I've been having "mysterious" things occuring with my digitrax super chief system. Sometimes I have to shut down and reboot the system (turning it back on) to get locos to come alive OR I sometimes have to hit the loco button to reaccess or "wake up" a loco.
Today, after running for some time, successfully and shutting down just prior to some visitors viewing the layout I got track power indications on the command unit (150) and one beep showing that the throttle/loco net was working, but no sound or movement from the locos. I rocked the wheels and got a brief 1 sec. sound and then nothing.
I tried the usual rebooting process several times. No go. I used my 2nd throttle and got things to wake up. Figuring...hmmm...must be the lst throttle, I then went back to using that throttle and thing worked fine again.
Any idea(s) what's going on? The need to reboot at least, occurs reasonably often but not always and worked fine without reboots for ages prior. I haven't changed anything recently in the way of wiring, option switching, etc. etc.
Mystified. I'm also an elecrical/electronics dunce so if you can offer trouble shooting directions that are basic/layman-ish I could sure use some. I couldn't find a duplicate description of this problem online so far.
Many thanks! Jim
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
From what you describe as rocking of the wheels for a 1 second burst of sound would indicate to me that the locos wheels and power pickups need to be cleaned. Does it do the same thing with other locos? Check the voltage on the rails to be sure you have power there. Check the connections from the power supply to the command station and the A-B connections to the power buss to be sure they are all tight. A loose connection there might intermittantly interupt the power flow to the rails.
Look at the power on indicator dot in the upper right of the throttle display. Is it blinking or on solid? It needs be be on solid. Blinking is when it's in e-stop mode. Pres Power-On again when it's blinking nad it should go to a solid dot and everything should work.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
As far as "waking up" a loco, it depends on what the CV settings are in the decoder. You can set most decoders so that the engine starts making sound as soon as power is sent to the track, or you can set it so that the engine remains silent until you enter it's ID no. into your DCC system and call it up.
FWIW I prefer the latter, I'd rather not have several engines sitting on the layout suddenly start making noise all at once, especially ones in an enginehouse stall or sitting 'parked' on a sidetrack.
Also, it can;t hurt to do an OpSw 39 reset on the command station. Powering down to reboot doesn't work like it does on a computer because much of the stored (and potentially corrupt) data is stored in non-volatile memory. Think of it as typing in the wrong document and then saving it. Rebooting your computer isn't going to fix it because it's already saved. 9 times out of 10, wierd responses from the command station are solved by doing the reset.
rrinker Also, it can;t hurt to do an OpSw 39 reset on the command station. Powering down to reboot doesn't work like it does on a computer because much of the stored (and potentially corrupt) data is stored in non-volatile memory. Think of it as typing in the wrong document and then saving it. Rebooting your computer isn't going to fix it because it's already saved. 9 times out of 10, wierd responses from the command station are solved by doing the reset. --Randy
I agree with Randy on the OP SW39 reset!
I don't quite know why Everyone forgets about doing the RESET and EVERYONE responding to these types of questions NEVER suggest it!
That is/was the first thing we learned to do way back in the beginning of Digitrax.
As for the engines NOT responding yet the Sound is on.
That is the Loconet in Standby mode (also called Globle Stop) - the power on DOT on the DT4xx series of Throttles will have the Power Dot blinking!
Just press the Power (+) sequence again and the DOT should be on solid.
If you are NOT familiar with where this POWER ON DOT is refer to the Owners Manual about this.
The DT4xx series will get into a funk and decide to only want to turn on the layout in Standby Mode for some reason.
This happens to my layout all of the time mostly with the DT400 series Throttles but will also happen with the DT402 series throttles.
BOB H - Clarion, PA
The standby mode thing I only know about becuase of constantly hearing about it - but I have never experienced it on my layout, nor ahve I seen it on the club layout when a bunch of peopel are running - however on the club layout, there is usually only ever one or two DT40x throttles connected - one that gets left under the layout connected to teh command station, and mine if I am shifting the yard (if I take out a train I use one of the UT4R ot D's, sinc emy DT40xs are all wired). Proof of people not dispatching properly and other shannanigans are that I will see random other addresses come up on my DT402 after it's been idle for a while, or I will get a Steal message for an address that I KNOW no one else has on the layout - if I have to Steal the loco I am selecting, it would haev been moving down the track already! All the holding tracks plus many tracks in the yard still have dsiconnect toggles so I NEVER leave power on to a parked loco or train, too many gerfingerpokin users who fat finger the address and then wonder why the traint ehy are staring at doesn't move when they turn upt eh throttle.
However - despite all teh wierd ness that comes from randomly hitting the wrong button by nexperienced users, I've never seen the flashing power dot. Migth happen at some other shows, but the one I usually help out at is 6-7 days, 9-5, and I'm usually there the whole time. No flashing dots. One thing is that th DC100 command station does NOT supply track power to anything, it sits in one spot conencted to its power supply and the only other wires to it are Loconet cables, thr track outputs are not connected. As such, it never sees any shorts or power interruptions no matter how badly an operator might mess up. I;m sure that helps a lot.
rrinker The standby mode thing I only know about becuase of constantly hearing about it - but I have never experienced it on my layout, nor ahve I seen it on the club layout when a bunch of peopel are running - <SNIP> --Randy
The standby mode thing I only know about becuase of constantly hearing about it - but I have never experienced it on my layout, nor ahve I seen it on the club layout when a bunch of peopel are running - <SNIP>
Randy
If you want to see it
Go change the DT4xx throttles to GLOBAL STOP
The Flashing Dot will show everytime you hit E-STOP and the Layout will suddenly STOP
YET! - The sound engines will still make sound etc.
BUT - NOTHING will move!
I had this happen Randomly on my layout during several OPs Session back in 2013
It would just do into Global Stop.
I could see this as my Duplex DT402D would suddenly show the Flashing Dot!
I would quickly press POWER - + and the layout would come back up!
It would then happen maybe in a few minutes or an hour or not at all the rest of the night
I did a OP SWw39 Reset (NO CHANGE)
Even changed out the Command Station - NO CHANGE!
And it would happen so random - maybe not at all during an OPs Session or one night it was happening about every 5 minutes!
It was driving me crazy and with it being so random - there was no way I was having any luck tracking it down!
Then one evening I was setting up the layout for the OPs Session and I had my newest DT402R - just got it in from Digitrax.
I was moving some engines with a LOT of Momentum and was moving a bit faster than I realized and I just hit the E-STOP button
The Engine stopped and so did everything else - I couldn't get the engine I was running to move nor anything else.
Then I happened to plug in and saw the POWER DOT flashing.
I hit POWER - + and the layout was back running.
Then I began to wonder and tried the E-Stop button again and the Layout came to a stop and the POWER DOT was flashing again!
That was the problems we were having!
A bunch of the NEW DT402R throttles were coming through from Digitrax with GLOBAL STOP enabled from the factory instead of the LOCAL STOP (engine you have running on your throttle only).
SO I began checking the other throttles of the Operators - and sure enough another Operator had a DT402R and it had the GLOBAL STOP set instead of Local Stop) for the E-Stop button.
Changed that one to LOCAL and my problem of the layout suddenly going into STANDBY was gone!
I regularly have 20 to 25 operators for my Thursday OPs Session and never would have guessed that the Factory would have screwed up the Setting in the Throttles!
That was the only 2 I found out of the 30 or so guys that attend my layout on a semi regular basis!
I checked all of my DT402Rs I had in stock - and sure enough they all had the GLOBAL STOP set in the Options in the throttle.
NOW - I if you don't run a train with the Speed KNOB and E-STOP - you would never find it
BUT I had one OP - that was the only way he ran and when he was NOT there - the layout never had a problem (he was the one with the NEW DT402R). Once I reset the OPTIONS in his Throttle - no more problems!
I did have another time later after this episode when the layout went into STANDBY and I just ask who had a new DT402R and checked the OPTIONS and had to reset that one too - although that operator was not a frequent one to my layout!
If something weird or off the wall is going to happen - my layout will be the one to have it! ;-)
While the problem may well be with the electronics (decoder), it sure sounds like dirty track/wheels or intermittant short situation and shuts down the system. It could even be the loco going over a turnout where the drive wheels touch two tracks (at the frog) at once.
Yes, I speak from having been there done that.
So before doing all the fancy fixins, make sure the problem is not a simple electrical connectivity thing............
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Oh, I know how to make the dot flash - I've just never had it happen on its own, either when powering on the layout or from the results of something like a short.
But then, I also have maybe pressed the e-stop once in my life, back when I first got a DT400 and was going through the manual to try each function. After trying it out and reading the manual, I set my DT400 to local. I don;t think I edited m DT402, because I never press the button, but I'll bet it's on global since I never checked.
Best way to find the Dot on your throttle is to turn on functions 11 and 12. the dot will be between the 11 and 12 that appear in the display when these functions are on.
BTW, A.J. Ireland told me several years ago that he wishes he had never included the "Emergency Stop" button. Pesonally, I've never used it. Others can't seem to run their trains without it. In fact I just went over the dot with our club members at yesterday's meeting. We'll go over it again at the October show in Timonium.
Martin Myers
Perhaps the same people have also turned off ballastic tracking so one quick flip of the fingers doesn;t take them from full throttle to stop. Soundtraxx didn't do anyone any favors by using it to trigger the shutdown.
Hi guys. Thanks as always. So far, I'm thinking the A/B rail connectors may have been just a tich loose as the installer made the stripped ends quite "blobby". They were jammed in "ok" but still had a tich of "microscopic" wiggle room. We'll see.
The power on dot was always solid. The locos ran perfectly fine an hour before this occured. The wheels are clean enough that I'm sure that's not the problem. I've used OP switch 39 a couple of times in the past (about 2 months ago or so) to clear slot max messages and plan on doing that regularly once I'm running more.
I've been building and running on the layout for about 5 years so understand generally how things work, and can understand most of the manual but that's about it at present.
I may have hit emergency stop recently (but WAY before the day in question)...
We'll see if things continue to run now that things are back to normal....hopefully. I'll carefully read the posts here and see if anything else applies.
(edit): I have PSX boards that handle the short circuits so there were no visible or audible short cirucuit beeps. I would think that lifing one side of the loco's drivers/wheels and/or taking the loco off the track would get rid of a short. So I don't think it was a short circuit.
My loco CVs are presently all sound on upon power up. Thanks though. I didn't realize I could sllence them until I addressed them I'll try that once I'm sure this problem is resolved.
Does doing Opswitch 39, say weekly or even every day I run eliminate 99% of these little quirky mysteries?
Thanks, Jim
It can't hurt, and with a DB150 there's nothing to reset back away from factory default, unless you changed the short circuit response time to work with the PSX. On a DCS100, doing an OpSw 39 reset also resets the slots back to 22, if you had it set for the full 120.
Everything is behaving normally now (so far!) so if it continues to do so, I'll do Opswitch 39. I DID forget to mention one thing. I used my second throttle (one is a 404 the other a 402 and can't remember which I used lst, now, but they're both NON duplex.
When I switched throttles I was able to bring things to life, so I thought, hmmm....must've been that throttle, but once things fired up, the lst throttle also worked fine. I have to assume it was the A/B wire connection even though they were fine for so long. Anyway wondered if anyone had an idea why one throttle might've worked while the other didn't...temporarily. I'm pretty sure it was just after I re-twisted the A/B rail wire ends and reinserted them into the command station but not positive. I try to take notes as I go when trouble shooting, but got a bit lost in the "heat of the battle".