DCS system about to drive me crazy!

Are you using BCR's ? If not it's your batteries.

I would check to see if the common wires have opened somewhere.  If you remove all LIonel locos, and any reolling stock that has an onbouard boltage regulator, does the condition remain?  Have you added any new locos or rolling stock which has a center rail pickup lately?

Ditto on the batteries.  Also, do you have a second TIU in the house that you may have left on, like at your work bench or a small seasonal layout in another room? The same problems will occur if you did.

Maybe obvious, but is your track nice and clean?  I've recently seen improved behavior after a "deep cleaning" which I hadn't done in a number of years.

Also agree on the batteries as another possibility.

Don, DCS can be engine specific and PS-3 can compound and effect other engines if the wiring internal is interfering with DCS signal transformer.  Since half your fleet has problems, you need to make sure the ones not working have clean wheels and good pickups.  Along with good charged batteries or BCR.

You may have a TIU that has sensitivity issues, but if your getting 10 all across the layout with a single engine chances are the TIU and track are fine.  If you add a Lionel engine or certain passenger cars or maybe even a PS-3 engine with issues it could kill the signal.  G

DCS to my knowledge does not show smoke on screen unless you go to more on the buttons. Usually it is the numbered buttons on the remote that turn smoke on or off. Are you using the remote or an app? Also I agree with the batteries and ONLY HAVE ONE ENGINE on the track when adding.

DCS to my knowledge does not show smoke on screen

  When you push the #1 button, the screen will show either Smoke On, or Smoke Off. Have you tried reseating the remote board or using a tether?

Not if you've turned off messages

Thank you to all who have responded.  A little more information;

Most problems are with PS3 engines but the PS2 engines are fully charged

There are no other engines or lighted cars on powered track

I only have one TIU connected and powered

The track is clean

I have not checked the signal strength on all 300 feet of mainline but I do get 10 an the area i use to load engines

Update:  I have a TIU purchased in 2002 that lost fixed channel one so I found another used one about 2013 and had it upgraded to 6.0.  I was using the upgrade model when all these issues began to show up.  Last night, I re-installed the older unit using the three good channels.  I have been able to add four of the problem engines but the remote will still not find those engines and another PS3 engine (Southern 44 ton) now seems to not want to be found.

I have read here that the latest TIU's seem to function better.  I have been looking for newer model since Mike announced he was closing the company but have come up empty handed!

Will there ever be another run of these TIU's?

Don

Make sure your remote code and TIU are the same.  6.10 is the latest.  What REV is on the bottom of the TIU?  Rev L is the latest with USB port and a better signal then previous models.  Though older ones can work fine too.

While your track is clean, are you sure you connections are fine, no voltage drops at certain sections?  Testing signal strength with a single engine around the layout can be helpful.  G

I had almost the same problems lately. I have 2 tiu's ,4 remotes. What helped a lot was numbering the tius 1 and 2 and the remotes 0,1,2,3, and adding both tius to all the remotes...any chance your remote and tiu are not set at the lowest number?