2rl engine problem: no DCS: fixed!

Joe,

I'd suggest a Recover Engine attempt.

Do it on a test track with only the test track connected to the TIU's Fixed #1 Input. Make sure that the TIU is #1.

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Thanks Barry, That has worked for me but only once.

I had gone out to return some stuff and thought about the whole process.

I put in a spare board and that worked under DCS.

So I returned the original and did a conventional reset.

The computer could not find the engine. It stalled this time and that gave me pause?

So I used the MTH loader and that found the engine this time with the reset address of 1. So I used the remote and that added it to the DCS. For the heck of it I tried the computer again and that still doesn't see the engine?

 This is the first time ever, that the computer couldn't find it and the remote did. It took the reset to do it though. Installing the spare board told me which way the polarity switch worked for my wiring.

 A Recover engine might just have found it, but I didn't try.

 I need to put it all back together and make sure it all works. I've got the shell off the tender. Stuff was unplugged that I put back.

 I noticed that if the power is applied to just the tender, the engine won't light up unless the drawbar is touching. I need to study just how power is carried back and forth for trouble shooting steamers. I used to only work on diesels. They are much easier!

I have a similar weird situation with an PS2/3V AC4400. In conventional, it works fine. Under DCS, hits full speed/no control. Thought the board had gone south, but changing the board yielded the same result. Every now and then you get one of these "head scratchers".

Matt, does it go to full speed after rolling the thumbwheel to 1MPH or higher? or does it take off at full speed on power up?

Tach reader, or short.

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Nice Joe, The engines are really running close to the same speed. the way they're suppose to....  You don't need 2. Give me one.

Side bar.... I was try to re-rail a engine on a powered   turntable   (tiu#1s territory) and a engine in Tiu #5s territory took off.    I could duplicate this so I suspect there's some type of noise generated with  sparks that could  mess up dcs signals??

If I understand you, just tip a loco off and then back onto powered rail. It comes up in conventional and takes off because it gets full track voltage. I'm sure you've seen that.

 It's just doing what it thinks it's supposed to do. I also had that happen just the other day. I believe mine happened, as I slid a loco onto powered rails. The power probably dipped enough, as the loco bridged the blocks with many engines parked on it. When the power recovered, one engine took off. So I'm not sure why your's happened? Maybe common power draw/dip? House wiring? I'm not sure without details.

 I was trying tonight to power half the layout so I didn't have to remove too much stuff. Even with the second brick turned off, the other blocks kept powering up? I found that the grandson parked a train just beyond the yard's limit, so it bridged the blocks and carried current thru the lead loco.

 I blame DCS for a lot of stuff happening, that just has to do with power blocks.

Takes off full-speed on power-up with DCS signal (actually clip leads); starts up in neutral without DCS signal.

I've seen things like that. Basically, if you're sending commands in the form of pulses, you have the potential for sending something from the pulses of a nasty derailment. We've experienced it at the club a few times -- usually with a very "sparky" derailment involving multiple cars. Usually it's something minor like losing a sound or having a horn/bell suddenly start, but we've actually had an engine's address change (it was the only one on the layout at the time).

The biggest enemy of computer communication (which is what we essentially have with DCS, DCC, and TMCC is data transmission errors either through signal losses or noise on the line.