DCC help....

[Montana Railfan]

Hey all,

I recently purchased an NCE Power Pro system for my n scale railroad, and tonight when i was installing the system i ran into a problem that im not entirley sure of how to solve. I had finished installing the system and moved on to installing a decoder in one of my new Atlas GP 38's and after installing the decoder (a TCS AMD4, correct me if im wrong, i cant remember it off the top of my head), I placed the engine on the track on its own to do a mainline program and  to varify that the decoder worked, the engine stalled its way around the track once (stalling due to dirty track most likely), and then stopped completely. I tried to nudge the unit forward and the lights flickered (they were previously unlit) and i had no response from the loco, only a higherpitched humming (reminicent of the sound of a short on a digitrax system).

I guess im asking for advice , on whether this is fixable or if im going to have to use the gaurentee on the decoder should that be the problem. Any help?

 

Ken

[Anonymous]

 Ken,

look into the manual that came with the decoder and do a reset to factory values - usually that helps.

[tstage]

Ken,

First, I would take Ulrich's suggestion and try resetting your TCS decoder to factory standards.  Here's a handy link for all the factory resets:

How to Rescue a Faulty Decoder

For setting a TCS decoder: CV8 = 8 or CV30 = 2

Secondly, you really should do your initial programming (addressing) on an isolated programming track rather than programming on the main (POM).  In programming track mode, a lesser amount of voltage is sent to your decoder so that you run MUCH less of a risk of frying your decoder, if for some reason you either installed or wired it incorrectly.

Tom

[retsignalmtr]

I use digitrax decoders almost exclusively.  That Atlas loco would use a DN163AO. I have had a problem like yours once. Since you have to pry the loco frame apart to take out the light board and install the decoder the gears or something else did not seat right after the installation. I also have had many decoders that are loose after installation and I have had to add some solder to the contact tabs on the decoders to keep them from moving and losing contact. I have never had a high pitched humming from a decoder on my digitrax system, only the sound of a non decoder loco running on 0. Always run the loco on 03 first before programming to see if it is your programming attempt or a decoder problem effecting the loco.

[rrinker]

 I can;t stress enough the second portion of Tom's message. ALWAYS test on the program track first. Granted some people have systems that don;t have a program track and can't do that, but the Power Pro is one of those that does. It will save you a lot of grief and fried decoders if you use the program track first. If the decoder fails to respond on the program track, STOP and check the wiring and installation for shorts, verify that the motor is isolated, etc. If it won't work on the program track, more than likely it will be damaged at full track power because there's probably a wiring fault. This is triply important if you're new to installing your own decoders, definitely for the first few or if you have one that was especially tricky to wire up.

 And if you just switched to DCC, it's a good idea to hang on to your old DC power pack and test a non-decoder loco on DC before attempting to install the decoder. If it won't run on DC, it's not going to magically get better with DCC. It's a good way to avoid headaches. If you just slap in a decoder and it won't run, is it the loco? is it the decoder? is it programmed wrong? If you test on DC before installing the decoder, at least you know the motor and drivetrain are ok.

                                            --Randy