I bought an RMT Lehigh valley RDC and got it today...when my son got home we ran it for a while. I turned around to unplug the ZW and he speaks up- "hey daddy look, it lights up"! WT....it did, and the power was off. He pushed it back and forth and the directional lights were working fine...with the power off! I have to guess the motors were acting like generators at that point...this was over an hour ago and it still does it...weird!
Do yours do this too?
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Yes - it made me chuckle. So unintentionally prototypical. It does open up
the possibility of actual working Dynamic Brakes on diesels and electrics. Think
about it...
The worm drives on most locos prevent this little amusement.
Nice little unit; I'm thinking about a $60 ERR DC Commander. What a hoot - Marx DNA
and command control.
Indeed they do! We found this neat (although not very practical in actual use) effect pretty much by accident when a Buddy RDC first arrived at our office when they were initially released.
That's just weird though...a ghost train..of sorts.
I did just note, showing to the wife who just got home, that the interior lights "do not" come on...just the outer LEDs...still, her comment was the same- that's just weird. 
I believe the circuitry for the LEDs have a capacitor in them. Capacitors store power.
No real mystery.
My professional opinion is they are haunted.
Actually, the motors act as generators when you push it, and they feed the voltage back into the LED's. The faster you push it, the brighter the lights get.
Hey Bob I think you bought that Budd Car from Me Yes they do that
Yep, my Jersey Central does that too!
Tony Sincius
TCA# 97-45101
I believe the circuitry for the LEDs have a capacitor in them. Capacitors store power.
No real mystery.
Not exactly what happens... when sitting still/power off- nothing. When pushing the engine the LEDs light up...they stop after the car quits moving...caps would give it more lite time....though if your theory is correct pushing the engine around the track might fully charge it enough to have them linger on after stopped...it'll give me something to try tomorrow.{inquiring mind wants to know}
...edit- "my mind"
Actually, the motors act as generators when you push it, and they feed the voltage back into the LED's. The faster you push it, the brighter the lights get.
Yeah, BANGs do the same thing, too. My grandkids think it is so cool.
The only difference between a permanent magnet motor and a generator is whether you're putting power in to make the shaft spin and do work, or spinning the shaft mechanically and taking the power out.
Hey Bob I think you bought that Budd Car from Me Yes they do that
I'd like to think that knowingly or unknowingly I'd be supporting a fellow member here...the package came from NJ.
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