Lighting on my SP Mountain?

[Chesticus]

I bought a Spectrum 2-8-4 (or 2-8-2 it is down stairs) with DCC and sound. The head light does not work. The reverse is working, but not the front. Are these hard to work on? Or should I pack it up and get it into a shop? Or am I doing something wrong?

Just askin' Thanks for your time.

Jim Lowery

PS. They did a great job on these engines. I looked for a long time to find one. I got it at a show for $175. Light or no light it is a great buy.

[jonathan]

Chesticus,

If you have an SP Mountain, it is a 4-8-2.  The 2-8-4 (Berkshire) is not a Spectrum model and would have an after-market sound system in it.  The 2-8-2 (SY) was not available in SP markings.  So I suspect you have the 4-8-2 SP Mountain; a fine locomotive indeed.

There are two possibilities:

1.  The last person who ran this model, used a DCC system and turned the light off.  You would have to find someone with a DCC layout, who could turn the light back on for you.

2.  The light is burnt out or a wire has come loose.  I believe all versions of the Mountain used LED lights, which are typically mounted in the metal frame pieces inside the locomotive.  The light is transmitted to the headlight through a round, plastic bar from inside.  To check and/or replace the LED you would need to remove the shell to get at the LED and its wires.

If you mouse up to, and click on, the 'parts & service' tab above, then click on 'product reference', you should be able to find a diagram of your locomotive.  This will help you figure out how to remove the shell without damaging it.

These are just guesses, of course.  Others may have a better idea than me.

Regards,

Jonathan

Addendum:  I notice one version of the DCC/Sound Heavy Mountain had the light mounted on the pilot.  Haven't seen one of those in person.

As an aside, I recently discovered that you could mount a decoder in backwards, and the locomotive will still run, but the headlight won't work.  Doubt that is your issue.

[Chesticus]

Thanks for the reply. I do have a DCC (NCE), and I did try to turn the light on. It still does not work. So I will look and see if it is the light itself. If it is too much of a project I will take it to my local hobby shop.

Thanks again.

Jim