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"LOCOMOTIVE TROUBLE"

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  • Member since
    December 2005
  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
"LOCOMOTIVE TROUBLE"
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Monday, July 6, 2015 1:30 AM

Hi All 

I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th!! Well I  had a chance to run my UP Heritage units,  so I  thought, the lights come on but NO movement, by seeing the head and  ditch lights on, tells me something else is the problem, but I  don't  know, can anyone think what the problem can be? I brought the loco's from Kato.

 Take care Sencerly 

Trainsrme1

  • Member since
    March 2011
  • From: La Mesa,CA
  • 145 posts
Posted by Marty C on Monday, July 6, 2015 1:57 AM

Trainsrme,

A little more info is needed to help you out. What decoder is in the engine? Is the engine a sound unit and does the sound come on. Do the lights just come on when you put power to the track or can you turn them on and off. What DCC system are you using?. What address are you using to send commands to the engine?

If the lights are on but uncontrollable I would suspect it is an addressing problem. A short address of 3 should work for the unit out of the box. If it is a sound unit it is probably a Loksound decoder and you need to press a function button to start the sound and the engine will not move until then. I think it is function nine but I am sure it is in the instructions you got with the engine.

Good luck

Marty C

  • Member since
    December 2005
  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Monday, July 6, 2015 2:55 AM

Hi Marty,

The units are anolog, I'll be getting  decoders for them soon, they what I call "sing" when on the powered track, the lights do come on with power to the track.I can also turn on and off the lights.  The DCC system I'm using is a Digitrax zehper.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: S.E. Adirondacks, NY
  • 3,246 posts
Posted by modelmaker51 on Monday, July 6, 2015 3:25 AM

I am not that familiar with Digitrax, but I believe you have to punch in "00" as the loco select number to get an anolog engine to run on the DCC system.

Jay 

C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1 

Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums 

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Chi-Town
  • 7,712 posts
Posted by zstripe on Monday, July 6, 2015 4:49 AM

Read page 7 in Your manual quick start guide, ''how to run non-DCC locos'' Modelmaker51 is correct.

Take Care! Big Smile

Frank

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Monday, July 6, 2015 9:25 AM

Problem is your DC has too many Cs in it.

 

ROARING : )

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    December 2005
  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Monday, July 6, 2015 2:53 PM

You know,

I haven't  ran them for a while, and that thought never occurred  to me, I  will check the settings and let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the tips

  • Member since
    November 2006
  • From: NW Pa Snow-belt.
  • 2,216 posts
Posted by ricktrains4824 on Monday, July 6, 2015 6:18 PM

TrainsRMe1

Hi Marty,

The units are anolog, I'll be getting  decoders for them soon, they what I call "sing" when on the powered track, the lights do come on with power to the track.I can also turn on and off the lights.  The DCC system I'm using is a Digitrax zehper.

 

 

Is it just me, or did this say the lights are controllable, but you haven't put a decoder in them yet?

How are the lights controlled without the decoder being in the units?

Or was I just misunderstanding something?

 

Ricky W.

HO scale Proto-freelancer.

My Railroad rules:

1: It's my railroad, my rules.

2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.

3: Any objections, consult above rules.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 6, 2015 7:56 PM

Trainrme1:

Just a suggestion. I use an older el cheapo train set power pack to test my DC locos before installing decoders. I put a set of alligator clips on the power pack track leads and all I do is disconnect the DCC plug and hook up the power pack. I'm doing this on an isolated test track so there is no risk to any other locomotives. The power pack comes in handy for testing a variety of other things too.

You can get them for peanuts on eBay if you don't already have one.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 6, 2015 7:58 PM

RickyW

I don't think the OP said the lights were controllable. He just said they came on. I'm assuming that he meant that the lights came on as soon as power was applied and stayed on.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    March 2013
  • From: Australia
  • 158 posts
Posted by tomcat on Monday, July 6, 2015 9:01 PM

He also mentioned that he can also "turn the lights off and on". Something weird going on here or maybe I'm not aware that you can turn lights off and on with an analog engine.

I presumed that was a function just in DCC ! 

  • Member since
    April 2002
  • 921 posts
Posted by dante on Monday, July 6, 2015 9:45 PM

hon30critter

Trainrme1:

Just a suggestion. I use an older el cheapo train set power pack to test my DC locos before installing decoders. I put a set of alligator clips on the power pack track leads and all I do is disconnect the DCC plug and hook up the power pack. I'm doing this on an isolated test track so there is no risk to any other locomotives. The power pack comes in handy for testing a variety of other things too.

You can get them for peanuts on eBay if you don't already have one.

Dave

 

Make sure you actually disconnect the DCC bus feed completely before connecting and powering with the DC powerpack. If you don't, the DC will back feed the DCC command station and blow it. Don't ask how I know!

Dante

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 6, 2015 10:24 PM

tomcat

OOPs, sorry. I missed his comment in his second post.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 6, 2015 10:26 PM

Dante:

Thanks for the warning. I was aware of the risk so I make sure every time.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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