troubleshooting Atlas Master Loco

[gondy529]

Just finished the wiring for my new HO DCC layout. Prior to finishing the wiring, I test-ran two Atlas Master series locos (new, never run). They ran fine in the DC mode, but when I tried to run them in the DCC mode they would not run, but the locos lights were lit. I changed the dual-mode connector located at the rear of the loco's decoder, per the instructions, to run from DC to DCC, but nothing. Also tried the loco address format on my MRC Advance, but nothing. Other locos (Athearn, Life-Like) that have DCC decoders installed are running fine. These two Atlas locos were purchased 3-5 years ago new, and were removed from the package this week, so they are not dirty or worn down. Any suggestions, diagnosis would be much appreciated. Thanks. Gondy529

[cacole]

 First, have you tried running them on default address of 3?

Secondly, if you tried to change from 3 to a long address, you probably need to also change CV 29 to a value of 34 so the decoder knows that you want to use the long address.

Some DCC systems do this automatically through their "configuration" mode and others don't.

It's always a safe bet to program CV 29 separately instead of relying on a DCC system's configuration steps.

If you've tried changing to a long address but the decoder still runs on address 3, you definitely need to change CV 29.

Some people recommend programming CV 29 before changing the address, but I have not found this to be any different than changing CV 29 after the address is changed; however, I never rely on the DCC system itself to change CV 29.

[Stevert]

I seem to recall that Atlas used the last two digits of the road number rather than the default "03" address on their dual-mode decoders.  For example, if the address is 341, it would be addressed as 41.  Try that and see if it works.

HTH,
Steve

[gondy529]

That did the trick; both locos programmed, per your suggestion & work great. Thanks for the help.

[rdgk1se3019]

 I`ll give you a warning now about the Atlas "Master" decoders.

A friend of mine recently had 1 go bad in a GP38 he has.........him and I have heard before from others that it could happen......he found out the hard way.