Modern Lionel General O Gauge 4-4-0 Locomotive Repair Attempt

Hi folks, welcome to MTS. I have a modern Lionel General 4-4-0 steam locomotive that I picked up off eBay as not working. The description stated that when powered up it would not run; engine sounds like it’s working, but nothing happens. This repair went off the rails, so to speak. I had to edit out about 45 minutes of raw video just trying to figure this one out. While my original diag was correct, I ended up going through another electronic reverse board. Also encountered an issue I,ve not come across before. I wanted to share this video just to let everyone see that sometimes, these projects don’t pan out. On the plus side, I now have experience putting these modern generals together and taking them apart(now that I’ve done it 3 times). Hope you enjoy the video, and at the very least pick up something out of it. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you down the line. 

[@joshuacampbell9990]

I’m going to begin with the statement that I in no form am an expert. Nor do I work on many trains with anything associated with circuit boards. However in my job I do find myself working on circuit boards occasionally. So with all that out of the way, can you see if there is a swelled/busted capacitor? Or have you ohm tested the resistors? If you brush up on testing all that you could turn that $90 repair into $.30 maybe a dollar. That is if the part isn’t proprietary like it is for some items I wind up working on. But it could be possible that if you have a techy friend who knows a little about board repairs that could help diagnose the problem rather than replace the whole board. If a circuit on the board is burned out, there are ways to repair that as well. Just food for thought and something I’ve often wondered about when someone has board issues with some of this stuff.

[@CVA34WestPac]

If the driver board only works in one direction for example it only runs in reverse. You can reverse the two wires at the DC can drive motor so that the locomotive will work in forward direction only. Place a label on the bottom of the locomotive saying that it doesn't run in reverse. I agree it doesn't make sense to spend $50 to fix a $50 locomotive.

[@sarahwelch99]

*Promosm*