Hey Guys,
I need some help/answers for why my Tsunami sound decoder isn't working. First, I am modeling HO and have a digitrax zephyr dcs 51 command station and the engine I am having troubles with is a Athearn Genesis SD70m-2. The sound is not factory it was installed by me. Now I have installed half a dozen Tsunami decoders and this is the first major issue I have had and I cannot for the life of me figure out why.
Here's the issue when I put the engine on my layout with absolutely nothing else on the track and hit the button to supply power the decoder makes a funny sound (tough to describe) and the power to the track doesn't come on. I thought that I had a short but all my connections are soldered and none are touching one another. I thought it maybe be a grounding issue but that is not the case.
Could this be an issue of a dud board and if so how would I know/test it. Has anybody else experienced this and if so please advise what I should do. One other note I do all programming on my main line through blast programming which works pretty well.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Will
If power to the track doesn't come on, how could the decoder be making a noise -- or is your DCC system's overload protection killing power to the track to protect itself because of a short circuit in your installation. Remove the locomotive from the track and see if the power is restored. If it is, then there is something wrong with your installation.
Are you certain you didn't connect wires from the front or rear truck backwards? That would cause an immediate short circuit through the decoder.
Though you say otherwise,it's still looks like a short to me.You'll have to carefully inspect your wiring starting from the wheels to the decoder.At first glance,I'd guess that both trucks are cross-wired (opposite polarities).Try operating the loco with one truck lifted off the track and see if it changes anything...if the loco reacts,you have your problem.The only Athearn loco I have has all black wiring throughout so it may be such an error.
This failing,you may have to unplug power to the decoder to see if problem persists.
Everything looks in order. The front and rear trucks are soldered correctly in terms of front and rear. I thought of something what if the front left truck was wired to the right front spot on the board would that do it. The reason I am asking is that the wires coming off the trucks are twisted together and i couldn't tell which ones went to what trucks. In my haste to install I forgot to mark which was which for both front and rear set.
Can you acquire and program the decoder on the PROGRAMMING track? If you can not, then something is wrong with your installation. All new installations should be checked on a programming track first as a safety precaution to keep from blowing the decoder.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
willjayna Everything looks in order. The front and rear trucks are soldered correctly in terms of front and rear. I thought of something what if the front left truck was wired to the right front spot on the board would that do it. Will
Everything looks in order. The front and rear trucks are soldered correctly in terms of front and rear. I thought of something what if the front left truck was wired to the right front spot on the board would that do it.
Thank you all for your input it really helped. I am going to make some switches on the installation and I am sure that will make the difference.
It's a short somewhere.
For the next time you install a decoder in a locomotive with all black wiring, I would suggest that you invest in a red paint pen. Then you could mark the right side truck wires so you can clearly see which is which.
You should also have a multi meter to determine which lead is which without having to un-twist the truck wires. You don't have to spend much at all for one that will be more than sufficient for model railroading.
By the way, when you mentioned that you did the installation "in haste", don't feel bad. You are just showing your new found enthusiasm for DCC. However, you do deserve a little slap on the fingers for not being absolutely certain which wires go where. Get a meter if you haven't already.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!