I am having the exact same problem. I have the Lionchief Plus Southern Pacific AA set diesels. I too sent mine back because it had some problems when climbing the graduated trestle and the smoke was sometimes on and sometimes off. I can hear the fan going and when I put my fingers over the smoke stack and remove it I can see some smoke. I can actually feel the air from the fan and sense the heat but can't see the smoke. I've noticed that sometimes it appears as if the smoke fluid isn't burning. I have ran the train for a while and then poured the smoke fluid out. So it's like the fluid isn't brushing up against the wick or it's not getting soaked into the wick.
I have the AF Polar Express set and 2 of the Mikados. they did the same thing. there is a video on YOU TUBE that shows a guy with over 100 smoking engines. and he had the same problem. His advice was to follow Lionel instructions for the 1st few runs. then every time you turn the engine off for the day , add 6-10 drops to the smoke unit. he said it took about a dz times before the engines would smoke at all speeds. some of his locos took over 80 drops before they would smoke non stop and at any speed.
I tried this and it worked for me. it seems that the wick/element is good at low voltage, but as the loco goes faster the fan cools the element off. adding fluid after each run seems to prevent the wick from getting gummed up from half heated fluid build up. eventally the wick stays wet enought at all speeds and smokes very well. hope it helps.
I have an LC+ RS-3, it smokes just fine at all speeds. I run exclusively with the remote with 18 - 19 volts on the track.
After carefull testing, I have found that during slow speed operation the Lionchief Plus engines smoke units work pretty well. When the engine speeds up, it appears that it is no longer producing smoke, which tends to make the operator think it needs more smoke fluid. Unfortulately adding more fluid can easily overflow the reservoir and then the heater has too much liquid to heat.
It appears from my test, that as the engine speed is increased, the fan speed increases also until the fan is moving the air so fast that the smoke is blown away before a visible amount accumulates.
My advice to Lionchief Plus operators is to test the engine at very slow speeds before adding any smoke fluid. It may not need more fluid and too much fluid will gum up the works.
As I said before, I like the Lionchief Plus engines very much but I am disappointed in the smoke units. Given the retail price, it seems they could be a little more robust.
I would like to hear if anyone can confirm my analysis of the fan at higher enginer speeds.
I have the Camelback, and I operate my 4x10 layout with the Williams/Atlas O transformer. I've found that I get the best performance by operating at low speed for about five minutes, until the engine visibly emits strong puffs of smoke. Afterwards I slowly step the throttle up to medium and high speeds, and then I can observe a constant flow of smoke. This is easier with the remote than with the transformer, so give that a try if you're not using it already.
Can't help, but if they are not fan driven smoke units they probably never will smoke you out. I like smoke too but when there's too much I turn them off. So maybe things aren't so bad for you after all.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
I have three Lionchief Plus locomotives which I like very much but I cannot get consistent performance out of their smoke units.
After consulting with Lionel customer support, I suspicioned that I was not getting enough amperage to activate the smoke systems properly.
I invested in a new LZW tranformer which should provide more than enough power and it did cause smoke units to perform better but sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
I had a simple Lionchief steam locomotive which always produced plenty of white smoke. When it stopped smoking, a few drops of smoke fluid fired it up again.
I have sent two of the engines back to Lionel service and they have replaced the smoke units but still I get inconsistent performance.
Any pointers that anyone has would be appreciated. I have tried every combination I can think of and still the locos smoke intermittently.
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