Yesterday I installed a deocder in a Proto 2000 GP7. Today, I started to clean the wheels using the rubbing alcohol and paper towel method, and then after the locomotive had run for only a short time, something jiggled inside (it was a real mess of wires inside the shell) and shorted out.
I tested it to see if it was the headlights by turning them off, and it still shorted. The short is not my question.
I took the locomotive off the track, and as the circuit breaker reset itself, the track power indicator on my Digitrax Zephyr turned GREEN and all the locomotives on the layout surged forward. I quickly pressed the power button to shut off track power, and ran to remove the locomotives from the track. When I came back, however, the track power indicator was orange, meaning there was still regular power on the track. (when no power is on the light is off)
I didn't even know the light was capable of displaying green, and what does it mean? Why did all my locomotives start running by themselves?
Help!
Disable analog mode in the decoders and running away will stop.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
how do you clean the wheels with alcohol method?
You mean the green was it running in DC mode? That makes sense, I guess, but I didn't know it was possible with the Zephyr...
My method for cleaning wheels is: wet a paper towel with rubbing alcohol (not the 90%) and place it over the rails. Put your locomotive with one truck on the paper towel and the other on the rails. Throttle up to full speed while holding the locomotive in place. The spinning wheels rubbing against the paper towel will clean the wheels. Turn the locomotive around and repeat.
TrainManTyYou mean the green was it running in DC mode? That makes sense, I guess, but I didn't know it was possible with the Zephyr...
No, I did not mean that. I meant that you can disable the analog/DC compatible mode within the decoder. Many decoders have the ability to run on both DCC and DC layouts. What can happen is that following restoration of power to the track following a short, sometimes decoders see the power before they see the DCC command signals and so take off at full speed. If you turn off this DC mode feature in the decoder and it will stop any starts like you experienced.
thanks .rick
Phew! Glad it was just a fluke and doesn't require sending in the Zephyr in for repairs or anything like that. Do you happen to know what CV I should change, and what it should be changed to? I'm not all that great with CV-based programming...
The 'orange' led is a red LED and green LED connected back to back across the track outputs. To see it in action, take your locos off the track and select address 00. At full throttle in one direction it will be mostly green, at full throttle the otehr way, mostly red.
Solid green is definitely an issue - as if one half of the DCC signal was completely missing. Luckily it seems to have been only a fluke, probably caused by the short. To set each decoder to not do analog (DC), subtract 4 from the value in CV29, if analog is already on. FOr example, for 28/128 speeds steps, normal forward direction, analog on, CV29 would be 38. Make it 34 to get 28/128 speed steps, normal forward direction, analog off.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Oh..That explains why sometimes it's a reddish orange, and others it's more yellowish orange...
If it's just a fluke, I think I'll leave the locos as duel-mode. I have a few units running on a friend's DC layout (with duel-mode DCC decoders) and I don't want to forget to set it back before having them run there.
Thanks for the help!
A decoder after all is simply a computer chip and like any computer it's going to do whatever it thinks it should be doing no matter how crazy it seems. I've had a couple of times when certain locos would take off on a mad rampage when my Zephyr was turned on. I set those locos decoders to DCC only and haven't had another problem with them. The other locos are all DC/DCC.
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