# Lionel 5344 Issues



## NYC 5344 (Dec 26, 2012)

Hello, I'm new here, but I'm not new to the hobby.

My issue is that several months ago, I bought a Lionel Vision Line 5344 J1-e Hudson. I put it on the track, started driving it, and in 15 minutes I was in love with it. I drove it off and on for about a month on carpet layouts in TMCC, and then it was put in a display case with all of my other Lionel trains. 

Fast forward to Christmastime. We set up our annual Christmas "yard" under the tree featuring our collection of now 4 TMCC/Legacy engines, countless rolling stock, and tubular O track. Everything runs fine, except that every once in a while, while running the 5344, I hear a clicking noise. I looked and figured that it had to do with the motor connection to the drive wheels. The clicking is in sync with the rotation of the motor. Before I go opening up this $1600 engine, does anyone have a suggestion or has anyone encountered this kind of issue?

Thanks in advance.


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## pookybear (Feb 3, 2011)

The key word in your discription is "Carpet". It sounds like either a build up of
carpet fibers or most likely the motor picked something up that is now making
noise.

Note, never run engines on carpet they always need some king of "roadbed" 
under the track. Even cardboard will do in a pinch.

Maybe someone else has an idea as well.

Pookybear


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

That is a nice engine.:thumbsup:

Besides what Pook said do you think it would have anything to do with the sound system?
I don't have any of the fancy stuff, just the old post war trains. So I don't know much about the sound setup in your fancy engine.
So I am just asking this about the sound, everything I read about your engine pulls up the word Synchronized concerning the sounds.

One copy and paste,
Synchronizes realistic sounds to nearly all aspects of locomotive operation, features, and effects.

Is there a way to turn off the sounds all together to see if it still makes the clicking sound?
Would it be possible that a part of the sounds that it produces is malfunctioning?

A copy and paste of the sound features from the Lionel site,



LEGACY RailSounds system
Synchronizes realistic sounds to nearly all aspects of locomotive operation, features, and effects.
Two state of the art FatBoy speakers for the ultimate in sound reproduction.
Realistic user-controlled sounds synchronized to *TruRail Steam* features including whistle steam
Independently adjustable volume control allows you to use the Remote Controller to lower the level of background effects (such as chuffing) while keeping operator-controlled effects (such as the whistle) at full volume
Bell sounds are synchronized to actual movement of swinging bell
*TruRail Dialog* – Activate upgraded dialog features which boast the most realistic dialogue scenes and authentic railroad terminology possible. 
Dialog scenes can change with engine operation and user control.
Six official railroad speeds with CrewTalk dialogue
*TruRail Signals* – Activate the "quilling" whistle and user playable bell featuring continuous or single strike sounds with variable intensity. There's a dedicated CAB-2 control for both whistle and bell functions.
*TruRail Laboring* – Control the variable laboring sounds with 32 levels of simulated dynamic load of the locomotive.
*TruRail Chuff* – Experience prototypical four-chuffs per revolution chuffing sound synchronized with linkage and drive wheel position.


With all those features I wonder if one of them is screwing up?


I guess you looked at all the running rods real good, and checked to see if any were loose?
That doesn't have magnatraction right? So I am guessing that no metal got sucked up into the gears.


Does the engine still run good?


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## NYC 5344 (Dec 26, 2012)

Well, carpet is not the problem. The carpet is not "poofy" at all. There are no fibers to get caught in the engine. I have had experience repairing my uncle's engine with cotton from his Christmas layout stuck in the wheels, so I am extra careful in this regard. And I know that it is not the sound system because if I manually turn the wheels on the engine itself, I still get the noise. It almost sounds as if the linkage between the motor and drive wheels is loose and is hitting something as it spins. Anyone else here have this problem?


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## NYC 5344 (Dec 26, 2012)

Oh and correct, it does not have magnatraction. It uses traction tires. It runs perfectly fine, but there is just the incessant clicking noise to irritate me.


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

IMHO I would never run a $1k+ engine on the floor, they are just way to valuable for that use. Consider yourself lucky that you are not in need of a $300 repair assuming parts are even available.

Now, as for clicking, those legacy engines have synchronized smoke puff output to the drivers. Is the clicking you hear the normal sound of a small switch being closed by the driver movement? In other words, is the clicking a bug or a feature?

Normally I assume the sound of the engine drowns out the click but have y0ou turned down the railsounds?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Are you sure the clicking isn't in the running gear, specifically the connecting rods?


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