer, so the should handle warranty as well. (though I doubt that the swiss "Geschäftsleute" will give warranty on anything not purchased at their place).
They could however give some information. Their telephone number is 00-41-1-8097050 and they also sell the polar express set. ( www.lionel-europa.ch )

[Anonymous]

Called Lionel today. However, they are closed for the holidays.

I'll try and take the CW80 to one of the local (In Denver, CO area) and see what they come up with.

We will see if it will be covered under warranty.

[ADCX Rob]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacques_G

I had, and still have, the same problem you seem to be having with the whistle on the Polar Express tender. Great train set by the way. Santa set the train set up the night before and tested to make sure all worked. The engine worked, the lights worked but the whistle did not. Today, the day after Christmas, I took the tender apart to make sure all the wires were connected properly; all appeared in order. I had, before that, also made sure that the red wire of the terminal track was connected to the center rail of the track and that the black wire was connected to the outside rail of the track. Put everything back together and all worked again, except for the whistle. So here is what I did next. Took the red terminal wire and connected it to the black post on the transformer and connected the black terminal wire to the red post on the transformer. Slowly increased power and the whistle worked; it remained on steady until I pressed the whistle button on the transformer. Problem is you would have to hold the transformer’s whistle switch constantly to keep the whistle off and let go to have it on. I am not an electrician, but it seems there is a problem with the wiring somewhere. You might at least try the above method to make sure the whistle motor inside the tender works and maybe someone else here can post additional assistance for both of us. Happy Holidays to all!!

Regards
Jacques

You have a transformer problem... the "Bell" button is stuck "activated". Stuck buttons and/or no tactile feel to the three buttons was an issue with some CWs

Rob.

[Anonymous]

I emailed Lionel 3 days ago and told tm the problem with the whistle. Here is what I recieved today...

TECH SUPPORT
<[e-mail]>to me
More options 2:51 pm (1 hour ago)
It sounds like your whistle button is stuck. We will send you a replacement transformer. Just cut the cord and throw the old one away.

Thank you,
Lionel




>>> <[e-mail]> 12/26/05 11:16 AM >>>

From:
Kevin Harvey

[e-mail]

Product Number: 73-1960-250 8/04
Club Membership Number: N/A

Question:
My Polar Express tender will not whistle under normal setup. If I cross the red and black wires to the transformer, the whistle is constant. What do I do to fix it?

I picked the right hobby!

[SchemerBob]

Funny, I ordered my PE set off the internet (eHobbies) and when it arrived there were no problems. Although, the DVD didn't work. It just spun around in the player and then some weird message came up on the screen. Tried it again and it still didn't work. So I just used the little instuction manual. Since it worked, I didn't really need the DVD, which seems to be a complete joke anyways.