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TCS Diesel Wow Decoder lighting functions are absolutely terrible!

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  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Friday, November 20, 2015 9:03 AM

I have never fried a decoder or had one quit.  If I were you I’d do a fully detailed and compressive bench test before installing them in a locomotive.  I always do that and I’ve never received a problem decoder.  Everything you have described should be spotted in a through check out of the box.  I have never trusted anyone’s product out of the box.  Before I retired I always put at least one new device from each delivery through a thorough test before placing them into service.
 
Call TCS Customer Service, they will work with you to resolve the issue.  TCS wants all their products to work as advertised without any problems
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Langley AFB, VA
  • 390 posts
Posted by Meyblc on Friday, November 20, 2015 7:44 AM

Rich, I appreciate the response but I don't believe that I was asking for "help". My post and follow up was more a rant and to let others know of the problems that I have been experiencing with these decoders. I am not alone in experiencing these problems. There are several You Tube videos from several different people who outline the problems  that they have experienced with these wow decoders, specifically dealing with the heat issues and the lighting effects.

I have not contacted TCS with this latest issue YET as it happened late last night. I do not believe that TCS has 24 hour customer support.

  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Dearborn Station
  • 24,281 posts
Posted by richhotrain on Friday, November 20, 2015 7:31 AM

Meyblc

I have not contacted TCS yet about this latest issue. I have contacted TCS several times in the past about the heat build up issues though and it's always the same answer. Return the fried decoder and we will replace it.

These decoder sound absolutely amazing, but my God......with a 1 in 3 failure rate......figure it out TCS!

Exactly how are we supposed to help you?  Your issue is clearly with the manufacturer. You say that you have not contacted TCS yet about this latest issue.  Don't you think you ought to?
 
None of us want to appear less than supportive of you as a fellow modeler, but you need to take up this issue with TCS.  I do agree with you that the response, return the fried decoder and we will replace it, is no longer a satisfactory response.  You need to talk directly with someone who can address and resolve the problem, not only regarding the decoders but also the damaged locos.
 
Rich

Alton Junction

  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Langley AFB, VA
  • 390 posts
Posted by Meyblc on Friday, November 20, 2015 6:22 AM

I have not contacted TCS yet about this latest issue. I have contacted TCS several times in the past about the heat build up issues though and it's always the same answer. Return the fried decoder and we will replace it.

I have installed about 14 of these Diesel Wow decoders in total. 12 of the 1st generation decoders and the 14th being the brand new version that is made up of the Athearn Genesis (MB1) mother board and the 21 pin decoder. Of the total 14 that I have installed, 4 have fried over time (running locomotive for several hours) because of heat build up issues and now this newest one melted the front end of my Athearn Genesis SD60M when the LED in the ditch light caught fire.

14 decoders installed with 5 failures now. 

The majority of these decoders that I have installed have been installed in Athearn Genesis GP9's  and Athearn Genesis GP38-2's  (no ditch lights). I put 1 into a Kato SD90 (and still can't get the ditch lights to work consistently) and now 1 into a SD60M and it melted the front of the shell.

These decoder sound absolutely amazing, but my God......with a 1 in 3 failure rate......figure it out TCS!

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
  • 16,367 posts
Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, November 19, 2015 11:18 PM

That's better Smile

A hot incandescent lamp is no fault of a decoder manufacturer.

I have an F-7 with a melted headlight, a Proto2000 0-8-0 and a NKP Berkshire that all had their headlight housings melted because it was my fault for not using an LED or a 1.5 volt microlamp.

I never considered blaming the decoder manufacturer. The six WoWsound decoders I have perform fine for me although I am only using regular headlight functions.

Seems to me that if there was a serious flaw in the lighting effects of these decoders there would have been more news of it in this and other forums.

I hope you get things straightened out. I agree with Chuck, Call TCS Tongue Tied

Happy Modeling, Ed

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • 30 posts
Posted by LogicRailTech on Thursday, November 19, 2015 10:36 PM

Did you contact TCS? I would think and hope that they would be VERY interested in understanding why their product, multiple units at that, are failing as bad as you described. I can tell you that if any of our customers have a problem with any of our products we absolutely want to know what has happened and work diligently to find the root cause of the problem and fix it accordingly. There could be a design flaw that only gets exposed when the product is made in high volume, there could be a manufacturing run that used borderline components that passed a quick test but not a full functional test, etc.

Not making excuses for them (frankly, I don't know them and have no affiliation with them) but just trying to help you, and them, determine what's wrong.

Chuck

Chuck Stancil Logic Rail Technologies http://www.logicrailtech.com
  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Langley AFB, VA
  • 390 posts
TCS Diesel Wow Decoder lighting functions are absolutely terrible!
Posted by Meyblc on Thursday, November 19, 2015 10:06 PM

I would really like to meet someone who has successfully been able to install a TCS Diesel Wow decoder and managed to get the ditch lights to work properly.

I just installed 1 of the brand new TCS Athearn Genesis motherboards and the 21 pin TCS Diesel Wow decoder (the new 1 with 6 different engines) into an Athearn Genesis SD60M. As usual, the sound is outstanding. As usual, the lighting functions are horrible.

I installed LED's and fiber optics to replace the Athearn Genesis peanut bulbs. I did this for the headlights, rear headlights and for the ditch lights. Put the locomotive on the track and sound comes on, headlight comes on with 0 pressed on the DCS 51. Go into night mode and turn on the ditch lights.....1 ditch light comes on, the other does not. The 1 that does come on starts to melt the plastic around the ditch light housing on the engine. By the time I realize what's happening, there is smoke coming from the light and the housing is melted!

I soldered the wires to the 12v output and to the LED (with on board resister) tab on the TCS motherboard.

This is the second time I have attempted to install a TCS Wow diesel decoder and used the Ditch lights. The first locomotive was a Kato SD90 with normal lights and ditch lights. The headlights (again LEDs) work fine but the ditch lights seem to have a mind of their own. They work occasionally but do not work the majority of the time.

I have also had 4 of these decoders burn up. They get EXTREMELY HOT and stop working. Yeah, I know, I've read all the suggestions about using a heat sink to help draw the heat away from the decoder. 

These things aren't cheap. Now I've burned up the shell of a locomotive because of the lighting circuit. I'm done with TCS. Never again!

These decoders sound amazing but what good is the sound if the decoder burns up and melts the shell of your locomotive?

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