Hi All-
I've started to add wiring to my track, and I wanted to start testing my wiring work so far. I've gone around my layout and I have about 6.7v/track (a little low from what I've read, but I don't think that is my probem) and I wanted to try some basic locomotive operations on the track I've laid thus far (three months from when I started my project) and was hoping today would be a little bit of a milestone.
I've purchased a pair of Bachmann 44 ton locos, which will be my motive power for my railroad (one two motor version, one one motor) that are only DC at this point, but figured if I set the DCS 50 to loco 00 I should be fine. I hooked up the control unit and put my first loco on the track. The engine buzzed (which should be normal for DC on DCC I think) and started to move slowly as I increased the power but then the control unit shut down, leaving only the track status light flashing green. I then unplugged the controll to reset it and tried testing with my 2nd loco (the 2 motor version) and it started to move, but then shut down the control unit in the same way.
Now, my single motor version doesn't make any noise on the track, and my two motor version buzzes and when I try to load up the engine stall out the system in the same way. I'd love any advice if people have it, as I'm a bit lost and I don't see much of anything about this in the trobuleshooting. I don't think this is an issue of durty wheels, but I'm all ears!
Sorry if this has been answer a bunch in the past, I didn't see a suitable post in the archive
6.7 volts is quite low for a Zephyr. I just checked mine and it's at 11.8 volts. Are you sure the connections are right. The track wires should be in Rail A and Rail B. Prog A and Prog B go to your programming track which shouldn't be connected to your main track at all. For one DC loco to cause the unit to shut down as soon as it starts moving tells me that it's over running the system, and I don't see how one loco is gonna suck up 2.5 amps. Either there's something wrong with your Zephyr or with the PS315 power supply.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Hmm...that's not good. Just toclarify however, I should say the TOTAL voltage (according to this article) is not too far off from what they recommend, but I can't find the adjustment they refer to in that article (although it sounds like it's talking about a different model than mine).
I'm a little worried, as one of my locos doesn't even make a buzzing sound now so I'm hoping I didn't cook anything....ugh
If anyone knows if there is a voltage adjustment on this I'd much appreciate it.
~rb
There's no voltage adjustment on the Zephyr that I'm aware of. To check your track power rail to rail set your multimeter to read AC and touch the leads to the rails. Your Zephyr may need to be reset. Go to page 46 of your Zephyr manual and read section 28.0 on option switch setup. At the bottom of the page it outlines how to reset the Zephyr to it's original factory settings. If that doesn't work contact Digitrax.
I just tried that. I'm at 14.6 volts AC; I'm suspicious that something is wrong with the unit now...I'm just hoping I didn't fry that non-responsive locomotive...
I doubt you fried the loco. Did you try cleaning the wheels on it? It doesn't take much to interfere with the pickup.
Not sure what flashing track power means on the Zephyr, on a DT400 that means the system is in emergency stop but you can;t do that with just the Zephyr console. Hmm, I can't remember if the track status on the console flashed when I used the e-stop on my DT400 or not. Do you get any other indications, like 0's or 1's on the display? Some locos just do not run on address 0. I don;t think the older 2-motor 44-tonners had the choke coils and capacitors that newer bachmann locos have, but I can see that interfering with running under the zero stretching of address 0 operation. Do you have any other locos you could try besides the two Bachmanns?
ANd rememebr not to leave a non-decoder loco just sittign ont he track buzzing. The motor is slowly cooking while it's doing that, and left too long you could permanently damage it. It's ok for a quick test run but it'snot suitable for long-term operation.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks for the advice Randy. unfortunately the only thing I have on hand are the two 44's; however one of them (the one that is now totally unresponsive outside of the headlight lighting up) is the newer single motor version; the one that still "buzzes" is the older 2-motor version.
I was planning on putting a decoder in the newer one (the 2 motor one was a mis-labeled auction on eBay...first bad buy there FWIW) but was going to use them as-is until I got around to buying/installing a decoder. Maybe that should move up my list of priorities.
I think I'm going to try and stop by my LHS and see if we can't get them to run around their test track, but I'm having a tough time believing BOTH locos are having that much of a hard time with dirty track/wheels.
If they run cleanly tomorrow maybe a call to Digitrax is in order.
~Rich
PS. Just saw the other question. I don't get any other indications. The screen goes blank. The track status light goes from the solid amber/brown color to the blinking green.
One last thought: I'm connecting the Zephyr to my track with the Atlas wired rail joiners. Since they are code 22-24wire, could that potentially be the problem? I put the wire right into the screw terminals so maybe I'm losing power due to the small guage wire?
I'm scratching my head at this point...
If that's your ONLY track connection, it could be a problem around the far side of the layout, but there should be no issue running a loco right near the terminal joiners.
My whole layout was just bunches of terminal joiners. I made my own, but EVERY rail joiner had a feed wire attached, so I had no power issues at all. Prior to building the 8x12 layout, I had a simpel oval on a 4x8 to use as a test track - and even with two sets of feeders equally spaced on opposite sides, I had problems with locos slowing down when run under DC.
Hi,
The article you cited is for a DCS100. There is no voltage adjustment on a Zephyr. The instructions in the article are accurate for measuring the voltage. Set your meter to DC and measure each track output to ground. Add the two together and that's the total voltage. Should be up around 14 volts on a Zephyr. When checking, make sure that address 00 is set at speed 00. Anything else will flaw the readings.
Your locos probably have capacitors that will have to be removed before installing decoders. Until decoders are installed, try testing with DC. DCC is really not of much use without decoders.
To test your wiring, turn the Zephyr's track power on and do the coin test. Try shorting the rails all over the layout. The Zephyr's circuit breaker should trip immediately. If you can count past one while shorting the track, that's too long. Add feeders or increase their number to cure.
I really recommend soldering 20 awg feeder wires to your track to supply power. Rail joiners will corrode over time and increase resistance. Soldering is the best method, period. Everything else is a short cut.
Martin Myers
So a further update:
I took both locos to a LHS and put them on a DC test track. The single-motor version (the one that was non-responsive after an initial "jump" when I put it on the tracks for the vryy first time) was DOA. The LEDs light up, but there is no response from the locomotive whatsoever. The 2nd 44 ton is a two motor version which ran just fine on their test track.
So my concusions:
1. I've fried the single-motor version in all likelihood. It's still under warranty, but I left it with the store so their "train guy" could take a look at things (the place concentrates mostly on RC stuff). If it's relatively cheap to have him fix things, I might take that over waiting on the warranty work from Bachman plus he might be able to give me a suggestion about what isn't working
2. At this point, the problem seems to have been narrowed down to either the power pack or my wiring. I was going to take another set of wired joiners and attach them to a single piece of flex track to see if I can replicate the same problem of the Zephyr shutting off (making it either a track or power pcak issue) and then I can go from there.
I don't see any other options at this point, but if someone has another suggestion, I'd love to hear it. As I mentioned, all of my track tested OK (both voltage and a short test) so I'm starting to think more and more this is an issue with the system or the power supply.
Here's what I think.
First, there's no way that incorrect wiring will fry a loco. It just won't work but it won't fry an engine. If your short test is working properly and the track voltage is right when measured correctly, the Zephyr and its power supply are working.
The single motor unit's motor may or may not be damaged. Could be some component on a circuit board that fried. Running a DC motor on DCC is a crap shoot at best and if left to idle on the track, they can overheat and be permanently damaged. That buzz is the armature reversing each time the polarity reverses. That can't be good for any piece of machinery.
The dual motor unit is most likely pulling more current that the Zephyr can supply and tripping the overcurrent protection. This could be its nature or it could have some binding in the mechanism It would be interesting to measure the stall current on the dual motor unit.
If that 2 motor loco is pulling enough power to shut the Zephyr down something is definitely wrong. I've run 6 locos with mine easily BEFORE adding in my Bachmann booster for another 5 amps. No way is one loco, even with 2 motors, going to draw 2.5+ amps unless those motors are really ancient open frame monsters. Now as far as light boards going bad on DCC, yeah. I've had that happen. Even had one try to burn the loco down.