Lionel Pennsy K4 Loco sound and smoke problems

[Anonymous]

I got this RTR Freight set 2 or 3 Christmases ago. It took about 2 months before I finally got some track down and ran it for the first time, it hasn't been back in the boxes since. Sometimes months will pass without it being run.
I realize this is probably not the ideal environment for it, however, it is what it is.
The problem(s) I am having are first) It doesn't seem to want to smoke any more.....I have taken off the cover the place where the smoke comes from still get very hot (so not sure why there is no smoke) second) I went to run it the other night and the "synchronized chuffing" sound isn't working consistently...can anyone tell me, is this perhaps a loose wire, or more likely dirty pickup wheels?? Please help if you can, I appreciate it very much.

Chris

[spankybird]

When was the last time you put smoke fluid in the engine and how much [?]

[Anonymous]

Occasionally I would put the suggested 8 drops, however thinking that there may still be some still in there, would just put 2 or 3, and when I had the cover off, I actually took the smoke chamber apart, and found that there may have actually been too much in there and took out the absorbent material and dabbed it out on a paper towel, which after I posted this tonight, I went down, put 5 drops and found that occaissionally I can see puffs of smoke......so getting that excess fluid may have been the key. Any thoughts on the intermittent chuffing?

[ben10ben]

The set probably has a microswitch sitting over the smoke unit lever to activate the chuffing sound. If smoke fluid drips down on it, the contacts in the switch can go bad, and you'll get intermittant chuffing. Lionel should send you a free replacement, and it's easy to install if you know how to solder.

Regarding the smoke, it's possible that you have a jammed piston, flooded unit, or too little fluid. If you've added fluid, turn it upside down and let it drain. If you haven't added fluid, add 4-6 drops. If it's a jammed piston, you should be able to tell, and it shouldn't be too difficult to free.