Thank you Yard Master.  Turns out that this loco is not covered under warranty because I purchased it on ebay from a non-authorized vendor.  If instead of sending it in for service, I disassemble it and clean the running gear.  What parts require grease as opposed to oil?

I purchased a N Scale Thunder Valley set last year.  Since then, I have built a 60" x 30" layout with an elevated figure 8 section with a bridge and two turnouts.  There isn't any information about the the GP-40 diesel locomotive that came with the set nor is any available on the Bachmann web site.  On the undercarriage there is a cover with two small screws and what appears to be a serial number:  K190417.  Is this loco DCC ready? Or does something else fit under this cover    

I purchased a GP-40 diesel locomotive, Bachmann item no 63552 from a reputable eBay vendor.  The packaging had never been opened.  Yet, when I ran the loco, it sputtered and ran erratically both forward and reverse. There was clearly intermittent electrical pick up. The motor/gears are very loud. There is no manufacturing date on the product but, although it looks identical to the loco that came with my Thunder Valley set I purchased one year ago, it is heavier and appears to be more substantial. I surmise it may be NOS and may have sat around unsold and unused.  I cleaned the wheels and trucks with isopropyl alcohol. After removing the shell, there is no apparent oil or grease stains anywhere. The motor spins freely by hand friction or if 12 volts DC are applied to the chassis or wheels.  There is no strange noise.  It is a split chassis design and I have not disassembled the chassis.  Any advice would be welcome.......Thanks and Happy Holidays !

Thanks to Len and Willis for the info and advice.  I had some time today so I decided to go the simpler route and  use a DPDT on-off-on toggle to activate the dwarf signals I constructed.  My choice is certainly not as elegant as having the turnout switch activate the signals but it's a reasonable compromise.......I was not trained as an electrical engineer but It should be possible to design a circuit with a microchip that activates the turnout solenoid for a millisecond and then stays on with the polarity of the leads changing with the position of the switch. This would certainly be worth the extra cost to have a plug and play set up.   

It would certainly be more realistic to set up signal lights on an N scale layout activated by the turnout switch.  The Bachmann 16V DC Multi-Accessory Power Supply (Item No. 44219) providing power to the turnouts has the anode and the cathode clearly marked in red and black respectively.  The power cord from the Power Supply to the slide-switch has no markings but it is simple to determine polarity with a multimeter. 

This is where things get interesting.  The output receptacle on the switch has three poles.  In a normal analog configuration, one would expect the center pin to be the anode and the slider would reverse polarity to operate the switch. By noting the position of the switch which corresponds to the open position of the turnout, one would simply connect a green LED indicating that is the main-line. 

Hence, one would think that by checking the voltage output in each pin, the anode would be identifiable. Interestingly, I was not able to get any current reading from connecting any combination of two pins. I changed the position of the slider (i.e. "direction") which is supposed to reverse polarity, and still nothing. 

I then turned to the turnout itself to see if the three pole plug exiting the turnout is electrified.  Well, it is not.  I made sure the track was electrified when I checked. Moreover, the turnouts can be activated using the Multi-Accessory Power Supply even if the track is not electrified.     

Is it possible the switch has some sort of logic circuit wherein the three wire turnout cable must be connected to the energized switch to "wake it up"  in order for it to work?   

I'm curious to see if there are any thoughts on the subject.  Surely, I'm not the only N scale modeler that is trying to incorporate signal lights using the turnout switch do this.

If there is no way to do this, the alternative is to simply build a separate circuit with a three position toggle switch.  In this case one must throw the turnout switch and the light switch separately.       

In perusing Amazon, a retailer posted that the clearance is 3.125" clearance under the pier.  Assuming this is true, my question was answered ! 

I queried Bachmann and they do not produce plug-and-play signal lights of any kind for the N scale turnouts. It should be possible if the signal polarity of each of the three conductors exiting the switch can be determined. has anyone been successful in doing this?  If so, is there a schematic to follow?  I'm new to the group.  Thanks   

Does anyone know the height of the Bachmann TALL PIER 8 PC SET BAC44872?  I googled and cannot find the answer.  Hopefully, someone has used this pier set and knows the answer.