A spectrum dual motor 44 tonner, a botched decoder installation and a pulsing indicator light???

[Anonymous]

I have a spectrum dual motor 44 tonner that i tried to put a TCS M1 in. I wired it all up and it looked good. I put it on a DC track with an MRC power pack. The power pack is fine, im running something with it as i type this. Anyway. when i put my 44 tonner on there it didnt move, made no noise and the indicator light on the power pack started pulsing on and off in about 1 second cycles. Not random at all, just on... off... on... off.[B)] Any idea what that might mean?

[cacole]

You need a DCC system in order to use a decoder. The headlight on a locomotive flashing on and off at a very regular pattern indicates that a decoder is resetting itself to factory default values, but this is done from a DCC system, not an MRC power pack. If you don't have a DCC system, why are you installing decoders? Your MRC power pack's light flashing on and off is probably trying to tell you that you can't use it to run locomotives with decoders.

[mustanggt]

yeah.. cacole's right. you need a dcc booster to run trains. I suggest you get an inexpensive dcc starter system, such as the atlas master system, or if you want more features you can get a digitrax zephyr for about $200-250
Hope this helps

[Anonymous]

I have a DCC system, the zephyr in fact. I was testing it on the MRC power pack because it is a dual mode decoder. Ill try it on my zephyr and see what happens but it is supposed to be a dual mode decoder. The headlight was not flashing. The green indicator light on the power pack was.

[cacole]

I've installed a lot of TCS T-1 decoders, but none of their M-1 models. If the decoder is supposed to operate on a DC layout, you probably must still program it to do so by using your Digitrax Zephyr first. I would try programming it on the Digitrax and then see how the MRC power pack reacts. If it won't program, then you possibly have a wire connected wrong so I would also go back and recheck everything.

[rrinker]

Factory default should have DC conversion enabled, however, 'factory default' isn't always what it's supposed to be.
The first palce you should try a new decoder is on your programming track - it's current limited and you stand a chance of actually finind out you have a short before frying the decoder. Try some programming, it it accepts programming, then it's pretty likely you have it installed correctly and it will run. If you are unable to program it, stop and careful check over your wiring and make sure there are no shorts.
If all else fails, TCS has a 'goof proof' warranty so you can get it replaced.

If it was a Digitrax Series 3 decoder and all that happened was that the loco headlight blinked on and off, it would indicate a short in the motor connections, but I don't think the TCS decoders have this feature.

-Randy

[Anonymous]

It accepts programming but doesnt run on either DC or DCC. It must be a problem with the connections to the motors. Im going to double check everything.

[cacole]

You might have the two motors wired in reverse to each other so one motor is trying to run forward and the other trying to run in reverse. To find out if this is the problem, disconnect one motor's wires and see if the other one runs. If so, reverse the connections to the other motor. For the Bachmann dual-motor 44-tonner I think the motors have to run in opposing directions. I have installed decoders into these locomotives, but it has been so long ago that I don't remember exactly how they were wired. Also make sure one of the motors isn't defective.

[rrinker]

That is correct, the motors on the dual-motor version face each other so they must be wired opposite to each other, or they will just fight and the loco won't move. Same thing with those Bowser PRR T-1's, trying to get my father-in-law's to run, I discovered the guy who built it for him had the motor connections reversed, no wonder it wouldn't move.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

The two-motor 44 and 70 tonners are junk; that's why Bachmann introduced a new mechanism for the 44T and has announced the same for the 70T.

The two-motor jobs tend to burn out and if a decoder is involved, it could very well be lost when the motor(s) burn.[ Note I said when, not if...]

[Anonymous]

Hmmm. well, maybe i should just drop the money for the one with the nnew driveline. Or I could buy one of those roundhouse 40 ton "critters". Those have been getting good reviews.

[greendiamond]

Be careful of the 40 ton critters. Their dcc sockets are not wired properly at the factory. Check the TCS website www.tcsdcc.com for the way to correct the socket. Otherwise you may burn out your decoders. The new drives for the Bachmann 44 tonners are single motor and are very easy to install decoders into. I think you'd be very happy with one of the newer units, in this model.

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by greendiamond

Be careful of the 40 ton critters. Their dcc sockets are not wired properly at the factory. Check the TCS website www.tcsdcc.com for the way to correct the socket. Otherwise you may burn out your decoders. The new drives for the Bachmann 44 tonners are single motor and are very easy to install decoders into. I think you'd be very happy with one of the newer units, in this model.

And the best part, if your road name 44 tonner is not made in the new style, just swap bodies, apparantly the old bodies fit on the new ones without much trouble.

[Jetrock]

And you can sell the innards of the two-motor 44 tonner to a traction buff!!

[ckape]

Well, when I installed into the 70-tonner, after I isolated the motors I connected all the positive wires together and all the negative wires together and ran the trucks alone without the rest of the locomotive. That way I could make sure nothing was shorting and that the trucks were still running in the same direction before I finished putting everything together. (Of course, in my case one of the trucks didn't move because I melted the motor soldering to it, but that's not the point.)

What I'd suggest you do is get a voltmeter and test to make sure that there's no direct path from any of the wheels to any wheels on the other side, since that'd be easy to do with these locos. You'll also want to use the voltmeter to make sure you've properly isolated the motor from the track.