Problems with Lionel CW-80 tranformers

[Anonymous]

I am having the same problem as LesInMo. I thought I was going crazy.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I talked to Lionel and they are going to send me one. When I had talked to my local dealer (I DID NOT BUY THE TRAIN FROM HIM) He stated that Lionel set aside transformers for his customers. If anyone else is having this problem go to the dealer that you bought it from and they maybe able to save you some phone calls.

[Anonymous]

I bought a CW80 over EBay, but have not had a chance to test it as yet. I am almost afraid to plug it in judging from the responses from this and other boards.

[brianel027]

Lionel does not have an 800 number other than a dealer directory. The phone for Lionel is 1-856-949-4100. Customer service takes calls anytime during normal business hours, but I believe the tech department only takes calls Wed-Fri afternoons. At least this was a policy started a couple years ago... maybe due to the large load of repair work??

Maybe the dealer where you bought the transformer will replace it (though it's certainly no fault of his or her own)?

Now for my cynical response: gee, you suppose this could have something to do with the assembly line no longer being across the parking lot, but across the Pacific Ocean instead? There must be even more cost savings by relying on the consumer to perform the duties of the new product testing lab. Is it any wonder so many of us are so determined to stick with older and less electronically complicated items that we know are time tested and true.

brianel, Agent 027

[Anonymous]

Cooker,
I purchased two Lionel train sets this past Christmas. One transformer worked fine, but the other one ran the train very poorly. The train started at a higher throttle setting than the good transformer. As the throttle was advanced, the train speed and voltage climbed and then began to reduce. Then it would catch back up to what it should be and then down again. Around 90% throttle setting, the voltage would drop to zero and the train would stop. Further advancing the throttle would do nothing. Backing the throttle back down to around 80% would bring the voltage back, but the train is now in neutral. Very repeatable.

The dealer said a high percentage of the 80 W transformers are defective and is sending me a replacement. I have yet to recieve it.

[Anonymous]

I am having problems with my new Lionel CW-80 transformer. It seems that I lose the voltage when I connect it to the track or to a light or gate. At the transformer terminal I have 19vac but when I connect the track to the transformer I get 0 vac. I talked to my local Lionel dealer and he stated there is a problem with SOME of these transformers but he did not elaborate. Has anyone had problems with this.. Also, can I assume that I have 0 Vac when the lever is in the down /off position? this is not the case.. When I have NOTHING hooked up I have a constent 19V.... Any suggestions? I just emailed Lionel but if anyone has an 800 # for service that would be great.