I installed the decoder last night and tryed it out on the track and it starts up and then studders the lights flash and the sound stops working or just turns off and then on. I hooked up the positive wire and negative wire to the righ place and all the trucks i hooked up per instructions im using an 8ohm speaker, one ditch f5 one f6 then a common from each ditch to the 1.5 area along with the front and rear lights speaker to the pos and neg speaker s+ s- common from each light to the spot to the right of the right front and rear pickups i noticed when it is on the tracks the power light on the decoder is on but the led on the front of the decoder where the ! sign is flashes any ideas on what could be going on. this is my first decoder installation i did also connect the compasitor or what ever the purple cylinder is called to the appropriate spot.
BNSF0823:
The flashing red light on the decoder is obviously telling you that something is wrong. There is a reference to what the light is telling you in the Quick Start Guide on page 12:
http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/quickstart.pdf
By the way, the purple cylinder is called a "capacitor". It helps the decoder get over minor interuptions in track power.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
A couple of things,
1. Put some tape on the bottom of the capacitor to keep it from accidentally shorting out.
2. You likely have an intermittent connection or a short. Make sure the board is insulated from the loco frame, motor, etc.
3. Definitely check the above quick start and other manuals. Soundtraxx has 3 manuals.
Richard
Richard:
Did you mean to suggest that tape should be put on the bottom of the "capacitor" or the decoder? There is a possibility that insulating the decoder will solve the problem.
Dave,
Isolate BOTH the bottom of the cap and the decoder. I use Kapton tape for the bottom of the cap. I don't put tape on the bottom of the decoder, I put it on a matching sized piece of plastic stock usually. I then tape it to the piece of plastic in one or two areas. Using foam tape directly on the decoder board can hinder heat dissipation.
I remember this happening to me during an install. I believe I reset the decoder. I can't remember the CV's or values. Check the books. Like mentioned before there are three manuals download them all. I remember this happening after I installed the decoder and was programming the address and sounds values. I run a Digitraxx DCC setup if that is helpful at all. I have done two SD 70 MAC's both with Tsunami boards and sound.
Set CV-30 to 2 to reset the decoder Jim.