I am using a Bachmann EZ Command systems and I installed a Bachmann decoder into a Athern AMD103 which has a quick plug NMRA 8 PIN Connetor in it. The decoder fit nicely but it does not respond. When I put the loco on the tracks it moves in fits and then the controller signals a system short. I have to recycle the system to try again and I get the same results (a little insanity here!). When I remove the decoder the loco responds like a regular DC loco should.
When I reinsert the decoder I get the same results and I can not change the direction of the loco either.
I don't have a local hobby store so I need any help I can get.
Has anyone seen this before with these decoders.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
It sounds like you have a bad decoder. Bachmann decoders are a cheapened down Lenz product. The only way to know for sure is to try a different decoder.
Under normal circumstances, the only ill effect from plugging a decoder in backwards is that the motor will run backwards.
I'm not familiar with the internal wiring of the Athearn locomotive you have, but if it also has a 9-pin JST header with a dummy plug in it, that must be removed in order to use the 8-pin socket.
This may sound like a dumb question but what is a 9 pin plug, where do I find it, and how do I remove it? There's really poor documentation that comes with decoders and loco's.
Once again any help would be appreciated.