ArtoJust purchased a used Broadway Limited C30-7 Blueline. it runs fine as well as with another BLI Paragon unit. When I put my Athearn Genesis (Tsunami decoders) on the track (DCC) I get a short when I turn the track power on.
it runs fine as well as with another BLI Paragon unit.
When I put my Athearn Genesis (Tsunami decoders) on the track (DCC) I get a short when I turn the track power on.
just to be clear, you're saying just having both of these locos on the track causes a short without actualling running them (making them move).
when you say short, you mean exceding the max current of you're supply.
since sound units draw current even without running the loco, could it be that your new Blueline with the bad sound unit is drawing more current than it should. When you put another loco on the track, their combined current draw excedes the max current.
Could it be that the Genesis also draws a lot of current (normal) but less than the BLI and excedes the max when both the Genesis and Blueline are on the tracks together.
can you check the current draw of your new Blueline or disconnect the sound unit.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Does "on the track" mean on the track some distance from each other, or are the engines coupled together?
I'm thinking that the engines might have "hot" frames and there's a short through the couplers.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
What DCC booster are you using? What is its current limit? Do you have any way of measuring the current draw of each engine? (RRampmeter?)
This one could be drawing more current. enough to make the system go overcurrent when it is combined with enough other engines.
Perhaps that all is exceeding 5 amps, but you did say you tried in various combinations, not necessarily with all those locos on the track at the same time. I still think that if all those locos are in peroper workign condition and don;t have issues with their motors or anything, that is less than 5 amps total, even witht he lighted cars - though the incandescnet lit cars are going to be the single biggest power hogs, not to mention the inductance of the incandescent lights distorting the DCC signals. Simple enough to try, take all the lighted passenger cars off and see if it work then. If not, then it's still a loco problem, not a power problem. If it all works fine with all the locos but not the lighted cars, it's probably a power problem.
Also, does this happen only when all the locos are running, or even when all the others but the BLIs are parked? A parked sound loco doesn;t draw that much power, the motor current is still greater than the sound circuitry power draw, so if they are all just sitting there and you try to move JUST the 4 unit set including the 'new' loco, if that dies, it's not likely it's a power problem. I have had as many as 8 locos, most with sound, actually moving all at the same time with the Zephyr which only has 2.5 amps. No lighted passenger cars though.
The fact that the sound does not work in the Blueline could point to other problems with the loco as well.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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