Kato 10-922 headlights only work on one end

[dante]

Hi everybody,

This is my first post here! Today I received my first ever Kato train (via eBay), the 10-922 Mangattan Liner II. It looks and runs great. However, unfortunately, the headlights only work on one end of the train. On that end, both headlights work, i.e. white when running forward and red when running backward. On the other end neither headlights work. I cannot see anything unusual at the power collectors on the bogies.

Is there something that I may have overlooked? Or should I just contact the seller and tell him about the problem?

I would be grateful for any advice you may have.

Best wishes,

Dante

[Martijn Meerts]

Hard to say.. Could be the light board just isn't getting any power for some reason, but could also be the light board is missing completely for example. Some pictures would help us see if there's a problem.

Also, if you feel comfortable opening the thing up, and then take some more pictures, that would help. Kato trains are usually reasonably easy to open up, although the cab cars can sometimes be a bit more problematic.

[Webskipper]

Do the lights even flicker?

It's easy to open the car and Test the light board.

[dante]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your replies guys!

As far as I can tell the lights are completely off, not even flickering. I will test it again in the dark tonight to verify.

The train is new in box straight from Japan (if that is important).

Best wishes,

Dante

[cteno4]

Dante,

this is sounding like maybe the lighting board came loose in transit or was never seated properly. if you feel comfortable opening it up it would be easy to try just putting track power to the lighting board to see if it works or not. then see if you are getting power up from the trucks into the inside of the car.

jeff

[KenS]

It may be obvious, but did you check for a switch?  Some of the Kato trains have a switch on one end so the lights can be turned off if you connect two trains together.  Usually it's a small pin on the bottom clearly marked on/off.  Sometimes it's more subtle, but the instruction sheet should have a diagram showing it in either case.

[The_Ghan]

Dante,

Was the eBay seller PlazaJapan?  If so, he is pretty reliable and you should notify him of the problem.  Depending on what country you're in you will have some protection from eBay and/or Paypal too.  My personal option would be to pay for shipping back to vendor for replacement.

I know of at least one regular here, Dani, who has this set (because he posted instruction on how to install the interior lighting kit on his blog).  Best check with Dani to see if the 10-922 has a switch under the car to turn the lights on and off.  Some sets do so that when they're joined with other cars you don't have headlights and taillights operating mid-train.

Finally, the car is easily to disassemble and reassemble with just a small flat screwdriver to help prise the shell off the chassis.  As others have suggested, you can check the lighting board easily.  My guess is a faulty contact or wire (which is why webskipper asked if you get any flicker).  With the shell off you can easily rig up some wire directly between the lighting board and the track, bypassing the bogey pickups etc.  If the board then works it is an easy repair to fix the pickups.  If the board doesn't work then you should seek instructions from the vendor anyway.

Best of luck on this one.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[dante]

Good morning everyone,

First of all, thank you very much for your extremely helpful replies! I have to say that I have to learn a lot!

The seller (plazajapan indeed) has agreed to send me a replacement, hence I did not take the risk of fixing it myself. But I guess sooner or later I should learn to do that myself.

I am planning to start working on my layout in January - can't wait!

Best wishes,

Dante

[The_Ghan]

Dante,

You made the right choice mate.  I buy a lot of stuff from Plaza.  He's never let me down.

Cheers

The_Ghan