I just noticed that after starting up my dcs remote that I can move my engines with my remote without pressing the "Start Up' key. Is this normal? They move in forward and reverse but there are no sounds, lights etc.
Any advice will be appreciated.
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Yep, it's called "stealth mode". Truthfully, it's apparently just an artifact of the fact that they don't really shut down, they just turn off the audio, smoke, etc.
Nothing's broken. 
Thanx, John - I just never noticed this before - glad to hear that "nothing's broken"!!
Our MTH F5 set does that once in a while.
Sitting silent for hours while the layout is running ... then without notice, it will silently start creeping ... and usually ends up derailing on a turnout before I notice what's going on .... 
Kerrigan - I've never had that problem. I physically have to move the thumbwheel to move the engines - they move without the normal "start up" being activated. It seems that yours "start creeping" without using the thumbwheel - strange.
Kerrigan - I've never had that problem. I physically have to move the thumbwheel to move the engines - they move without the normal "start up" being activated. It seems that yours "start creeping" without using the thumbwheel - strange.
I've never seen that issue, and I've had several PS/2 locomotives parked for long periods running other stuff. I've inadvertently selected one and got it going, but never totally on it's own.
I've had that stealth creep happen before..and you can't "grab" them with the remote...have to kill the power to stop them...that was happening with a older Rev.I3a TIU that eventually died.
The only thing I can think of is a TIU problem for something like this.
You don't have to use the start button to get your trains to move. They will move but without sounds ,lights etc.
i have had dcs from the start and they have always done what you described.
He's saying they move without touching the remote.
He's saying they move without touching the remote.
I tugged it off the stall point, it started and took off like a rocket, probably running 100mph!
What you most likely did was first move it so that it got power and it came up in conventional mode, in neutral. You then interrupted power momentarily and it went forward in conventional mode using 18 volts.
That's perfectly normal behavior,
It's creeping along at a few MPH, that's not normal for conventional mode with 18 volts on the track!
John,
It's creeping along at a few MPH, that's not normal for conventional mode with 18 volts on the track!
Do you even pay attention to what's posted? I quoted his statement:
"it started and took off like a rocket, probably running 100mph!"
That is absolutely normal behavior with 18 volts in the track!
Our MTH F5 set does that once in a while.
Sitting silent for hours while the layout is running ... then without notice, it will silently start creeping ... and usually ends up derailing on a turnout before I notice what's going on ....
John,
It's creeping along at a few MPH, that's not normal for conventional mode with 18 volts on the track!
Do you even pay attention to what's posted? I quoted his statement:
"it started and took off like a rocket, probably running 100mph!"
That is absolutely normal behavior with 18 volts in the track!
Do YOU ever pay attention to what's posted is the real question? Since you seem confused, check the quote above yours? The quote you posted was a one-time occurrence, the whole thread was about the other issue.
That's what happened ... I remember it hitting power twice and off while nudging it forward. Normal behavior in conventional mode with 18v .. a little rocket! And why it didn't respond to the remote.
I should clearify ... the MTH F-5 set will start creeping ... the MTH NP 1170 switcher is the one that took off like a rocket after stalling on a crossover and being nudged a couple of times. Two different locomotives under different circumstances .. I should have been more detailed ... sorry.
John,
Do you ever pay attention to what's posted is the real question?
You didn't quote the post to which you were referring, nor did you address your post to the author of the post to which you were responding. If you would have done so, you would have put your post in clear context.
Since you seem confused, check the quote above yours?
No, John, you're the one who confused things. I make it a habit to always review the posts that followed the last post that I read when I was last on a thread. The only post that followed mine, and only by a short time, was yours.
The quote you posted was a one-time occurrence, the whole thread was about the other issue.
I quoted the post to which I was responding, which I always do if there's a possibility of causing confusion. The fact that the preponderance of posts were on a different, although related, subject is of no consequence at all.
Don't you dare even presume to be the wounded party. It was your laziness in not putting your response in context that caused confusion!
Barry, I've resolved long ago not to let you wound me. 
Kerrigan,
Two different locomotives under different circumstances .. I should have been more detailed ... sorry.
You didn't cause any problem.
Your posts were meaningful and contained enough detail to allow one to differentiate between the two situations.
When I first got DCS years ago, I had engines that would creep without notice occasionally when left in the Active list when I wasn't running them. After that I always made sure the ones I wasn't running were in the Inactive and I haven't seen it happen since.
I run only 1 TIU and have upgraded the Versions many times, but I don't know if it made a difference as I haven't tested by leaving any unused engines in the Active list getting track power.
But some forum members have problems moving engines out of the Inactive list.
Joe,
But some forum members have problems moving engines out of the Inactive list.
FYI, there's a bug in DCS that prohibits an engine from coming out of the Inactive Engine List unless it's on a track connected to the TIU which which it was associated the last time it was added. This happens in both Normal and Super TIU mode.
If you can't move it out of the inactive list, can you do a factory reset to recover? Or, maybe the question is, what's your next step?
John,
the question is, what's your next step?
Either do as Joe suggests, issue a READ command with the engine drawing power or physically move the engine to a track connected to the TIU with which the engine is associated.
If memory serves, you could also try the following: (I think I recall this correctly)
If anybody tries this, please post back whether or not I remembered this correctly.
I was thinking of an instance where it was last run on a different layout. Or, is that not something that will happen. I know I've had issues where I had to reset an engine from a different layout, perhaps overlapping engine numbers?
John,
I was thinking of an instance where it was last run on a different layout. Or, is that not something that will happen. I know I've had issues where I had to reset an engine from a different layout, perhaps overlapping engine numbers?
Where the engine last ran is unimportant.
What matters is its DCS ID# and, only if its in the Inactive List, it's associated TIU number.
If it's one loco that often starts off, try changing the loco ID. That cured my loco that would sometimes respond to commands sent to a loco 10 ID's higher.
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