stuck whistle.. help

sammi

New Member
i bought my son a lionel starter set for christmas (riding the rails hobo set) with a hudson 4 6 4 steam engine with the air whistle in the tender (no railsounds). Well, he was laying on the whistle for about 8 seconds and when he released the whistle button on the transformer the whistle remained on. It now won't shut off! Any troubleshooting help would be greatly appreciated.
 

SAL Comet

Member
Ha Sammi, welcome to the gauge. My guess would be the button is stuck down. try tapping on it or giggling it sideways to see if will pop back up. Just guessin' thou.
 

sammi

New Member
hey Sal, thanks for the post. I don't think that is the problem. I read in the troubleshooting section of the owners manual that if the "bell" button sounds the "whistle" and the "whistle" button sounds the bell you have the wires for the track reversed. Therefore I deliberately switched the wires thinking that the bell button can be used for the whistle but it still was on all the time. I tried to get into the transformer but it is screwed in with triangle head screws and i don't have that type of screwdriver.
 

SAL Comet

Member
Ha sammi, Since it's new, probably souldn't "open anything". Might void the warrenty. I'd try the simple stuff,(sounds like you have) then use that warrenty you paid for.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
Not sure about current Lionel (I just opened my Wife's new set today!) but the old ones had a relay in the tender that closed when the whistle button was pushed. This then operated the blower that sounded the whistle. It's possible that the relay contacts are stuck together (either mechanical or welded). I would definitely take it back for warranty service where you bought it.
You might try a mild tap on the tender, but not much!
 

Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
Hi sammi,
The newer Lionel whistles use an electronic circuit to detects DC to activate them.
Normally the power pack will put out AC to the track.
When the whistle button is pressed it will send DC to the track.
When the bell button is pressed it sends DC at the opposite polarity.
Since the whistle blows constantly regardless of the polarity, I would say the transistor in the whistle circuit in the tender has gone bad.
 
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