MTH 30-4220-1

Do you have the DCS remote commander?  If so, you have to point the remote at the lock-on.  The lock-on will flash if the command is received from the remote.

Dave

Make sure that the red post on the receiver is connected to the center rail and the black post to an outside rail.

When the tracks get power, press Startup.

Does the engine come up dark and silent when power is applied or does it start making sounds with lights?

Tell us exactly what happens in what order.

Are you still using a DCC controller to power the track? 

Are the batteries fresh in the remote? 

Can you build a simple oval in a different room and try it there?  I had one customer who could not get his Remote CDR to work, yet the engine ran fine with his remote when I tested it.  The only thing we could figure it was something about his train room layout?  He moved up to full DCS and everything ran well.

Could be some sort of interference.  G

Backing up a bit more, can you test the engine on just a few feet of track?  Perhaps send just the Startup and some non-motion commands like Bell or Whistle to see if the engine responds more consistently (or differently) than the 7x12.  This would determine if it's some kind of layout/wiring issue - a slim chance but something that shouldn't take long to do.

Another idea is to wiggle the DCC/DCS switch back and forth and try again.  Again, a slim chance but doesn't take long to do and might uncover a marginal or flakey internal wiring issue.

Here's a possible explanation for the variation in starting speed. When you repeatedly press the Plus button, the DCSRC receiver sends ever increasing Speed commands to the engine (though they are not being received).  When a speed command finally makes it through to the engine, it has been advanced to some large value.

For the the purposes of troubleshooting, I suggest just using the Bell, Whistle, or Coupler commands until you can reliably get the commands to the engine.

Ok I hooked it up to 4 peices of straight track and everything works good, so now what

Do a stationary DCS track signal test on the test track. If it comes up 9/10, then the problem is one of low DCS signal strength on your layout where you were attempting to use this engine.

Was the test track connected to the same TIU channel where the problem previously occurred? If not, try the test rack's TIU channel on the layout. If the problem goes away, the culprit was the TIU channel being used on the layout.

If the problem remains, the issue is most likely in the wiring or track topology of the layout.

Did you read my last post? Please do so, follow my instructions and answer my questions.

Barry, He has  remote cdr.  I agree with Dave, your layout may be effecting the DCS signal, or something is interfering with the IR remote in your train room.  G

No.

If the layout and the test track are in close proximity to each other, the problem is in the layout.

Place the engine on the track right over where the receiver is connected. Does it now work properly?

Describe your layout.

If the green LED on the DCSRC receiver blinks each and every time you press a button on the remote, then the link from the remote to the receiver is OK. Plus, you said you exchanged the DCSRC already with the same result.  If you want to experiment, try backing up 10 feet or aiming the remote elsewhere to see what it takes to cause the green LED to stop blinking or only intermittently blink upon each remote press. This should give you the confidence that you are not in the marginal zone wrt the remote to receiver link.

As Barry says, describe the 7x12 layout and wiring a bit more.  Is it the MTH power brick feeding the DCSRC receiver then splitting into 3 feeds to a Fastrack oval?  A sketch would be nice with dimensions.  Note that the control signal in DCC is some 20x "stronger" than the DCS control signal.  The DCS signal is also of higher frequency.  As layouts become larger and more complex, this means the wiring configuration for DCS becomes more critical than for DCC.

Is anything else connected to the 7x12 layout that is electrical in nature other than the SD70 and maybe a lighted lock-on (if that comes with the MTH set)?

As for the Horn behavior, that's to be expected in your situation.  That is, one command is sent from receiver-to-engine to turn the horn on (when you first press the remote's Horn button).  A different command is sent from receiver-to-engine to turn the horn off (when you release the remote's Horn button).  So the "off" command did not make it to the engine.

Do all three of the feeders come from the receiver? If so, remove two of the feeders and place the engine directly over the remaining feeder.

Next, remove the third feeder, place the DCS receiver next to the track and connect a pair of short wires to the track near the receiver.

Place the engine on the track and attempt to start it up and operate it.

Funny,  My customers train room was an add on metal sun room and the Remote cdr did not work until he went to full DCS.  Maybe some of the wiring issues will help you fix it, but I would build an oval as I said and test the engine in a different room.  I would then move that oval into you train room and test again.   G

The DCS Remote Commander doesn't have the same signal strength when I use it here, though it works on a single loop of track of 40-50 feet OK.  I think it's only intended for a pretty small layout by it's very nature.