Tmcc berkshire jr electrical issue

Morgan,

A flickering headlight is a telltale sign that your locomotive is receiving a poor radio signal from the Base-1L.

Check two things first:

1.) The wire from the base to the outside rail on the track or the 'U' post on the transformer.  Make sure that it's connected securely.  This wire does not have to be fat, because there is little current flowing through it, but it must be connected.

2.) That the power brick for the Base-1L is plugged into a properly-grounded outlet. If you presently have it plugged into a power strip try moving it to the wall outlet.  Earth ground is actually part of the antenna system and needs a good connection as well, through the round ground pin on the brick, which plugs into the wall outlet.

Let us know what you find after checking these things.

Mike

Mike  thanks for the reply.  The wire from base 1L to my KW transformer is a tight connection at both ends. I am plugging the base and transformer directly into the wall outlet. Problem continues.  Thanks,  Morgan

You say you set the starting voltage fairly high to eliminate the stuttering. What does that mean? With TMCC you set the track voltage to 18 volts before addressing the engine and leave it there.

Also since it's only one engine, you need to check to see that the antenna is not grounded to the frame or boiler. It should be obvious where the connections are made to the wire on the boiler outside...measure the antenna connection with an ohmmeter for an open ckt to the boiler.

Mike,  my bad. I meant minimum stall voltage.  I believe thanks to you I've found the problem. I tried a different set of wall outlets and that fixed the flickering lights. Loco still changes speed on its own though. Not a big speed difference but noticeable.

Good.

The change in speeds that you're seeing is common.  Later and more expensive models have a speed control function (Odyssey) that keeps the speed constant, right at the point you set it.

It believe that it can be added, fairly simply, by swapping in a new motor driver board.  The "Cruise Commander M" from Electric Railroad will do the job if I'm not mistaken.

See Cruise CommanderTM Modular Version | ERR for more info.

Mike

Mike, thanks for all the help. I've only recently gotten into the tmcc/ legacy/ lionchief since December.  Previously all my trains have been ho dc/dcc and a couple of postwar O christmas sets.

Needless to say I'm getting hooked on O gauge. Lol.

Yep, I've done a ton of upgrades of plain TMCC using the ERR Cruise Commander M, it's a simple installation and it's like a new locomotive after the installation.

Gunrunnerjohn, where do you get the ERR upgrades from?. The few places I've found are out of stock with no idea on backorder s.

Lol gunrunner John I should have read the add in your post. I'm blind in one eye can't see out the other

@Morgan Diehl posted:

Lol gunrunner John I should have read the add in your post. I'm blind in one eye can't see out the other

And I even have stock in virtually all the ERR upgrade products...