Does ERR's cruise commander ship with cruise feature on?

Fast freight, I also am having a similar problem with an Err install. Until your post I thought it was just me. I installed a Cruise commander M board in a Lionel Odyssey Engine and am also running in conventional. I installed a switch to turn cruise on or off. I called ERR and talked to the Tech and he informed me of this installable feature in my case. Maybe your board is capable of the same.

Before the install my engine had a very high starting speed. After the install the engine is very slow in speed and the starting voltage is above 14V, also the engine seems jerky in cruise mode. Blowing the Whistle seems to speed the engine up quite a bit in both modes. I also can’t tell if the cruise is working because it does slow on grades in either the on or off mode with a very modest 3 passenger car consist.

The Err staff that helped me with the install and operation was excellent and I will be contacting them when the holidays are over to make sure I did my part correctly.

My installation instructions also indicated setting the motor size feature with TMCC. I can’t do this and want to find out if this is causing my engines slow operation, high voltage condition. I want to find out if I Can manually set this feature. The reason I mention this is it may also carry over to your installation as well.

When I get my info I will certainly post my results for you.

      Thankyou for the reply Bluecometk.

      I was wondering about adding a switch but could not find any information about how

to install one. Hopefully my commander will have such an option.

      I was going to call ERR as well but it being saturday I didn't think they would be open. Anyway, thanks again..........Dan

The Cruise Commander is shipped with the cruise enabled.  The motor size selection is correct as shipped for your loco. 

The conventional cruise operation of a loco is dependent on the voltage on the track, which provides "head room" for the DC motor voltage to draw upon when the load increases.  A Z4000 has a pure sine wave, which is not as great a platform for cruise enabled systems, as the DC head room is hampered by the lower peak voltages.  In general a "Chopped AC" waveform produces higher peak voltages, as it charges the capacitors to a higher value for the cruise system to draw against. 

You will see an increase in speed on a down grade if the voltages are low on the up grade; what is happening is the loco is speeding up because the track voltage rises with less load; and the headroom is now present to pick up track speed to the "commanded" speed.  In conventional operation, you will get a benefit from a cruise system - but the benefit is limited because the track voltage is lower at slow speeds and there is no where to draw the power from for the motor when needed.

      Thankyou Jon.

      Very good explanation of what's happening. I suppose the lower voltages coupled

with a fast geared locomotive like the Williams E-7 and the pure sine wave just don't

play well together.

      I guess my E-7 will just be limited to flat terrain for now.

      I may pick up a cab 1 today, I saw one in an antique store, of all places, about

a year ago.

          Thanks again..........Dan

You can also rewire your Williams' motors so they run slower and smoother.

Right now they are wired in parallel and they are fast!

You rewire them to series and you will be amazed on how smooth they run!

       Thanks for that suggestion Yardmaster.

       I tried the wiring in series and you're right about the slow smooth operation.

       I was however having trouble with traction then. One truck would slip a little and then the train would stall out.

       I do have a pretty tough hill to climb because of space available.

       Picture a 100 degree 0-84 left curve, a short 1 foot straight section, then a 180 degree 0-64 right curve all while ascending a 2% grade.

       Not an ideal setup but still fun.

       Maybe I'll go back to series wiring AND the cruise commander.

       Be an interesting experiment.

          thanks Dan

If the cruise is working, there's no reason I can think to wire in series.  I don't even know if the Cruise Commander back-EMF sensing would work properly in series.

I confess to having never really tried any detailed running with the CC in conventional mode, but I can't imagine wiring the motors in series is the solution.