just got my newA athearn ready to roll sd40 in to day,put it on the track and it ran for a second and the engine stopped. Tried putting cv 8 to 8 nothing happened. Anybody else had this problem.I sure hate to pay postage to send it back to dealer.
Is your track clean?
Did you cycle (turn off then turn on) the power to your DCC layout after you reset the decoder?
I would 1) wipe down your track with alcohol and a clean rag then 2) attempt another decoder reset. If that still doesn't cure it, check the wheel pickups for dirt, dust, or debris.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
my other engines work fine on the track and I did reset as instructed but to no avail.
I have exactly one newer RTR loco, well, actually two, as I had to get two to get one running one. They have issues with the pickup system. With the loco selected and the speed set to something other than 0, gently press down on the loco and see if it moves, or tries to move. If so, it has the same problem as my first one. It's fixable but since you got yours brand new, returning it is probably the better option. I got a second one, which ran perfectly fine out of the box, so I just swapped shells so the running one was the one I wanted. One of these days I'll fix the other one, and find a shell with the right details for it.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I have two RTR Athearn SD40s, one from the original production with the PC board that clips to the motor, and the other is the newer version wired to the motor. Both ended up having electrical failures. You can return your new loco for a replacement, but note you're still likely to have the same problems surface with it eventually due to how Athearn handles its assembly. The remedy doesn't take long, and can be used for any Athearn RTR mechanism (and the wiring issues apply to Genesis models too).
Unfortunately electrical issues plague Athearn locos of all kinds. I have quite a few, but have had to apply the above fixes to all of them. The good news is your model should remain reliable after you put in the work.
Rob Spangler
Funny thing is, never had these problems with older BB locos - at least not after replacing the big metal clip across the top with wires for better contact.
You toched on what is the problem with my RS3 - the black plastic they put in to hide the shiny metal truck frame (ah, the good old days, when we had to paint the flat black ourselves...) is too large and prevents the bushings from amking good contact witht he truck frame to conduct electricty. The second one I got - was perfectly fine.
Another shortcoming is that they still use the truck bolster to frame to conduct power from one side - the wire ont he circuit board simply loops around and is screwed under one of the screws that mounts the board (again, this is the RS3, one of the newer RTR style locos, not the converted BB types). In fact, that's what I initially thought was the issue - so I hard wired the trucks to the track power connections on the circuit board. When that didn't work, is when I fifured out it was the plastic pieces blocking the square bushings.
To the OP - also check those palstic caps where the wires attach to make sure one hasn't come loose. I hate those things - everyone uses them, too, and always solder the wires on. If one worked itsefl loose, you won't have power to the loco.