Yup, the connections work. Thanks all!!
kasskaboose It appears that the DCC NCE cab control started working w/ the LED a bright red! The newest problem is I don't have any amps shown using that device. That explains why neither loco moves! I looked at the wires and they are all soldered properly. There aren't any shorts b/c all the wiring is the same from feeders to buss. Thoughts? The buss wires are 14g and the feeders are 18 or 22 g.
It appears that the DCC NCE cab control started working w/ the LED a bright red! The newest problem is I don't have any amps shown using that device. That explains why neither loco moves! I looked at the wires and they are all soldered properly. There aren't any shorts b/c all the wiring is the same from feeders to buss. Thoughts?
The buss wires are 14g and the feeders are 18 or 22 g.
It's been said by Randy and others:
Completely disconnect the PCB from your mainline wiring and temporarily wire it to a piece of track to verify whether power is going to it or not.
If it does NOT work then the issue is with either your PCB panel or your Power Cab. If it does work then you know the issue is with the track wiring. Systematically eliminate pieces at a time when troubleshooting an issue.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Volts are either coming out of the panel track terminals or they aren't.
That is the first place to check before replacing switches and wiring. If you have power there then move downstream or set up a short piece of track as suggested previously.
In your first post you called this the latest problem. Has this set up ever run properly? What did you do between the time it ran and the time it didn't?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Have you tried connectint it to just a spare piece oof track, no switches, nothing - just two wires from the rail connections to a piece of track, NOT part of the layout? That's the only way you will determine if the issue is withthe PowerCab or with layout wiring. Heck you can even take 2 wires connected to the track tyerminals on the panel and touch them to opposite wheels of a loco and see if it will run, but it would be easier to just use a spare piece of track. 0 amps connected to the layout doesn;t mean it's broken - it could also mean there isn't a complete circuit. Not being able to see how you hooked up the SPDT switch, I think that is more likely the problem then a non-working PowerCab. Try the spare piece of track.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Before you send it back, disconnect it and open up the back. There is a chip in there that sometimes gets out of place. Make sure the chip is seated properly, and then try again.
I believe that if you call them they'll ask you to do that first before sending it back.
The red LED light is on but I don't get any amps reading on the mainline. Should I send the product back to the company for them to run diagnostics?
I plan on using a DPDT this weekend and a light bulb.
Wait, exactly how have you connected this SPDT switch? If both track connections from the PCP go to it, that would be your problem. a SPDT switch is only one pole - it can only switch one wire. The other has to be connected to botht he layout and the seperate piece of track at the same time, or none of it will work. You really want a DPDT switch, with the two center terminals hooked to the PCP, and the terminals on the right going to the layout, and the terminals on the left going to the program track. Flipping the toggle one way connects the power to the layout, flipping it the other way connects it to the program track.
Absolutely simplify this to test- two wires to the PCP track terminals connected DIRECTLY to a spare piece of track. Red LED should light, and if you put a loco on the track you should be able to operate it. If that works, try connecting the layout, and the layout alone, to the PCP track terminals. See if that works. Then think about adding the program track.
Stranded or solid (single?) wires shouldn't matter; either one will work fine.
You might want to verify that the PCP board is working properly by wiring & testing a short piece of track to it. You'll then eliminate those two from the equation and be able to narrow down the issue to the wiring or the SPDT switch.
A SPDT is an "either/or" switch and is exactly what you want to switch between your main and your programming track. I wouldn't be surprised if that is the culprit; either being defective or wired incorrectly.
The leads are connected to the layout. Should it matter whether I use stranded or single wires for the connections? I might try single wires this evening.
Regarding the programming track, it is on a piece completely removed from the layout. I was using a SPDT toggle between the program track and mainline. Would that work or do I need a DPDT? I put the wires on this track but will first get a loco operating on the main before worrying about programming addresses.
Thanks all! I think we'll find a solution soon.
S.O.P. Standard Operating Procedure for electrical trouble shooting.
Power up Cab. Probe output connector with LED on.
Probe in direction of layout. Look for a voltage drop. In this case, no voltage. One or both leads not connected to layout.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
kasskabooseThere's no power to the mainline which I checked with a multmeter and no power on a programming track.
Programming track? There is not a separate connection for a programming track with a PowerCab. So you basically would have either two mainlines, or two programming tracks, unless you have either some sort of toggle switch between the two, or one of those NCE gadgets that senses if you want to program or run the main and makes the adjustment.
So exactly how do you have all that connected?
Sounds like an open circuit between the Cab panel connector and the rails.
Did you check right at the grey connector where the wires are attached?
My Harbor Freight meters show about 13.6 vac.
tstage Henry is correct. The LED on the front of the PCP panel will be lit if the Power Cab is plug into the LEFT connector port with the FLAT cable. I would check the twin-port connector at the back of the PCP panel to make sure that the track bus wires or the connector itself is fully engaged into the PCP panel. Tom
Henry is correct. The LED on the front of the PCP panel will be lit if the Power Cab is plug into the LEFT connector port with the FLAT cable.
I would check the twin-port connector at the back of the PCP panel to make sure that the track bus wires or the connector itself is fully engaged into the PCP panel.
Tom et. al,
Yes, the red light is on and the cab is plugged in correctly. I might use single wire feeders to the PCP panel over stranded wires. Would that work? Any other ideas?
There's no power to the mainline which I checked with a multmeter and no power on a programming track.
Thanks for your help! Pls keep the suggestions coming.
My Power Cab does indeed have a bright red LED lit on the panel where the cable plugs in. I believe it is an indication that it is on, not an uh-oh light.
My Power Cab shows no current with no loco on the track. I just tried it. I put a quarter on the rails and the Cab shorted out.
Are you sure there is power to the rails? A voltmeter on AC or a simple quarter test will prove there is power to the rails.
If I read your message correctly, you have a loco on the rails.
This should be in the manual.
It won't show any amps unless there is something like a loco putting a load on it.
Take a spare piece of track, hook wires to it and to the track connection of the PowerCab panel. Try that. If it works - you have a wiring problem on the layout.
I presume that you have the cab configured to read current. Is that correct?
And you are using the flat cable plugged into the correct side of the panel, correct?
And you are certain that you know what the locomotive addresses are, correct? (They weren't consisted at someone else's house and then brought home, for example.)
There are actually decoders installed in the locos?
I believe that someone suggest that youuse a meter set to the AC range to see if you have current to the tracks. Did you do that?