Okay here's the particulars
Loco is an HO scale BLI J1
Power system is an NCE Power Pro -Just back fro NCE and updated to latest NCE version.Using an NCE Pro Cab hand held controller
Put the Loco on programming track with a Tony's Power Pax between the NCE Power Pro and the programming track.
First indication of a problem Cannot read CV
Went ahead and programmed in the long address ( 6418)
Put loco back on the main after uncoupling programming track.
I get sound, bell, whistle,head light, but loco won't move when throttle is advanced on the Pro Cab controller
Am I missing something because I am following the System Reference Manual ( original NCE manual)
TheK4Kid aka Ed
Next piee of information. It is late at night so NCE is closed so I can't call tech help at the moment
Should I go bang my head on the wall three times and see if some golden nugget of a step I missed falls in place?
Bli recomends programing in OPS mode "on the main". If that does not work you may have to program motor decoder seperatly.
Truck Bli recomends programing in OPS mode "on the main". If that does not work you may have to program motor decoder seperatly.
Truck,
That would only work if the locomotive were a Blueline. The J1s never came in that line.
Ed,
Is this an older J1 with the QSI decoder or a new J1 with the Paragon2 decoder?
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
TheK4Kid Okay here's the particulars Loco is an HO scale BLI J1 Went ahead and programmed in the long address ( 6418) I get sound, bell, whistle,head light, but loco won't move when throttle is advanced on the Pro Cab controller
Do the bell, whistle, and headlight operate from the function buttons on the handset when long address 6418 is selected? If so, then it sounds to me that the decoder is being recognized by the command station. But I believe that the decoder is located in the tender. The motor wires run from the tender to the engine. Are you certain that the connector plug between the loco and tender is fully inserted? Is this a new engine, or one that operated properly before?
Is this a 'Blue Line' engine - there is not motor decoder and the the results you are describing would be correct. Blue Line engines need a motor decoder installed....
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Tom, BLI's site listing of Blueline locos shows a J1 in that category, and I seem to recall their availability back in 2009 or so.
If this is a DCC/QSI-equipped early Paragon locomotive, I would bet first on the improperly insterted plug on the tether, and other than that, it may be the Blueline version in which the motor would need a second decoder installed..as stated earlier.
Crandell
Hey Crandell,
Caulk it up to me being a New York Central modeler. When I see "J1", I automatically think of a NYC Hudson rather than a PRR J1. The 6000-series address should have been the tip-off.
Okay, with that being the case, Ed, then yes - you will need to add a motor decoder to your J1 and it's a fairly straightforward operation. Be sure to add one of the ones recommended in your J1 manual. BLI recommends them because they are known to correctly program simultaneously with the sound decoder and you need that for your locomotive to work properly in DCC mode.
And if you want excellent BEMF or low-speed response from your J1, I would strongly encourage you to consider the Lenz Silver MP decoder. It isn't cheap but it makes my Blueline 4-8-4 Niagara crawl as well as - if not better than - my yard switchers. You can find it 20-30% off MSRP from places like Litchfield Station or Tony's Train Exchange.
Ed AKA K4 kid.
If this is truly a Blueline series loco from BLI then a great motor decoder would be a TCS T1 with a short harness. The tender shell is a tight fit and just pry's up with a small tool or something. Be careful of the wires to the loco so they do net get pinched when the shell goes back on. Remove the jumper plug and plug the decoder in. I swapped the lighting wire harness to the alternate location so the motor decoder will operate the lights. That is the hardest part. The wire for the lights are real short and could use another half inch to make it easier. You can program on the main or the program track. One bit of advise is to do not lock either decoder using the CV15 and 16 like it said in the Blueline manual. Common CVs will be the same for both decoders and the sound CVs are beyond what the TCS decoder uses and will be ignored.
Thanks to BLI for bringing out some affordable layout quality steamers for us P.co. guys now that Bowser has stopped making kits. I just wish they would produce some H class 2-8-0 locos. They would be hard to keep on the store shelves.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Nothing like watching someone learn the beauty of Blueline decoders.
Springfield PA
Older J1 with a QSI decoder that did run fine previously
Also I don't run any DC, all DCC
4 other BLI steam engines with QSI all running fine.
Ed.
That's a different animal altogether. The first thing to check is the plug into the loco. It may seem fine but it is not. Pull it apart and look into the female sockets to see if the plastic from the molding process has crept into the sockets. This can be cleaned with a small drill bit in a pin vise. The next step is to do a reset of the decoder and try it on address 3 afterward.
Let us know how you make out.
Yes, remove the plug from the socket under the cab and inspect it with good light and a magnifier. Are the holes clear?
Line up the plug correctly for the pin orientation in the socket under the cab, insert it, and then use the splayed tines of a thin needle-nosed pliers to force it deeply to the back of the socket. The outer surface of the plug should almost be slightly recessed...that's how far it needs to go. Grab ahold of the frame near the cab and carefully place a tine on each side of the wire bundle...and press firmly.
When you changed the address to the long/extended address, was it with that address active that you were able to sound the whistle? If so, and after reseating the plug as I described you get no motor action, you have either a bad transmission or a defective decoder.