My new DCS system quit.

Bill,

Actually, it could be something very simple. However, without any information it's impossible to troubleshoot.

Try a conventional reset (1W, 5B) with only that engine on the track. Your engine may be stuck in a conventional direction. Is it PS3?

Where do you start trouble shooting?

1.  Lets determine whether the remote & tiu are communicating with each other.

Does the "read" bottom left on the dcs remote find the tiu? yes / no?

No it does not.

Not good...Take a look at the top of the tiu, there's a red LED that lights up and blinks when power is first applied.

Does the red LED light up and blink? BTW  use Fixed 1 The number of blinks is the actually the  tiu number.

The next step would be to.... tether the remote & tiu together with a curly telephone cable .  ( the one that connects the hand set to the phone base, not the one that connects the base to the wall outlet... You may have a loose transceiver board in either the tiu or remote....

You may want to temporarily disconnect  TMCC   for testing.

If things were working as they should your dcs engines should remain dark & silent upon power up  and until addressed  by the dcs remote.

The led blinks twice.

looks like you inadvertently changed the TIU to number two.  read the book or check on line here how to change the TIU address back to factory number 1. 

For now go to Menu/ System/ Tiu set up/Add tiu...... Add tiu #2 if available....try the "read again".

 That happened to me once when I first hooked up dcs, a loco went full bore into a siding, derailing, etc.

Try rechecking all DCS connections, make sure tiu is on before you power the remote on. Then try to operate with only one ps2/3 locomotive on the track. and see how that goes.

hi make sure the remote is set to one as well after you change the tiu back to one. then due a read again should work menu/remote and check remote address make surer its one

Alan 

It's a good practice to lock your engines in "conventional" neutral once you graduate into running with DCS. That way you never have to worry about them getting damaged, because they won't be able to take off like that again. One WHISTLE, Three BELLS, with your Z Controller. Another mistake that that beginners make, that causes the engine to take off like that, is hitting the soft key that says conventional control. If your not going to lock your engines in neutral it's also a good practice to delete that option from the remote. Remote Reset will bring it back if you ever need it.

Well I got the TIU and the controller back on address 1. I tried the loco on a conventional transformer and only the light would come on.  Tried it on the layout and the tiu found the loco.  It only runs very fast when advancing the speed.  There is no sound and it will not change directions.  The head light change but not the engine.  I tried the signal quality and I could only get a 4 right next to the TIU.  I guess I still need help.  If I knew how bad the system operated I would not have bought it.  If any one would offer a reasonable price I would gladly sell.  Bill

You're not off to a very good start.  

DCS  can be a pain sometimes but when you finally get things working as they should it's  a blast.

Seems  the remote & tiu are now communicating.... good

 Seems you have a very low dcs signal..... Hook up a small test track to fixed 1 and try the track signal test again... you should be able to get a perfect 10.

(some TMCC engines can destroy the dcs signal, take'em off the track for testing dcs.)

Engine problem....It does sound like there is a problem with the engine...but first try a reset.

Menu/ advanced  / reset engine/ feature reset///// any help??

What engine do you have? proto-2 require a good charged battery... No battery with proto3. (capacitor)

 Hope you get things working. gregg

It is a proto 2 with caps. I did try eng reset with not luck.  I guess I bought an engine that was doomed for failure. A 150 dollar lesson from a great ebayer with 100 good feed back, I don't feel he knew that there was going to be a problem and it did run perfectly for a couple of days.

I tried a test track right from the tiu.  The loco still had no sound and only forward at great speed , but I got a signal strength on 10.  I don't have any speed control so I cant let the loco run wild to check the rest of the layout accurately. 

I've had Lionel boards just quit too.

Bummer!!  I'm  guessing you just have the one dcs engine.... I'm not sure whether you want to go further but there are some great repair people  here on the forum that may come up with a few suggestions. .... PS I'm not one of them. anyway good luck.

your little speed control circuit board that attaches to one of the motors may be bad.  Before you give up on DCS, engines and system you should get to know your local MTH national authorized service center and have them check out the locomotive. Its a real easy and inexpensive fix.

Bill,

As others here have mentioned:  based on the information you've given, the DCS system itself is fine.   This sure does sound like an engine issue.  It could be as simple as a loose board or connection inside.

What is the loco? Do you by any chance have the MTH number for the loco.. i.e 30-xxx-xxx or 20-xxx-xx  etc.?

Dave Zucal posted:

It's a good practice to lock your engines in "conventional" neutral once you graduate into running with DCS. That way you never have to worry about them getting damaged, because they won't be able to take off like that again. One WHISTLE, Three BELLS, with your Z Controller. Another mistake that that beginners make, that causes the engine to take off like that, is hitting the soft key that says conventional control. If your not going to lock your engines in neutral it's also a good practice to delete that option from the remote. Remote Reset will bring it back if you ever need it.

Is there a way to lock in N in conventional using DCS?

Is there a way to lock in N in conventional using DCS?

Nope! however you set up a var channel in var mode with the dcs signal turned off and get the whistle/ bell combination using the dcs remote... ( for those of us using bricks with no horn or bell buttons)

In DCS is there away to confirm conventional direction status?

There is a lot of information missing - help is limited until we have the locomotive details.  If you do not have the 30-xxxxx, etc.  can you post the ebay description?

You may have purchased a 5v locomotive with problems.

bruce

the loco is a gp 30 that had a proto 2 system installed. It has the capacitors instead of battery. I don't know if it is 3 or 5v.

Bill,   if I researched properly, the loco you have is the WC GP-30

MTH 20-2751-3       This was a non powered unit from the factory.  Based on the eBay listing that I think is this, it was modified with power and PS2 added, after it was purchased new.

Makes me wonder if it was test run for any length of time.

I do not know enough about powering MTH unpowered units to troubleshoot other than the basics.

Hopefully someone a lot more knowledgeable than I am can jump in.

David,

More likely it is the PS1 Reading GP30 that has been updated to PS2. But we will have to see what Bill says it is, as we can only guess.

You can post some pictures we may be able to help if it is something simple.  If power is applied and it immediately moves at full voltage speed you can lower voltage to about 10-12 to make it manageable and try a conventional reset.  If this is all new to you a tech in your area should be able to do a quick test to isolate you problem.  If none in your area you can send the engine to me.  G 

Hi guys here is some more info, The original loco is MT 2073LP. I looked again for loose connections.  I put it on the test track with signal strength of 10.  I reset the loco and tried it again.  The head lights switch wit direction control but not the loco. It didn't run away and seemed to have some speed control. No sound though. The loco had a proto 2 board installed by J&J trains in 2013. Hope that helps.  Thanks for all the help. Bill

Joe Allen posted:

David,

More likely it is the PS1 Reading GP30 that has been updated to PS2. But we will have to see what Bill says it is, as we can only guess.

Joe, looks like you are correct.   Reading GP-30, originally PS1, upgraded by a hobby shop to PS2

If you really want to get this locomotive running it looks like you need an MTH Service Tech to look at it, evaluate it, and make recommendations.  It may cost more than the locomotive is worth.  There are no techs within a 200 mile radius of you.

Your best bet is to use a tech from the forum.

bruce

hi I just sent you an email would be willing to help you any way I can!

Alan

i cant add help, but praises for these crazy guys on here. spoon feeding it to a noob like myself and taking time to personal message me. These guys got me from nothing to dcs certified. lol 

I got a email from you but didn't go threw even after I entered your access code!

Alan

Let me update everyone.  I bought a new MTH SD 60.  Very nice. I was a little anxious to try it but one the DCS recognized the loco I hit the start button.  Wow I was impressed.  Then running it on the layout was perfect.  I checked the signal strength.  The lowest number was an 8.  Well now what to do with the bad unit.

Billsrr posted:

Let me update everyone.  I bought a new MTH SD 60.  Very nice. I was a little anxious to try it but one the DCS recognized the loco I hit the start button.  Wow I was impressed.  Then running it on the layout was perfect.  I checked the signal strength.  The lowest number was an 8.  Well now what to do with the bad unit.

get it fixed