Lionel F3A User manual

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Lionel powered and
non-powered F3A
diesel locomotive set
Owner’s Manual
73-8150-250
07/99
LIONEL
Includes instructions to upgrade your
F3 with these available kits:
Railsounds: Part No# 6-22964
Command Control: Part No# 6-22960
Electrocouplers: Part No# 6-22957

1
Congratulations!
Table of contents
Transformer operations
Running your F3 set with a Lionel transformer 2
Using your F3 magnetic coupler 2
Experiencing the range of your F3’s Signalsounds 3
Your F3’s 104E reverse units operation 3
Installing the Lionel no. 610-5906-001 sound activation button 5
Maintaining and servicing your powered and
non-powered F3A set
Lubricating your F3A’s 6
Lubricating your F3A’s Pullmormotor armatures 7
Replacing your F3A unit’s lamps 8
Upgrades to you F3A set
Railsounds upgrade 9
Your F3A’s Railsounds™system-the basics 10
Notes on Railsounds™11
Experiencing the range of your F3A’s Railsounds™system 11
Command Control upgrade 12
Electrocoupler upgrade 13
TrainMaster Command operations
The Command control environment 14
Running your F3 in the TrainMaster Command environment 15
CAB-1 commands for your F3 15
CAB-1 numeric keypad commands for your F3 16
Tuning your F3’s performance 17
Assigning your powered and non-powered F3A units a new ID# 18
Programming your F3A set to use the Electrocouplers 19
Reprogramming R2LC circuit boards to restore or change features 20
Lionel Service 21
You purchased a tough, durable locomo- tive-the F3 diesel locomotive built by
Lionel. From the crisp detail and expert dec-
oration on the outside to the brute power
under the hood, the Lionel F3 is ready for
duty on your model railroad. Experience the
superiority of today’s Lionel. Your F3 is also
upgradable to include the latest Command
Control and Railsounds features.
• Two powerful Lionel Pullmor®motors
(in powered unit)
• Lionel electronic reversing unit
•SignalSounds horn and bell
• Magne-Traction®
• Die-cast magnetic couplers (on front of
“A” Units)
•Illuminated headlights and illuminated
interiors
• Upgrade ready

2
Transformer operations
Your Lionel F3 is equipped with a front oper- ating magnetic
knuckle coupler.
Lionel magnetic cou-
plers react to the magnetic
field generated by a Lionel
remote-control track sec-
tion (available separately).
Place your lo-comotive’s
coupler trigger disc over
the central coil of a
remote-control track section and press UNCOUPLE
on the controller. The magnetic field pulls the
disc downward, and the knuckle opens.
One operating technique
favored by Lionel railroad-
ers is the “moving uncou-
ple.” Press the UNCOUPLE
button as the F3 passes over
a remote-control section.
The magnetic field will
open the coupler; the con-
sist remains behind as the
locomotive moves on. But
be careful—the speed of a newly uncoupled and
moving locomotive can increase dramatically.
Position your F3’s trigger disc over the
remote-control section, then press “uncou-
ple.” The coupler opens.
3
3Move ‘em out!
• Get your F3 moving. Press the DIR button on your CAB-1 remote or Lionel
transformer. This sequences the Lionel 104 E reverse unit to the next operat-
ing state. The 104 E unit alternates between three states: forward, neutral,
and reverse.
• Adjust track voltage until your F3 moves at your desired speed. To increase
speed, increase track voltage. To decrease speed, reduce voltage. To stop the
locomotive, cut track power.
• See table on page 4 for information on locking your F3 in a sin-
gle operating state
Place your F3 locomotives on Lionel or Lionel-
compatible O, 027 gauge track.
2
2Power up your F3s with your transformer.
• Your F3 is designed to operate on 10-16 volts alternating current.
Virtually all Lionel and Lionel-compatible alternating-current transformers are suit-
able.
• DO NOT POWER YOUR F3 WITH DIRECT CURRENT (DC). Damage to sensitive electron-
ic components may occur.
• When you first power up your track, your F3’s headlights will illuminate.
At this point, the locomotive is in neutral. This occurs when placing the F3 on your
railroad for the first time. When your train is first powered up, the default state will
be neutral and the default direction is forward. This means whenever you power up
your engine the engine will remain in neutral, and when the power is removed and
again applied, the train will move forward. This condition holds true if the engine is
being powered up for the first time or if the engine has been powered down longer
than five seconds.
Note!
1
1
Running your Lionel F3 with a Lionel transformer
Using your F3’s magnetic coupler

3
Transformer operations
With SignalSounds, you experience the sounds of real railroading like never
before. Simply put, it delivers realistic, and
authentic sounds to your model railroad. To
adjust the volume of signalsounds see the
next page for location of adjustment knob
• Diesel Horn. Press horn to produce an
authentic diesel horn blast.
• Mechanical bell. Press BELL on your
CAB-1 or transformer to begin the effect;
again to discontinue.
Experiencing the range of your F3’s SignalSounds system
Your F3’s 104 E Reverse unit
The New E-Series Reversing Unit controls
the direction of the engine. When the revers-
ing unit senses an interruption in track
power, it will cycle into the next direction in
the sequence. The sequence is neutral, for-
ward, neutral, reverse.... Track power inter-
ruptions are created using the direction
control on your transformer or Cab-1, or by
turning the throttle to zero.
When power is first applied (or after a 5
second power interruption), the engine will
power up in neutral, always before forward.
A single press of the direction button will set
your engine in forward motion. This will
help eliminate unexpected start ups, derail-
ments, and crashes. Listed in the table on
the next page is the direction sequence pat-
tern that your 104 E unit will follow under
the given conditions.
As always, a lockout switch is included to
deactivate the 104 E’s sequencing function.
(for switch location see illustration on the
next page) A new feature is that now you
will have a neutral available even when the
reversing unit is “off”. In addition, you no
longer have to slow the engine by hand to
turn off the reversing unit while the train is
moving. Simply stop the engine, and throw
the switch. The 104 E unit will be locked
into its last moving direction, plus neu-
tral. Even simpler, just put the switch in the
“PROG” position and keep power off for 5
seconds. When you start, you will be locked
in neutral/forward.
NOTE: Due to limitations of the electronic components, it is hard to predict how each engine
will function when power is interrupted between 2.5 seconds and 5 seconds. Engines will
function either as in case #1 or case #2. This solely depends on the tolerances of the installed
electronics and is not affected or caused by your power supply.

4
Transformer operations
Summary Table of Engine Directions
Condition Direction Change Cycle
Case #1: First power up or without power longer than 5 sec.
E unit off (switch in PROGposition) N, F, N, F, etc.
E unit on (switch in RUNposition) N, F, N, R, etc.
Case #2: Engine without power for less than 2.5 seconds
E unit off (switch in PROGposition) N, Last-Dir, N, Last-Dir, etc.
E unit on (switch in RUNposition) N, F, N, R, etc.
NOTE: With your 104 E reversing unit, positioning the switch in the PROG position locks
your engine into its last moving direction plus neutral. Positioning the switch in the RUN
position resumes normal sequencing operation.
Your F3’s 104 E Reverse unit
F3 A reverse unit control switch
program
lock
forward
run

5
Transformer operations
Installing the Lionel no. 610-5906-001 sound activation button
To operate the bell and horn sounds when operating your F3 set with conventional
transformers, you’ll need to install the Lionel
no. 610-5906-001 sound activation button
(available separately). Connect the button(s)
as shown below.
12
12
For AC transformers lacking a horn/whistle button (two no. 5906s required)
Lionel no. 610-5906-001
sound activation button for activat-
ing the bell
Lionel no. 610-
5906-001
sound activation
button (for horn)
Lionel no. 610-
5906-001
sound activation
button (for bell)
Black wire
Red wire
Red wire ATTACH TO GROUND TERMINAL
ATTACH TO POWER TERMINAL
TO YOUR TRANSFORMER
The no. 610-5906-001 sound activation button (available separately) works with any Lionel
AC transformer except no. 6-4690 Type MW. Transformers made by other manufacturers
maynotbecompatible withRailsounds.
Note!
ATTACH TO GROUND TERMINAL
ATTACH TO POWER TERMINAL
Red wire
TO YOUR TRANSFORMER
CUSTOMER’SWIRE
BLACK WIRE
Note!
All track power must feed
through “Sound Activation
Button”
Do not bypass button
For AC transformers with a horn/whistle button

6
Lubricating your powered and non-powered F3A set
Lubricate areas marked by arrows with Lionel oil sparingly
Lubricate with Lionel oil
sparingly
Lubricate with Lionel oil
sparingly
Lubricate with Lionel grease
sparingly
Lubricate with Lionel grease
sparingly
Underside of non-powered F3A unit
Underside of powered F3A unit
Maintaining and servicing your powered and
non-powered F3A set
Help your Lionel powered and non-pow- ered F3A set lead a long and produc-
tive life on your railroad by maintaining it
properly.
We recommend you purchase aLionel 929
Lubrication and Maintenance kit (no. 6-
62927), available from your Lionel dealer.
Two basic rules to keep in mind: never over-
lubricate (a small amount will do), and
avoid getting grease or oil on the F3’s
wheels, contact rollers, or your track.
You’ll know your F3 requires lubrication
when visual inspection reveals dryness on
the parts indicated in the illustration.
Remove accumulated dirt and dust before
lubricating, and always lubricate any loco-
motive emerging from prolonged storage.

7
Maintaining and servicing your powered
& non-powered F3A set
LIONELLIONEL
Lubricating your F3’s Pullmor motor armatures
Your powered F3A unit will require occa- sional lubrication of its Pullmor motor
armatures. If you hear excess noise during
operation, or if the locomotive slows down
intermittently, you may need to oil the top
armature bearing.
Start by separating the body shell from
the frame; remove the front body screw and
unclip the rear shell tabs from the frame
slots. Apply a small amount of Lionel oil
(two drops) in the armature shaft hole.
Finish the job by reinstalling the body
shell. Reinsert the rear tabs into the frame
slots, then line up the screw holes in the
front, and reinsert the screw.
Your F3 unit contains sophisti-
cated electronic devices that are
extremely sensitive to static
electricity. Please avoid all phys-
ical contact with these devices.
Note!

8
Replacing your powered/non-powered F3A unit’s lamps
Your F3A units are both illuminated by two 14-volt lamps. One illuminates the
headlamp and the other illuminates the cab
interior. During the course of normal opera-
tion, they may require replacement.
Start by separating the plastic body shell
from the frame; remove the front screw on
the underside of the frame and lift the body
up slightly, pulling it forward to release the
two rear clips from the frame slots.
Each lamp rests in a holder, with its
prongs plugged into a
socket. Carefully pull the
bulb straight up out of
the holder to remove it.
Replace the expired lamp with Lionel part
no. 610-8049-300, available from your local
Lionel Authorized Service Center or Lionel
Service. (For more information, see Lionel
Service on page 21.)
Insert the replacement lamp’s prongs into
the socket, making sure of a tight connec-
tion. To reinstall the shell, first insert the
rear tabs on the body into the slots on the
frame. Line up the screw holes on the frame
and body shell, and reinsert the screw. Make
sure all of the wires are inside the body
before you tighten the screw.
2343
Make sure to insert the rear tabs on the body into the slots on the
frame before inserting the front screw.
Maintaining and servicing your powered and
non-powered F3A set
Lionel part no. 610-8049-300
Note! If you have upgraded your locomotive to Command Control,
press Aux2 to make sure headlamps were not accidently turned off,
before replacing bulb
Note! If you have upgraded your locomotive to Command Control,
press Aux1-9 to make sure cab lights were not accidently turned off, before
replacing bulb