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How to correct an issue of my engine only running at half speed?

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How to correct an issue of my engine only running at half speed?
Posted by wolfman hal on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 1:21 PM

I have a BLI E6. For some reason the Engine will run at full spead in reverse but only at half speed in forward.I have tryed the following

1. CV8 to 8

2. CV 29 to 3 to change polarity

3. Reset to factory setting by removing the jumper on the engine.

Nothing works.

If it is a decoder there is another problem. They don't make the QSI DCC Decoder.

The Engine was made in 2004.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. If you know of any source to find a replacement decoder that would also help.

Harold

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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 2:44 PM

It sounds like may be an issue with your Forward Trim (CV66) or Reverse Trim (CV95). If CV95 is set very high, and/or CV66 is set very low, the engine will go much faster in reverse than forward.

Try setting both CVs to the default value of 128 and see what happens.

Stix
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Posted by wolfman hal on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 5:19 PM

Programed to 128 on both CV66 & CV95 with no change. Reprogramed 66 first to 200 then 254 with no change.

Harold

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Posted by selector on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 6:30 PM

Honestly, time to do a hard reset to factory defaults, and start over with your CV alterations. I would guess that a verification of the CV29 value is in order using any of the online calculators, but how about CVs 5 and 6...did you ever fiddle with them?  Is there a switching mode you might have enabled at any time, even inadvertently?

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Posted by dennis461 on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 7:24 PM

Run it on DC, could be the motor.

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Posted by wolfman hal on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 7:25 PM

I have done a hard reset with no improvement.

Harold

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Posted by wrench567 on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 8:32 PM

  Hi Harold.

  It's been a very very long time since I have reset a QSI decoder. There were several options on doing a reset. One was that crazy magic wand. The other was several CVs.

   Are you positive it's a QSI decoder? I thought BLI was making their own decoders by 2004. I know that no steam engines were produced BLI using the QSI decoder. The QSI decoders came in PCM models.

      Pete.

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Posted by Trainman440 on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 8:41 AM

dennis461

Run it on DC, could be the motor.

 

^this.

AFAIK QSI doesnt have functionailty which would make it run faster in forward than in reverse. The motor could have something causing resistance running in one direction than the other.

Try it out in DC.

Charles

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 8:55 AM

wrench567

Are you positive it's a QSI decoder? I thought BLI was making their own decoders by 2004. I know that no steam engines were produced BLI using the QSI decoder. 

I have BLI E6s and E7s from back in 2003-2005. Those were part of the Paragon Series which all came factory equipped with QSI Quantum decoders. 
 
BLI went with its own proprietary decoder when it introduced the Paragon 2 series somewhat later around 2009.
 
Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by wjstix on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 9:24 AM

dennis461

Run it on DC, could be the motor.

 
I agree, that should be the next step. If the engine runs the same forward and back on DC, it's a problem with the engine itself rather than the decoder. Could be the motor, or a problem with the gears.
Stix
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Posted by Lee 1234 on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 9:31 AM

If you have read back capabilities you can follow the instructions on these links to determine what decoder you actually have.  If you can't read back, I would suggest taking the shell off and reading the writing on the decoder as well as taking a look at the driveline.

https://dccwiki.com/Manufacturer_ID_Number

https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/appendix_a_s-9_2_2_5.pdf

 

Lee

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Posted by wolfman hal on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 3:32 PM

Rich is correct. It is a Paragon with QSI Installed. I have confirmed this with BLI. They also said they do not make that decoder anymore or have an alternate one. As far as the gears. The engine runs well in both directions except for the speed. There is also no jerk to the motor.

I happen to have a Tech ll that I use for AC lights. I am running Prodigy Advance DCC. Could someone give me a detailed way to took up that engine to DC.

Thanks in advance

Harold

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, June 16, 2022 8:38 AM

wolfman hal
I happen to have a Tech ll that I use for AC lights. I am running Prodigy Advance DCC. Could someone give me a detailed way to took up that engine to DC.

Connect 2 wires from the Tech II powerpack's variable DC outputs to some HO track, preferably some separate track you set up temporarily separate from your DCC layout. Put the engine on the track and turn the power on. The decoder, like most decoders, is "dual mode" so will work on DC or DCC unless you've changed CV29 to not allow DC (the factory default should be set to allow it). With a sound engine, the sound decoder uses a lot of power up front, so you may need to power up to around 8-10 volts before the engine starts running.

Stix
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Posted by wolfman hal on Thursday, June 16, 2022 9:25 AM

If I disconnect the MRC from the track ,that will do. Am I correct?

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, June 16, 2022 4:06 PM

If you mean disconnect your DCC system from the track, yes, you could do that and then attach those wires to the track to the Tech II powerpack's outputs.

Stix
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Posted by maxman on Thursday, June 16, 2022 9:01 PM

Do you have more than one loco, and is this the only one doing this?

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Posted by snjroy on Friday, June 17, 2022 12:14 PM

I would use a test track. I have one that is about 3' long for these purposes.

My bet is on the gears. They may need adjustments using rings. Most of my steam locos run at a different speed when reversed (slower in reverse). Testing in DC should exclude the DCC "black magic" factor.

Simon

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Posted by wolfman hal on Saturday, June 18, 2022 10:12 AM

Yes. I run 8 engines at different times with no problem.

 

Harold

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Posted by NorthBrit on Saturday, June 18, 2022 10:40 AM

Sorry I cannot help with the problem, but irt reminds me of my Class 58.  It also runs 'at half speed'.   Apparently it is a standard fault  when built.   The thing I like about it;  no matter what it has to pull it chugs along at the same speed.  Hence it is so realistic.

 

David

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Posted by wolfman hal on Sunday, October 23, 2022 9:39 AM

This is a REVISIT of a tread from 6-14-22

I have connected the engine to a DC power supply. I checked and there is 13.5 DCV going to the track. The engine did not move period. Is there a switch on this engine that switches from DCC to DC?

 

Is there any way to fool the engine so when the controller says it is in reverse it is actualy going forward

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Sunday, October 23, 2022 11:41 AM

I have an older BLI Hudson that exhibited a similar problem.  It would run fine in reverse, but not well in forward.  I removed the shell and discovered a slipping worm gear on the driveshaft.  A very small bit of CA on the shaft where the gear was seems to have fixed it permanently.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by betamax on Sunday, October 23, 2022 12:08 PM

wolfman hal

This is a REVISIT of a tread from 6-14-22

I have connected the engine to a DC power supply. I checked and there is 13.5 DCV going to the track. The engine did not move period. Is there a switch on this engine that switches from DCC to DC?

 

Is there any way to fool the engine so when the controller says it is in reverse it is actualy going forward

 

If analog conversion is turned off, it will not work unless a DCC signal is present.

There is also the NDOT switch, which reverses the normal direction (and the headlights). 

Both of these are found in CV29.

Tags: DCC
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Posted by wolfman hal on Monday, October 24, 2022 10:17 AM

I cheched the manual and it says the engine should run on DC with no changes.

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Posted by wolfman hal on Monday, October 24, 2022 11:36 AM

How about the question if the engine can be fooled?

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Monday, October 24, 2022 12:31 PM

In DC, just physically turn it around on the track.

In DCC, you can swap forward and reverse with a CV, but that will also swap the forward electronics for the reverse electronics, which won't help any.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by wolfman hal on Monday, October 24, 2022 3:18 PM

I changed CV 29 to 3 with no change.  Is there another CV?  Check on top of this tread to see what I have already tried.

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Posted by betamax on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 5:38 AM

The default value of CV29 should enable the analog conversion.

QSI decoders can be difficult.

There are various trim settings you can play with. But they won't correct a mechanical issue.

Remember, after a decoder reset you should cycle the power at least once. This will allow the decoder to complete the process.

 

 

 

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Posted by wjstix on Friday, November 4, 2022 9:24 AM

The only way to "fool" the engine would be to reverse the wires going to the motor. However at this point it sounds like it's not likely the problem is the decoder giving the motor more power in reverse over forward, so it probably wouldn't change things. But you never know.

If the decoder is a plug-in type (8-pin or 9-pin) you can remove it and try putting a different decoder in and see if that works better.

Stix
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Posted by santafejeff on Friday, November 4, 2022 8:54 PM

How about you take off the shell, grab that p.o.s qsi decoder, pull really hard and throw it in the trash where it belongs!! Lol. This is why qsi is no longer around and why bli went to a proprietary system, dont get me started on that, pick up a nix trainz decoder buddy mini and the decoder of your choice to go with it and resolve all your problems at the same time. If you dont want to use a decoder buddy, then choose a hard wire decoder that doesnt need a mother board and fix it that way. Any decoder from nce to soundtraxx to digitrax that requires you to put each wire on in the place it goes will work. Thats why they are "generic". If you want sound, go with soundtraxx or esu lok sound but be prepared for adding speakers and the enclosure that goes with it. 

I have 3 bli quantum locos, one mp15 and 2 sd40-2's and all of the qsi decoders were given the rip and flip treatment a long time ago!! I dont buy bli locos anymore with any kind of paragon 2 thru 30 or whatever version they are at now because after 5 AC6000's had to be sent back because they can only be fixed by bli's preferred facility, I decided that bli wasnt worth my money. 

Ok, rant is over. However, the best way to permanently fix your problem is to remove EVERY BIT of qsi equipment from the loco and hardwire in a GREAT decoder from anyone else! 

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Posted by wolfman hal on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 8:38 AM

Thanks

I have gone to the QSI website with no good results. Are they still in business? I think you are on the right track. No pun intended.

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