Lionel TMCC M1A Mountain to Cruise M Issues

As it turns out, unless you order the Odyssey CC-M, you have a serial data buffer on the CC-M, it's pin-2 on the 10-pin connector.

If absolutely no commands are recognized, even stuff like headlight control, that wouldn't be likely to be the CC-M, those come direct from the R2LC to the headlight.  Same with the smoke, has nothing to do with the CC-M.

Specifically WHAT wires do you have running to the 10-pin connector, and to what pins are they connected?

Also, make SURE that the J3 connector has power and ground in the right places, if they're swapped all sorts of bad things are likely to happen!  This sounds like one suspect.

The reason I ask about J3 is it sounds like the track power is on what the lights think is ground.

Finally, the DC ground from the CC-M to the lights can NOT connect to frame ground, they have different references!

John

Here’s what it looks like inside:

On the J4 socket, the blue serial data wire is in pin 1.

Pins 3-4, 7 and 9 (red, black, yellow, and green) go to the flickering firebox.

Pins 5-6 red and black wires go to the classification lights (now unplugged for safety, obviously ). 

The J3 socket connections look to be in the correct arrangement as well.

Next time I’ll remember that Cruise M’s for Odyssey locomotives apply for both steam AND diesel. 

As it turns out, this locomotive had an extra eyelid connector to the original Molex/J3 plug for the DCDR to connect to frame AC ground.

Actually, the CC-M for Odyssey is principally for diesels.  It gives you the diesel ramp-up signal instead of the serial data on J4 pin-2.  For any other application, the standard CC-M is more suitable, you get a buffered serial data output.

Well, the good news is I had a spare R2LC around, with the correct 08 coding. Seems to run just fine now. No response drop outs and speed control seems to working properly.

I do still need to order new class lights from Lionel, but I hope after that it’ll be fine.

Sounds like a winner.