I purchased a Walthers Proto2000 SD-9 that is on sale. BNSF in the BN green. This is my first DCC loco with sound. I wanted to try out sound on my DC switching layout and the price was too good to pass up. 179 down from 290. I don't need a six axle road switcher but I wanted to hear some sound.
When I placed it on the track, it did nothing but click. Not a mechanical click but a electronic click. No lights and wouldn't move. I thought there must be something I have to do being DCC. I read the instructions and they said nothing.
I tried to remove the shell but the front end did not want to come off. I had removed the two screws by the fuel tank and looked for more. So after about an hour of wiggling, I got the shell off. Walthers must have jammed the shell on pinching all the wires in the front. Once the shell was removed, the loco worked. One wire to a ditch light was broken at the solder point.
I removed all the tape and rerouted wires as best I could and fixed the broken ditch light. I replaced the shell, which went back on much easier now and everything still worked. I noticed the flashing beacon on the roof wasn't very bright so I took of the shell again and noticed the "bulb" part of the led had broken off up in the beacon housing. It still worked since the led part of the light was still on the circuit board but didn't seem as bright as I would imagine a beacon would be.
I'm going to call Walthers today about a replacement but I have two questions before I do.
1. Should the flashing beacon light be as bright as the flashing led on the board? I can see it flashing when looking straight down at the loco but from the side, it's hard to tell if it's flashing at all.
2. This is my first DCC sound loco. Should the sound cut off when I change directions with the engine is stopped with the idling sound? Is that something I have to put up with since I'm running it on DC? The lights shut off for a second too. Now if I drop the throttle to zero, it shuts off, of course, but then the sound starts all over again when I apply power. I would think the sound would stay on and the lights wouldn't blink when changing directions while stopped. Like I said, I don't know what is right or wrong.
Pat Bandy
Pat,
Most models beacons are too bright for my tastes, so if it's not obvious, something making it too dim. If it's simply getting the bulb or LED seated properly, that's easy enough.
If you're running a DC loco on DCC, switching directions is done like on DC. To do it realistically, you should go to zero, the reverse the power. And when you go to zero volts, the sound dies. perfectly normal -- and also why folks tend to go ahead and switch to DCC after a couple of locos they know could be much more satisfying if only they had DCC available.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Thanks Mike.
The sounds cuts off when there is still power to the loco, it's not moving when I throw the direction switch. I realize the sound would go off when the throttle is at zero with no power to the engine. I thought I could throw the direction switch when the loco is not moving and still has power for the sound chip and I wouldn't lose sound.
This loco may be my gateway drug into the world of DCC. lol
The led bulb, I think is stuck up inside the beacon housing. All I have for a flashing led is the flat portion on the circuit board. I can fix it but it burns me to have to fix something I spent 180 dollars on.
Usually if you want your money back from the manufacturer, its best to not try to repair things yourself because they might think you contributed to the problem(s). You might want to tell them the problems with the locos operation without disclosing you attempted repairs. Personally, I'd give you a Mulligan for your first faulty locoo.
I say this having had purchased the exact same loco, SD9 BNSF with ditchlights. It has the soundtraxx tsunami. Mine was not operating at slow speeds consistently despite not changing motor control cvs or having any obvious mechanical restrictions. Having some experience, I removed the shell carefully and noticed wires were pinched under the shell. With ditchlights and a beacon, there's a lot of wires under there. In the past, I have had a loco not perform properly simply because of pinched wires. But this loco I just buttoned up and returned for a refund.
- Douglas
Doughless Usually if you want your money back from the manufacturer, its best to not try to repair things yourself because they might think you contributed to the problem(s).
Usually if you want your money back from the manufacturer, its best to not try to repair things yourself because they might think you contributed to the problem(s).
Normaly, I wouldn't have touched it and called Walthers first but this was my first DCC loco and I thought perhaps there is something under the shell I had to do before it would operate. Like the motor being locked down for shipment or some sort of plug on the decoder I would have to remove.
The inside was covered with that thin, stick once tape that you can never get back in place. I thought that was the problem so I removed all of it. After that, there was no going back, so I fixed it myself.
Walthers said they will send me a new one when they get mine back if it's still in stock. If not, they will repair it and send it back to me.
Hard to find a DCC with sound for under 200. Now I have to wait. Stamping my feet hasn't help either. lol
Thank you Doughless
Update:
Called Walthers. They will send me a new one when they receive and look at the one I have. They will repair if not in stock. It's at Walthers, now just waiting for shipment notification.
Ignatosky Update: Called Walthers. They will send me a new one when they receive and look at the one I have. They will repair if not in stock. It's at Walthers, now just waiting for shipment notification.
Update No.2:
Recieved my replacement loco. Walthers sent me a new one.
It works great. Starting to go thru all the CVs to see what I like. It ran, right of the box, unlike the first one. In fact, I was so impressed, I forgot I was running it with the shipment coupler braces on until I pulled into the yard to start some switching.
Walthers was very helpful. I called last week to check on replacement status and got the same guy I talked to originally, Keith. He understood my situation and my lack of experience with DCC. Very nice guy. He gave me some tips too. Thank you Walthers.