Another question for you guys, not sure on this one. I put a DH165AO board in another Athearn Genesis SD70. This was an ebay purchase that was a bit of a hack job from before. Everything under the body appears normal, but when I installed the board the loco goes in the wrong direction, but the headlights come on dimly in the opposite direction the loco is moving. Pretty confusing, but I don't know what to look for. Re-programming CV29 did not change how the loco behaved. Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.
CV29 should change the direction of the loco if programmed correctly. What value did you assign to CV29?
Rich
Alton Junction
I would do a full reset. It sounds like the previous user might have done some odd stuff.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
If it goes the wrong way, the motor leads are probably backwards, although changing CV29 to an odd number should change that. SOmething's REALLY wrong if that didn't work. That's a non-negotiable adjustment adn changes the polarity on the motor output - it HAS to change direction.
The dim lights could perhaps be that the previous owner repalced the 1.5v stock bulbs with somnethign higher voltage or 1.5v bulbs with a higher current draw than the stock Athearn bulbs, and the limited headlight output of the DH165 isn't enough. The decoder is adjustable to provide different output, but I would try actual Athearn repalcement bulbs first, adjusting the decoder is pretty much a one-time, one-way thing (it involves cutting a trace) and if the result is too high you will need to add resistors to prevent the bulbs from blowing.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
If the board was put in upside down that might be causing the troubles. I did that once on my first DCC install and drove it me crazy so I flipped the board and all was good
Since you installed the DH165 I'd say you wired the motor backwards. Also you should re-check all wiring.
Here's a post I found on the digitrax knowledge base addressing a similar installation.
http://tsd.digitrax.com/index.php?a=1156
Springfield PA
Thanks everyone for the help. After much diggin the leads WERE in fact reversed. Had to do the same with another Genesis SD70 as well that I had. So now the direction is right, but none of my lights are working on either loco. Is there a trick to the 165AO board I don't know about?
Its not unheard of having a bad Athearn board. I did an instal on a MP15 switcher that I found had a bad Athearn board. It back fed the light circuit that fried the decoders lighting section. An email to Athearn confirmed a problem with some dual plug boards. They offered a replacement if I sent this one in. I declined and hard wired a decoder in it.
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!
fireman205 Thanks everyone for the help. After much diggin the leads WERE in fact reversed. Had to do the same with another Genesis SD70 as well that I had. So now the direction is right, but none of my lights are working on either loco. Is there a trick to the 165AO board I don't know about?
Test those Athearn Genesis bulbs on a 9 volt battery, but be sure to use a resistor. Otherwise, if the bulbs are still good before testing, they won't be after testing without a resistor. If the bulbs work, then your problem is in the decoder. If the bulbs don't work, then they are burned out, and it is also possible that the decoder leads for the lights are also fried.
You could also just use an AA or AAA battery since the bulbs are 1.5 volts.