DCS Eng's on siding turn on when power is applied to main loop, that the siding is on. thank you MONK
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Are you turning on the siding's power after the power for the TIU channel has been turned on?
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
Are you turning on the siding's power after the power for the TIU channel has been turned on?
No the siding is connected to the main loop through a turnout. Their turning on at the same time.
If you press Shut Down or Startup, do they respond appropriately?
Yes they do. thank you
Test the signal strength on the siding, with the test engine stationary.
Jim,
Are they not getting the watchdog signal? Do you raise the voltage on the transformer slowly or do you raise it quickly?
At one time, prior to DCS 4.0, the watchdog signal was only transmitted for 1/2 a second, and raising voltage too slowly was a concern.
Since DCS 4.0, the watchdog signal is transmitted for 5 seconds, making speed of raising voltage typically a non-issue.
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
Test the signal strength on the siding, with the test engine stationary.
The test signal is 8 on the eng. on the siding.
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
Test the signal strength on the siding, with the test engine stationary.
The test signal is an 8.
Run a pair of wires from the TIU output to the siding and disconnect the pair of wires that already go to the siding. Then see if the problem persists.
I have 4 engines on one siding. When I turn up the power on my Z-4000, 3 of the engines won't start up, but one of the engines does. What could be causing this issue??
Roger,
Is it the same engine that starts up every time? If so, remove one of the other engines and see if the problem engine behaves.
Also, what are you using for track power?
Is the problem engine a PS 3 engine by chance?
Thank you Barry for your timely response. It is the same engine that starts every time. I have a total of 5 PS-2 engines on the same siding. 2 of the engines are in a consist (lashup). When I apply 18 volts from my MTH Z-4000 transformer to track, only one engine starts up. The rest of the engines won't start until I give them the command to start. The consist (lashup) won't start unless I start them up. When I remove all of the engines (except the one that starts on it's own), I can gain control of the engine in command mode. When I turn the power on then off then on to the track, the engine responds to DCS remote commands. When I start to add the other 4 engines to the siding, then I start to lose control of the engine that starts on it's own.
Roger,
You can do a lot of detective work which will most likely resolve the problem. On the other hand, since this is at most a minor annoyance, you could either move one or two engines to a different siding or just live with the problem.
