Front headlight and firebox light.

Jim,

What you're seeing is consistent with a loose tether connection. Try reseating the tether before doing anything else.

Thanks for the quick reply Barry.  That tether is a real PIA.  I'll give it another shot.

Jim

If Barry's' suggestion doesn't help, try a feature reset with the remote.

I tried the tether and was not successful.

I'll give the reset a try next, thanks.

What version of DCS are you using, and have you turned smoke on or off?

The DCS unit has REV L on the bottom.  The handheld remote says version 4.20.  I tried resetting the engine and resetting the features.  I can turn the smoke on and off.  It does produce smoke.  The bell turns on and off, the rear coupler works and the whistle blows.  I can turn the rear headlight on and off.  Still no headlight on the front or the fire box glow.

Does turning the smoke on or off turn lights on & off?

No, turning the smoke on or off has no effect on the lights front or back. 

Is the PS2 board in the engine or in the tender?

Yesterday I replaced the engine MUX board in a Rail King Northern w/PS2 to correct the exact same problem. The Northern had the PS2 board in the tender.

Barry I do not know the answer to that question.  I bought the engine from Jim's Trains in Homer city before he closed up in December of 2010.  It has mostly lived in the box, only coming out to test fit my layout.  I finally finished the track and have it all fastened in place and wired.  The length of the loops is 1.0 on the MTH train scale.  The length of one loop according to the remote is 1.0.  The Big Boy has 133.0 on the Odometer and 13:14 on the Chrono.  I have 18 to 20 volts all the way around and all 10's on the DCS signal.  Everything worked fine until I loaded up my 3rd engine.  It's a AC4400.  Both the Big Boy and AC4400 responded to the same command from the remote and I had to delete both and reload both.  The AC4400 was giving me the "Engine in Remote" message.  I checked your book and I ended up hooking up a couple lengths of track to the TIU after disconnecting the layout from the TIU.  I reloaded both engines on the separate track and tested them to make sure they responded.  Both worked fine.  The Big Boy over ran the end of the track.  The front truck was completely off and the two front drivers went past the edge.  I put the unit in reverse and it backed on the track.  The front truck sparked when it touched the end of the track.  I have 4amp circuit breakers installed between the Z400 and the TIU and neither tripped.  I hooked up the layout and placed all the trains on the track and all seemed to run just fine.  It wasn't until later that I tried to video the trains running on the layout that I noticed there wasn't a headlight or firebox light working.

Thanks, jmiller.  SO it differs from an issue I have encountered.

Barry, what vintage Northern was that?  I don't recall seeing a board in my locos that have boards in tender.

Jim, As Barry stated this can be a MUX board issues.  If your comfortable removing the engine shell, you can unplug the smoke box and head light and test them with a 3-9V battery to see if they light.  If they do, you may have blown the mux board in the engine.  I recently had to do this repair for an Imperial Big Boy.

It can be wiring also, but normally sine both are out I think MUX.  Are the markers still on?

 G

GGG, as I noted above, I don't recall seeing a board in my PS2 steam locos that had the PS2 board in the tender.  Where is it and what did it look like?  Was this in late model PS2's.

Robert,

I don't recall seeing a board in my PS2 steam locos that had the PS2 board in the tender.  Where is it and what did it look like?

The RK Imperial Northern (which you own) has the MUX board in the top of the boiler.

Thanks, Barry.  I'll look for it if I ever have occasion to open it up.

Many of the Imperial RK models have the mux board for extra controls, I've seen them in several models.  My FEF has one as well.

Thanks GGG, I'll dig out my screwdriver set and try your suggestion.