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Testing DCC engines

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  • Member since
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  • From: Western, MA
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Posted by richg1998 on Monday, February 26, 2018 1:28 PM

gthomson

 

 
richg1998
I have been following the Bachmann forums for some years

 

Hi Rich, not really related to this thread but can you post a link to the Bachmann forums you mention?

 

I did that a year or two ago and the Powers That Be deleted it.

I suspect a Troll complained. Go figure.

You can see by the numerous questions in DCC that DCC can be quite complicated for many. There are quite a few Gotchas. Some wander in wilh no knowledge.

I have heard, tish tosh. It is not complicated.

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.

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Posted by gthomson on Monday, February 26, 2018 12:18 PM
Got it, thanks gentlemen
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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, February 26, 2018 11:27 AM

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by tstage on Monday, February 26, 2018 11:26 AM

gthomson,

Posting links to other forums in a thread would violate the current MR forum rules.  However, Rich can send it to you in a PM.  You can probably also google it.

Tom

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Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by gthomson on Monday, February 26, 2018 11:17 AM

richg1998
I have been following the Bachmann forums for some years

Hi Rich, not really related to this thread but can you post a link to the Bachmann forums you mention?

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Posted by richg1998 on Friday, February 23, 2018 9:14 PM

Your post are confusing. Please be acurate. A DCC ready would not have a decoder.

I have been following the Bachmann forums for some years. Bachmann diesels usually have come with DCC ready with eight pin socket or pins to solder the decoder wires. Some with DCC onboard all wired. If all wired, no way to test. I have some like that.

Just do a reset and cycle the track power. Very easy. Headlight will flash about sixteen times for a reset and the loco will run on address 3.

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.

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Posted by BigDaddy on Friday, February 23, 2018 8:45 PM

If there is no plug to unplug, then no.

I still think you need to do the decoder reset.  This describes reset more thoroughly   https://dccwiki.com/Decoder_reset

 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by pappys trains on Friday, February 23, 2018 7:59 PM

I guess I wasn't specific enough in my description of my problem. Both locos were running DCC, and both have decoders. I removed the shell from the one that has stopped operating, and all wiring seems to be intact. Is there any way to isolate the decoder from the motor to be able to test both the decoder and motor separately, without physically cutting the wire? There is power to the decoder, because the headlights are on.

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Posted by BigDaddy on Friday, February 23, 2018 5:40 PM

selector
That term, DCC ready, means that they are ready to be converted TO DCC...not that it is ready to be operated on DCC. There is probably no decoder in the locomotive.

Since Pappy calls them both DCC ready, and one runs and one doesn't, we don't know if one is DCC ready and the other DC/DCC or maybe both DC/DCC and that is his definition of DCC ready.

Assuming they are both DCC,  take the one that runs off the track.  Put the bad loco on the track and change CV 8 to 8.  If it has a decoder that has the wiring intact, it should make some noises and maybe twitch a little.  Cycle the power off and on.  It should run on address 3.  If a motor lead has come off, nothing will have changed. 

 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by Samuel48 on Friday, February 23, 2018 4:53 PM

Sounds to me like there is no decoder. Hence the DCC Ready. On a DC loco, when placed on a DCC track, the headlight will come on, but there is no way to move the loco (at least as a DCC loco). As stated before, the only true way is to open up the loco and see if it has a decoder. 

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Posted by selector on Friday, February 23, 2018 4:50 PM

pappys trains

I recently converted my layout to DCC with a Digitrax Evolution system. I have 2 previously purchased Bachmann locos that were DCC ready that I have been using, and one of them - a GP9 - just stopped running. I don't know if the problem is with the decoder or the motor itself, although the headlights do work. I do have a Digitrax LT1 tester, but I don't know if I could connect it to the decoder while the decoder is still wired to the loco. Any advice on how I can solve this problem would be appreciated.

 

That term, DCC ready, means that they are ready to be converted TO DCC...not that it is ready to be operated on DCC.  There is probably no decoder in the locomotive.  When you went to run it, did the motor and drive buzz and squeal a bit?  If it did, it probably does not have a decoder and was moving anyway. Were you using Add "03" or "00". If the latter, you definitely were operating it without a decoder.

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Posted by jjdamnit on Friday, February 23, 2018 4:46 PM

Hello all,

pappys trains
I have 2 previously purchased Bachmann locos that were DCC ready...

Were these locomotives running under DCC after the conversion from DC?

"DCC Ready" means that there is a dummy plug in the PC board that will accept a NMRA compliant 8-pin equipped decoder.

If you bought these locomotives second-hand the previous owner might have installed a decoder.

The only real way to tell if a decoder has been installed you need to remove the shell(s) and verify that there is a decoder.

Hope this helps.

"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"

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Testing DCC engines
Posted by pappys trains on Friday, February 23, 2018 4:19 PM

I recently converted my layout to DCC with a Digitrax Evolution system. I have 2 previously purchased Bachmann locos that were DCC ready that I have been using, and one of them - a GP9 - just stopped running. I don't know if the problem is with the decoder or the motor itself, although the headlights do work. I do have a Digitrax LT1 tester, but I don't know if I could connect it to the decoder while the decoder is still wired to the loco. Any advice on how I can solve this problem would be appreciated.

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