# Fried my new LionChief Plus Hudson?



## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Earlier this week, a sagging curved section of RealTrax, caused my beautiful running and brand new Lionel LionChief Plus Hudson to de-rail and fall about 4 feet down to the carpet.
No visible damage, and unfortunately I do not recall whether or not I tested it just after the fall.
Regardless, today I went to run it and heard an ugly buzzing sound.
I turned it off after about a second or two.
I checked my layout wiring, and turned the power on and heard the buzzing again, and quickly killed the power. 
Again, no more than 1 second.
On the 3rd try, I realized the sound was from my LionChief Plus Hudson and I could smell something burning(?).
Killed the power and removed it's board which has that same burnt(?) smell.

I am no expert, I do not see anything visibly burnt, but here are photos of the board from all angles:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd send it back to Lionel and let them fix it.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Ouch!
I agree with GRJ. It means a trip back to the manufacturer.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Would it not be easier to just buy the board from Lionel?
Or maybe they do not sell it?
I can install circuit boards like Gandalf casts spells.
Regardless, I will contact them and see what they say about a repair.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Those boards will be exchange only. Is this out of warranty? If it's a warranty repair, just send the whole thing back.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Brand new, about a week or two old.
My fault because it fell off the layout.
There is an authorized Lionel Dealer near me, I guess I should call them as well.


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## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

Removing the board might void the warranty. At least that is what I have bee told by Lionel


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## Todd Lopes (Nov 11, 2015)

I'd put it all back together, call Lionel, get a RMA and ship it back to service. It's brand new.


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## ErnestHouse (Sep 6, 2015)

Yup. They generally stop working after you let the smoke out of them.


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## Hudson J1e (Nov 19, 2015)

Sorry to hear this. I hope you can get it fixed.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

The purchase was a NIB ebay purchase, but open box as the seller tested the engine.
Thus, I am not the original purchaser.
I contacted Lionel via email, and will call them if I do not hear back from them this week.
There is an authorized Lionel Service Center here "Hobby Town USA", and they are about the most expensive place you can buy trains from.
I cringe at the thought of repair prices if they work on it, which is why I hope Lionel will take it and fix it or give me the board to fix (exchange or purchase $55).
I am so angry at myself for letting this happen.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Vince, before you put the new board in and test it, you'll want to make SURE of what cooked the old board! Since it died when you powered it up, one has to assume something caused that to happen, you need to address that issue before cooking another board.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

That is a good point GRJ, I know it was not the track, and even though it fell 4 ft to the carpet, that shell is so thick and strong, there was no visible signs of damage or loose connections.
I am hoping just re-seating all those connections will fix it.
But then there is that burning smell..that cannot be good.
I wondered if maybe the issue was the tender, but it looks fine and only contains a speaker.
When the event happened, all of the MTH lock-ons were dimly lit and fluctuating during the ugly buzzing noise, which seemed to me to be coming from the engine.
As soon as I removed the Hudson, I powered up the track and all MTH lock-ons were lit and steady with no buzzing.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd carefully inspect ALL the wiring and connections to make sure nothing got bent/broken/shorted to the frame or between connections. Obviously, something was shorted to draw a lot of current and cook whatever went up in smoke.


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## larry g (Oct 8, 2012)

*Electric Trains vs Electronic Trains*

I certainly don't want to make Chipset feel any worse, and I know modern trains do totally amazing things, and I know I am in the minority here, and all of you guys are probably going to jump down my throat when I say it but.........................

There is really something to be said for old fashioned post war* Electric *Toy Trains when it comes to durability and repairability. 

When I added a Rail Sounds tender to my conventional layout, I quickly burned out my new sound activator buttons from derailment shorts. Members of this forum were instrumental in helping me install a 6V automotive circuit breaker and a Zener diode into my conventional ZW powered circuit. I also added a toggle switch, so that I can isolate the sound activator buttons from the circuit when I am not playing with the horns, whistles or bells. 

Thanks to you all, this has worked great, but I am cautious about adding too many modern chip boards to my conventionally powered layout. As a 64 year old neophyte, I am learning as I go about simple electric motors and their diagnosis and repair. Parts are available and cheap. Knowledge is available right here in this forum. You cook an electronic circuit board and you are at the mercy of a professional outfit for the repair work.
From working with computer applications and depending on IT departments, I eventually deduced that, in electronics there is very little real diagnosis going on beyond "guess which part has failed, replace it, if it doesn't solve the problem replace another."

Sorry for the long diatribe, but although I envy all the super cool things that your modern trains do, I have to remind my self that I really enjoy the fun and and nostalgia I get from playing with (and repairing) *Post War Toy Electric Trains*. ( Even though I still don't have everything I designed into my layout tweaked and functioning properly yet.) 

Is there anyone else out there on this forum who also leans towards Post War Toys vs. Modern Scale Trains?


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'd carefully inspect ALL the wiring and connections to make sure nothing got bent/broken/shorted to the frame or between connections. Obviously, something was shorted to draw a lot of current and cook whatever went up in smoke.


I believe I know what happened..it was not the fall.
In the mess that is layout construction, instead of powering it up with my transformer, I accidently powered up the track it was on "directly" from a MTH Z-1000 brick to the track.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

larry g said:


> I certainly don't want to make Chipset feel any worse, and I know modern trains do totally amazing things, and I know I am in the minority here, and all of you guys are probably going to jump down my throat when I say it but.........................
> 
> There is really something to be said for old fashioned post war* Electric *Toy Trains when it comes to durability and repairability.


The nice part of this hobby is there's room for everyone and every taste.


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## larry g (Oct 8, 2012)

*Yes*



gunrunnerjohn said:


> The nice part of this hobby is there's room for everyone and every taste.


Yes! And it is also the nice part of this forum and the people who make it up
:smilie_daumenpos:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

chipset35 said:


> I believe I know what happened..it was not the fall.
> In the mess that is layout construction, instead of powering it up with my transformer, I accidently powered up the track it was on "directly" from a MTH Z-1000 brick to the track.


That shouldn't do anything to an LC or LC+ locomotive, they're designed to handle full transformer voltage.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> That shouldn't do anything to an LC or LC+ locomotive, they're designed to handle full transformer voltage.


ok cool, well Lionel got back to me super fast less than 24 hours!
$65 for the replacement board and includes shipping.
Only problem is I still have those last 3 connections to make and without Lee telling me based on his Hudson or showing me a picture, i will have to email Lionel again per the Lionel Ladys instructions as the board comes with no documentation.


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