It seems this would be the case. What is strange to me, is nothing else flickers but the directional lights. So I have isolated the powercar and checked amperage draw. Even under sudden load with "peak" turned on, I am getting no more than 0.3 amps pulled from the controller. At this point, I'm pulling the model apart to see if there is something out of place. I disconnected the rear bogie from the board (connector) and the problem did not change so now I'm on to isolating the front bogie to run off the rear and eliminate the possibility of pickup issues. Does this sound the right direction? Cheers Edit: So I have taken the whole thing apart, I've checked the pickups, cleaned the axles (had a bit of lint), checked the connections to the board, removed and cleaned the board (found some grime from assembly maybe?), rearranged the wires as some were slightly pinched during original assembly and I have no change. I've done everything I can think of without testing each component on the board. At this point is it safe to say the board or light module may be at fault? Cheers.