DN163K1B Won't Go Forward!

[nscsxcrrailfan]

Hi, I sent an e-mail to digitrax about a problem I'm having. I just sent it, so they haven't had enough time to respond. However, I figured I would go ahead and ask for help on here as well. Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Digitrax: "I have a Kato N Scale AC4400CW locomotive that I recently purchased. I also purchased a Digitrax DN163K1B decoder to go with it. I installed the decoder exactly as the directions said. I placed a small piece of tape in the middle of the locomotive as insulation. I tried the locomotive on the track at Address 03 and it seemed to work fine. Then, I re-attached the shell of the locomotive, and the locomotive went goofy. I had no control over it and it went in reverse without me doing anything. I couldn't access its address, change speed, or change direction. I turned the DCC system off and took the shell back off. I placed the loco back on the track without its shell and it seemed to work fine. I had encountered a problem somewhat similar to this before, and I closed Option Switch 36 on the booster. That worked in another situation, however, it did not solve this problem. I took the decoder out of the locomotive and applied some more Kaplan tape to the front and back of the locomotive and applied a larger piece in the middle. I placed the loco back on the track without the shell, and this time it worked fine. I programmed the address to the road number of the locomotive. At this point everything seemed fine. I re-attached the shell, and everything seemed to be working o.k. The loco did not act goofy like it was doing. I assumed the extra tape had solved the problem and was preventing a short that had been taking place. I placed the loco back on the track and went in reverse. The lights were working exactly as they were supposed to. Then, I changed the direction to forward, the lights came on in the front, and the loco did nothing. It absolutely refuses to go forward now. I reset the decoder by changing CV8 to 08. The address reset back to 03. I hoped this would solve the problem, however, the locomotive still refuses to go forward. The front light comes on, but it will not move. It goes in reverse fine, but it will not go forward. I have never encountered any problem like this before. Can you please tell me what I need to do next? Is there something I can do to fix it, or is this likely a defective decoder? Also... I do not believe this is likely a problem with my DCC system as I have another Kato AC4400CW with the same decoder that runs fine with no problems. My system is the Digitrax Empire Builder with the DT100IR throttle." Rather than retype all of that, I just copied and pasted it. My locomotive will not go forward at all. Is there any advice anyone here on this forum has for solving this problem? I would appreciate your help. Thanks.

[Hamltnblue]

Number one, Turn off DC Support.  It might be your problem.  Symptoms are run away train.  I learned that one the hard way. Some programmers have it in their menu's. If not the CV is part of CV29.  The digitrax has analog operation ON by default.  Should be turned off.

Also start over by setting CV8 to 8 to reset the decoder.

 

[retsignalmtr]

digitrax drop in decoders that i have installed in my locos have always been a little loose when i put them in. i have had to add a little solder to the contact areas where the decoder picks up power from the frame. when i installed decoders in a pair of  LL proto rs2's. the first one i did worked good with the shell off. but when i replaced the shell the decoder moved a little and caused a short damaging the decoder. i called digitrax and they said to return it and they replaced it with a new one. the second decoder i added solder to it to tighten it in the frame. do you have the digitrax decoder tester. it will show if the decoder is reversing power to the motor. give them a call instead of an email. it's faster. i had to call them yesterday and the tech man was very helpfull with the info that i needed.

[nscsxcrrailfan]

I tried some of the things mentioned on here. I changed CV 08 to 08 to reset the decoder. I then set CV29 to a value of 02 which has a Speed Step of 28/128, Analog OFF, Forward Direction, 2 Digit Address. That change did nothing to resolve the problem. I tried setting CV29 to a value of 34 which has a Speed Step of 28/128, Analog OFF, Forward Direction, 4 Digit Address. That change did nothing to resolve the problem. I have concluded that this Decoder is Bad. In response to David B, I installed this decoder according to the manual that came with it. I have installed 5 decoders so far, and every time I go explicitly by the manual. I installed this Decoder the same exact way I installed another DN163K1B in another AC4400CW I have. That loco works, but this one does not. I always make sure and use extra Kaplan tape to provide plenty of insulation. A friend of mine showed me how to install decoders and installed one decoder in my SD80MAC without any tape at all. It worked, but I didn't like it, so I took it back out and placed tape under the decoder exactly like the directions stated. I am extremely careful when I install these decoders. Unless Digitrax comes up with solution that I can not think of, I will likely send this in to them to look at.

[nscsxcrrailfan]

I went back to the locomotive and carefully looked it over. I compared it to my SD80 and other AC4400. I installed tape on top and down the sides where the motor contact points are. That was good as that is how it should be done. I also noticed that the motor clips, without tape on both of those units, does not touch the metal frame. I removed the tape that was there and applied new, larger strips of tape to give even better insulation. On my problematic AC4400, I took the decoder out and removed the tape I had installed. I found the original piece of tape and compared it. The decoder, without any tape at all, rubs against the metal on one side, unlike the other locos which do not have that issue. I failed to bring the tape down the side, which resulted in the decoder getting fried. By the time I realized this, it was too late. Part of the problem is the diagram that comes with the Decoder. I have always read where it states you need to insulate that part of the locomotive, however the diagram does not state why you need to insulate it or what crucial piece needs insulated, and it's picture is black and white and fuzzy. It's hard to tell whether they place the tape just on the top or on the top and coming down the sides. I always assumed the reason for the tape was to insulate the bottom side of the decoder from the frame, I never thought the metal clips were the reason for the insulation. I realize the problem, and from now on I will make sure that part of the loco is well insulated. For now, I am going to try and send the decoder in for repair/replacement. I read where Digitrax has a 1 year warranty that covers manufacturer or user defects/damages. I just got this decoder about 2 or 3 days ago, so they should take care of it.