Fried PR3 but decoder is fine?

[tbdanny]

Hi all,

Had a bit of a strange incident on the weekend, while testing a brass locomotive in which I had just installed DCC.  I had tested it on the PR3 programming track, by having DecoderPro identify the decoder, and was in the process of programming it when I noticed smoke drifting up in front of my computer screen, from the PR3.

To cut a long story short, one of the motor leads was slightly bare (< 0.2mm of length) and had been shorting against the locomotive's frame, intermittently.  Now here's the strange part.  The decoder doesn't seem to have been affected at all.  It was running fine when I was troubleshooting the short on my layout.  Has anyone else experienced something similar at all?

Cheers,

tbdanny

[Hamltnblue]

Is your program track totally isolated from your layout?  I would think the program track would be current limited so it wouldn't hurt anything.

[tbdanny]

The programming track isn't even on the layout - it's basically a plywood board with the track and PR3 on it, which I can put on the desk in front of my laptop.

[rrinker]

 The power to the program track is current limited, even when using a PR3 - this is why you always test decoder installs on the program track. The limited current saved the decoder. But may have cooked the PR3 - although I have made my PR3 actually drive a train back and forth and it never smoked or got hot. What sort of power supply do you have feedign the PR3? I have a PS14 which supposedly is multiple input voltage capable - so it supposed will work on 220, ith the appropriate plug adapter. If I run a loco it moves a coupel of times then the whoel thing shuts down - I think the input is what's shutting off, not the track drivers. What I'm gettign at is that if you are using a different power supply that can handle more current than tha PS14 puts out, this may be why the PR3 fried.

                       --Randy