My PCM Big Boy Headlight is giving me fits! 85% of the time I have owned it the darn headlight does not want to work.
This weekend I took the engine apart and cleaned the post on the PC board and female plug that plugs on to the post 3 times with CRC contact cleaner. This normally gets the headlight on, not this time!
Next step is to test if there is power at the plug. I have a cheap Harbor Freight Meter, what setting do I set the meter took to test for power? I will added the Number Boards do work and there on the same circuit. (springs about 1/2 rear of where the headlight plug is)
If I have power at the plug, how do I test the LED? AA battery?
While I am asking questions again, here is a link to a sound question I posted on the main section.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/210197.aspx
If I can get theses kinks worked out, great engine.
Cuda Ken Bugging you folks again!
I hate Rust
Connect it to the track, and use the 20V AC setting. Make sure you have power at the circuit board where the track pickup wires connect, but if it runs, then clearly it does. Also make sure you have F0 turned on. Switch to the 20V DC setting and check for voltage betwene the blue and white wires, blue is positive, red probe, although it won;t hurt if you get it backwards, it will just read - volts. Then check at the LED itself, see if you have voltage there. If not, circuit problem. If there's voltage there, it's the LED. To test the LED< make sure it's out of circuit, if you leave it conencted and apply voltage it will blow the decoder function. Grab your DC power pack and a 1K resistor and turn the power pack up near full and conenct to the LED via the 1K resistor. If it doesn;t light try the other way around, or glipt he direction switch. If it doesn't light up, the LED is bad.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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