I would be curious to know what the DC voltage is, plugged into the panel? That is where I did the power supply measurments.
Mine measured 13.9 vdc. Obviuosly his was less since the cab was not working.
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.
BNSF UP and others modeler Please read all the posts. I have tried EVERYTHING and isolated the problem. It is the power supply. Not the powercab. Not the panel. Not the track wires.
Please read all the posts. I have tried EVERYTHING and isolated the problem. It is the power supply. Not the powercab. Not the panel. Not the track wires.
?
do you have a voltmeter?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Good trouble shooting. Never heard of a failed power supply yet on a Power cab. Quite unusual.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
have you verified its the power supply using a voltmeter?
could it just be a poor connection?
since the PowerCab will shutdown if there is a short, it's hard to understand how the power supply could fail. (I've read, the PowerCab can support more than it's rated current but gets hot and the plastic starts softening).
Of all the strange things. I kept on running out of trouble shooting ideas and thinking of more. I tried switching to a different jack on the power supply, but that still didn't work. I thought, "This is the end. More money down the drain." But no. I spliced one of the jacks into wires connected to a LifeLike DC powerpack. I set the voltage to just under what the origional power source delivered, and plugged everything in. Power cab worked just fine!!! Guess it was the power supply after all. Now I just need to buy a new one...
I have had the Power Cab for some years. I had a short issue once. Pulled the output plug and the short went away. I knew it was on the layout.
One time the back light stopped working about two years later and I sent the cab part to NCE. They repaired it free since I had registered my system when I bought it online.
Look on the bright side, at least you didn't dump track cleaner on it.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
What I found that led me to my conclusion was this:
http://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?26624-NCE-power-cab-problem
Unfortunately, I can't find the second link.
BNSF UP and others modeler The bad news is, the problem will require sending my powercab to NCE. Case closed!!!
The bad news is, the problem will require sending my powercab to NCE. Case closed!!!
Bear "It's all about having fun."
NOT YET!!! Tell us what you found, might save someone problems in a later date.
I am not. The good news is, I think I found that the problem is actually the powercab after finding 2 more instances online where people had the EXACT same problem. The bad news is, the problem will require sending my powercab to NCE. Case closed!!!
Are you using your USB adapter to run your layout?
If So why?
send me a pm with your phone number- we can talk- I understan the Power Cab quite well!
jerry AKA woodone
I guess this won't help then
I checked page 59 of my manual... there was nothing about how to reset it in there...
I looked up how to reset it online, but since the powercab keeps rapidly shorting, I cannot even get to the programming menu.
It could be something totally unrelated and requiring a trip back to NCE, I hope not but stuff happens.
Tried everything but the reset. Thanks for that tip. Will try.
I don't have a NCE usb, so I don't know nuthing about that. I would disconnect it to see it that is the problem.
If you've disconnected the track from the power cab, then a hammer or a pair of pliers lying on the track is not the problem.
When you power on the power cab, there is a way to reset it. Page 59 of the manual describes how.
I have the basic NCE powercab starter set. All was going fine. One day, while working under my layout or something like that, I accidentally tripped on the cord of the power jack. This pulled down on the PCP and actually cracked it, so that the corner was bent downward, but it didn't break off. I was thinking the worst, but suprisingly, it still worked. Fast foward quite a few months...
Last week, I was getting the weirdest glitch on my powercab. It would turn on when I plugged in the throttle or the power jack but then it turns off. It keeps on rapidly cycling on and off, so I quickly turn off the power. I think (logically) oh, I have a track short. Removed all locomotives. Problem is still there. Disconnect track leads. Problem persists. Check to make sure track leads are not touching each other. Doesn't help. I unplug the jack from the PCP panel that you screw the track wires into. PROBLEM IS STILL THERE!!! I get really concerned. I then notice that the 2 red leds on my NCE usb are flashing in the same manner as my powercab, even when the powercab is disconnected, and those NEVER flash unless conveying computer commands to locomotives. This led me to believe that that PCP crack was finally creating issues. So I ordered a new one. That arrived today. STILL WON'T FIX THE PROBLEM!!! But as I said, since the NCE usb is behaving in the same way as the powercab even when the powercab is plugged in and vice versa, I think it might be the power supply (since that is what I tripped on). My only other idea (and this would be very bad) is that something funny happened when my NCE usb and Powercab were plugged in that messed them both up. Please help. I can't run trains, and I need all the troubleshooting ideas I can get. I am not exactly in the place where I can go out and get another powercab, and I bought my current one used, so I have no warranty. Thanks for any help.