I have searched the forum but could not find anything on this subject. I have recently started converting my engines over to tmcc with the ERR crusie commanders, so far I have converted 2 williams pa,s a lionel hudson and a lionel rs-3 and I have a lionel TMCC rs-11. All the engines worked fine in conventional but after running them with my cab 2 the rs 11 started uncoupling randomly, first it was just the rear coupler now both couplers, I thought it might be the engine itself but now the rs 3 which was working fine now also uncouples randomly, So far the PA's are doing fine but they are on a different loop of track. Has anyone else had problems like this.
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First step is to determine if it's mechanical or electrical. Unplug the couplers from the electronics and see if they still uncouple. If not, a 1uf 50V capacitor across the connector for the couplers is most frequently a fix. Note that this fix is ONLY for TMCC, not Legacy, they use a different DC activation and the cap will damage the electronics.
I will open up the RS3 later this afternoon when I get some more time to work on the trains. My RS3 and Hudson are ERR crusie commanders The rs11 is a lionel Factory TMCC engine and the PA's are DC commanders so am i correct to assume that they are all TMCC ?
Thanks for the info
Gary
Correct, they all use the R2(4)LC TMCC receiver, and all have a triac controlled coupler circuit. This is a frequent problem with many, electrical noise causes the triac to fire and open the coupler. However, it can also be mechanical, that's why the test with unplugging the coupler.
I forgot to mention, that 50V 1uf cap is of the non-polarized variety, since it's going across an AC output.