SO.....as I have mentioned before, I'm rather new to all this and have been buying locomotives and collecting bit and pieces. First off let me say that I have a basic EZ command Bachmann throttle, nothing fancy. I recently purchased a Bachmann SD-45 DCC equiped loco on ebay. When it arrived I couldn't get it to run on any address. I placed in on a DC piece of track and it ran fine. My question is this. Is there any way to get the decoder reset to factory setting so that I can address it to run on my DCC track. I have another decoder already, but if I was able to get the original decoder reset then I would be able to make one more of my DC loco's DCC. I contacted they seller and they helped the best the could with possible solutions to no end. Come to find out they were selling for it for someone else. Any help would be greatly apreciated.
Are you sure it even has a decoder? If it does it is pretty easy to put on the programming track and re-set it.
What brand and model is the decoder? Different decoders often have different re-set protocols. With the decoder maker and model you can go online and look up the instructions for re-setting it. While you are there you might check to see if it is a dual mode decoder and, if so, how to change it from DC to DCC.
absolutely sure it has a decoder as i have already pulled it out by the 8 pin connector and replaced it. the loco runs great. T he Bachmann EZ command throttle does not have a programming track. it programs on the main and in order to change the address you have to have the loco moving to change address. and seeing that it most likey has an address i don't know, i can't get it moving on DCC track. i'm just trying to see if i will be able to use the decoder with unknown address in another loco after getting the address issue resolved. as for the decoder it is a Bachmann EZ command decoder Item # 44915
Try using the following procedure as it does set value in several key CVs and sometimes will clear a problem with addressing a decoder.
Hello All,
Definitely check to see if it is "DCC Onboard" and not "DCC Ready." It will be printed on the face of the box, if one was included with your purchase.
On page 3 of the E-Z Command Setup and Programming Instructions manual it describes how to reprogram decoders with previously assigned digital addresses.
Hope this helps.
Update:
As a user of the Bachmann Dynamis system (add laughter, dismay and ridicule here) which can program but not read CV's without the ProBox, I purchased a MRC Decoder Dr. This allows me to read, write and program CV's on a separate programming track. I found one at my LHS for under $90.00 (including tax).
If you are not considering dropping $$$$'s to upgrade your DCC system I highly recommend this item. Even if you are considering an upgrade in the future, this item will still be a valuable investment in your DCC tool box.
Again, hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
You cannot programme a DCC decoder with DC. If you are using an EZ Command, it is a DCC system, so you don't need to have the locomotive in motion. The reason is that the voltage to the rails in a DCC setup is always at the maximum output offered to the rails at the output terminals of the command station...barring problems with dirty joiners, bad solders, and generally poor conductivity on the rails due to corrosion and/or dirt.
That is to say, a decoder in DCC can be programmed on the main WITHOUT the locomotive having to be in motion. The loco can be absolutely still because it is always getting its signals through the rails, and always getting the maximum voltage. The decoder then apportions that voltage via its own outputs, whether to lights, an amplifier, or to the DC motor.
I believe the EZ Command can assign addresses, but it can't change any of the configuration variables (CVs) that control inertia, momentum, individual sounds (including their individual volumes relative to the volumes of other sounds), and so on.
If you can dial in address "03", and your new loco has not had its address changed from factory new, it should respond to throttle commands on that address. You'll have to get into your system's manual to see about resetting the decoder to factory defaults if its address is a mystery to you and not address "03".
Let me just say a huge THANK YOU to RR Baron and jjdamit. if you both hadn't mentioned the bottom of page 3 I would have continued to miss it. I have looked and read that page so many times it isn't funny. I'm not good with filtering through books for info, my brain gets overwhelmed. Thank you so much. Now I can convert an additional loco to DCC.
Hello,
Glad to be of assistance.
I'm kind of the opposite, I'm not a big reader for fun but I can tear through a technical manual like nobody's business and retain most of it.
Again, glad to help.
Yodarian . . . in order to change the address you have to have the loco moving to change address. . . .
. . . in order to change the address you have to have the loco moving to change address.
. . .
Yodarian,
In future,