DCS Returning TIU to MTH?

If no locomotives run, something has likely happened to the TIU.  Have you checked the configuration to make sure DCS is enabled on all outputs?  If so, have you considered a factory reset of the TIU?

Try turning on all DCS outputs: Menu/System/DCS Setup and preess the AON soft key.

It's unlikely a TIU reset will correct this problem and can cause further complications if it doesn't.

If the engines come on with lights and sounds when powered-up, try reversing the wires between the TIU output and the tracks.

If instead they come on silent without lights, connect a 4-conductor telephone handset cable (the curly one) between the TIU's Remote Input port and the base of the remote. Then try to add the engines.

If that works, the problem is most likely that a transceiver board in the TIU, remote or both has become loose and we can walk you through correcting the problem.

If still no joy, we can discuss some other ways to troubleshoot the problem.

Are your locomotives PS-3?

Is your tiu receiving power. There's a red led on top of the tiu that blinks (depending on the tiu number) and then stays on steady. Each blink is the actual tiu number... up to 5 blinks. 2 ways to power a tiu... power to fixed 1 or an aux power supply

How many blinks and does the red led on the tiu  light up?

Yes I know this is pretty basic stuff but important.If the remote & tiu are not communicating you're beat.

Marty,

You're barking up the right tree.  PS3 locomotives ship with the DCC/DCS switch in the DCC position.  Thus, if you place on the track and try to read in the loco...you received an error.  Move the switch to the DCS position and drive away!

Thanks for your replys.

No its mainly Ps2 5v and the new C&O thats Ps2 3v.

The red light on the top of the TIU is constant not flashing.

Barry after doing the Menu/Systems/DCS Setup & pushed the AON soft key I get

Variable 1

Fixed 1

Fixed 2

ON OFF AON AOF FXD

I pushed the AON and got the message Out Of Range.

Non of the locos lights come on only a click sound from the loco on powering up.

THe pic is how the unit is wired up.

James

Seems your remote and tiu and not talking to each other,

Reasons.. The most probable is a loose transceiver board in either the remote or tiu.  As Barry mentioned tether the remote and tiu with the phone curly cable and try again..

Other reasons... The wrong tiu has been added to the remote, count the number of times the red led blinks on top of the tiu before staying on steady, The number of blinks is the actual tiu number. So if it blinks twice you have to add tiu number 2 to the remote.    a one blinker add tiu #1

Press the read, what tiu are found or not found, and again, how many times does the red led blink on your tiu before remaining on steady.

No use going any farther until you can get the remote and tiu communicating.

Thanks Gregg I`m still looking for a US style telephone cable,had an old phone I picked up in my travels,last place to look in in the loft this afternoon.

Did not notice a blinking red light only the constant one but will check again when I first switch on. 

It is strange as all was working fine a couple of weeks back.

James

James,

It is strange as all was working fine a couple of weeks back.

It doesn't take a lot of rough handling to loosen a transceiver board. As I said:

... connect a 4-conductor telephone handset cable (the curly one) between the TIU's Remote Input port and the base of the remote. Then try to add the engines.

 

If that works, the problem is most likely that a transceiver board in the TIU, remote or both has become loose and we can walk you through correcting the problem.

Many thanks barry,have found the telephone cable and have managed to add the M-1.

The red light only flashed once,the unit is an early version 3.10 from 2003.

Whilst running the hand set came up TIU ERROR.

So is there an easy fix for the hand set or unit?

Thanks again James 

James,

I assume  that you were running with the cable attached when you got the TIU ERROR message, correct? Exactly what did you do o get the message to display?

You'l need to reseat the loose transceiver board. Do you have a copy of my book, The DCS O Gauge Companion?

If so, refer to pages 155-157 in the 2nd edition or pages 140-142 in the 1st edition. This explains how to open both the TIU and the remote, and how to correct the problem so that it does not recur.

If you don't have a copy, I'll post the instructions.

Thanks again Barry Yes the cable was still attached.

The message came up when I tried to reduce the speed of the loco.

No I do not have your book,if you could post the details that would be great & how do I go about getting a hard copy?

Regards James 

We went back to 3.1 a couple of months ago to get away from the super mode scr5olling issues with 4.2, anyway we  had to add all our engine over again. If an engine had already been added to the remote  we would get the" TIU error message.".

You may want to make sure the engine you're trying to add is not in the inactive list.

Does the "read" bottom left on the remote find your tiu without the phone

cable??

Barry's book is available from MTH,

For softcover print edition go here: http://mthtrains.com/content/60-1279

For pdf edition got here: http://mthtrains.shptron.com/p...k-2nd-edition-e-book and you can then print pages yourself as needed.

Best money you can spend involving DCS.

Does the red LED blink on power up???

James,

From The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition:

If the DCS Remote still cannot find the TIU, the problem may be due to a floating transceiver board in the TIU or the DCS Remote.
The process of determining if the transceiver board in the TIU or the DCS Remote has floated out of its socket is as follows:
• First, connect (tether) the DCS Remote's Programming (TIU Connection) port to the TIU's Remote Input port using a 4-conductor telephone handset cable
• Press the Read key on the DCS Remote
• If the message TIU ERROR appears in the DCS Remote's screen, it may be because one of the pins inside either the DCS Remote's Programming (TIU Connection) port or the TIU's Remote Input port is bent or shorted to another pin. Inspect these ports and straighten any bent pins before continuing. If the message TIU ERROR persists, the TIU or the DCS Remote may be damaged
• If the TIU is found, the problem most likely is that the transceiver board in the TIU or the DCS Remote has floated out of its socket.

Since reseating a floating transceiver board in the TIU is considerably easier than reseating the transceiver board in the DCS Remote, it's suggested to check the TIU first by proceeding as follows:
• Remove all connections to the TIU
• Turn the TIU over and remove the 6 Philips head screws that hold it together
• Turn the TIU right side up and remove the top half of the case
• Facing the channel input ports, the transceiver board is on the lower right side of the case. It will have a short black wire connected to it. This wire is the antenna
• Press down gently on the transceiver board to reseat it. Also ensure that the black wire antenna is lying flat. Do not under any circumstances lift up on the transceiver board or antenna!
• Place a piece of soft, nonconductive spongy material above the transceiver board so that it will hold the board in place when the top of the case is replaced
• Replace the cover, turn the TIU over and replace the screws
• Turn the TIU right side-up and reconnect all wires to the TIU.

Check if the problem is resolved. If not, proceed to reseat the transceiver board in the DCS Remote as follows: Opening the DCS Remote can be extremely difficult and can cause problems with the DCS Remote! You should consider having this done by an authorized MTH service center!
• Open the battery compartment door on the back of the DCS Remote and remove the batteries
• Remove the Philips head screw inside the battery compartment
• Before opening the DCS Remote's case, note that when the DCS Remote is opened, there will still be a black wire connecting the two halves of its case
• Begin to separate the two halves of the DCS Remote's case by pushing outwards from inside the battery compartment while squeezing the bottom portion of the top of the DCS Remote. This requires considerable patience, particularly when opening a DCS remote's case for the first time
• Once the bottom of the shell begins to separate, gently continue to separate the two halves of the case and open the DCS Remote like a book, taking care not to damage the wire connecting the two halves of the case
• The transceiver board is located at the top of the DCS Remote behind the LCD screen.
Do not under any circumstances lift up on the transceiver board or black wire!
• Press down gently on the transceiver board to reseat it
• Place a piece of soft, nonconductive spongy material on top of the transceiver board so that it will hold the board in place when the DCS Remote is reassembled
• Carefully line up the two halves of the case and gently but firmly snap them back together

• Replace the Philips head screw, the batteries and the battery compartment door.

Check if the problem is resolved. If the problem persists, the TIU or the DCS Remote may be damaged. To determine which device is damaged, it is necessary to substitute a known, good device for the TIU and the DCS Remote, one at a time, and note if the new device can communicate with the original device. Once a device is known to be defective, it should be returned to MTH, an authorized MTH service center, or where it was purchased, so that it may be repaired.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

Does the red LED blink on power up??? Hi Marty yes but just the once.

Barry many thanks for that,will have to read and reread & inwardly digest before attempting.

James

James,

Does the red LED blink on power up?

Yes, it blinks the number of times that is the TIU's DCS ID#. 1 blink = TIU #1, 2 blinks = TIU #2, up to 5 blinks for TIU #5.

I have finally plucked up the courage to do Barry`s fix today.

Still have a problem when I try to start up a loco I get the message (TIU ADRESS 1 NOT FOUND)

When I connect the handset with the telephone cable and "Read" I get the following message (FOUND TIU ADDR1 WITH O AIU BOXES CONNECTED)

Help!

Thanks James

James,

Did you reseat both of the transceiver boards (TIU and remote)?

Barry Yes I did both boards as you suggested did the TIU base unit first then checked, no inprovement so did the hand set & boy you were correct very hard to get apart but still no joy.

James

James,

Sounds like either the TIU or the remote have a physical problem.

As a "hail Mary" you could try factory resetting first the TIU and, if still no joy, the remote.

James,

If you have a friend or know someone else in your country with DCS, you can try the remote on their system to see if it works on another TIU. And their remote on your TIU to find which is defective if you both are running the same versions of DCS.

Thanks Barry But I have been through the books I have on DCS & can`t find out how to do a factory reset.

Joe Think I`m the only one here in the far west of England nobody near.

James

James,

The DCS IO Gauge Companion 2nd Edition, bottom of page 44 - top of page 45. In short:

Menu/System/Advanced/Reset Engine/Factory Reset, select the engine, and press the thumbwheel twice.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

James,

 

The DCS IO Gauge Companion 2nd Edition, bottom of page 44 - top of page 45. In short:

Menu/System/Advanced/Reset Engine/Factory Reset, select the engine, and press the thumbwheel twice.

 

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

 

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/60-1279

 

Barry How does that reset the handset & the TIU unit won`t it just reset the loco?

 PS have just ordered your book but boy it will not get here until 17th July!

James

Thanks Gregg Gave it a try with the hand set connected to the TIU .

Got this message

"ITEMS ASSOCIATED TO TIU WILL BE LOST SELECT TO CONTINUE"

I press the wheel at this time and got "TIU ERROR"

James ?

Guys Our only service guys here in the UK do not touch TIU`s, so can I just send it to MTH or do I need a service number?

Oh do you have the address for MTH repairs?

Many thanks James 

Call or e-mail service.  They will give you the RA for sending it back.  Don't call Midge, she is parts and quite busy with parts request.  G

Thanks G. Got a RA from Kirstin & have sent it off, 7-8 weeks is the estimated turn around.

Will let all know the out come.

James

I get the same error, use to work well.  However after I get the error if I check my engine list the engine has been added.  So I'm good but don't understand why I get the error.

I have had same issue with 2 tiu's and it is the transceiver board there are very very small wiper connectors and if not touching all pins from the transceiver board it will stop finding tiu tethered or not.

just an fyi for you all.

St Paul

St. Paul,

there are very very small wiper connectors and if not touching all pins from the transceiver board it will stop finding tiu tethered or not.

You may think that, however, that's incorrect.

If the TIU is tethered to the remote, both transceiver boards are removed from the circuit, regardless of the state of the pins holding the transceiver board into its socket.

If the TIU and the remote are correctly tethered, they will communicate even if the transceiver boards are both removed entirely.