TMCC Upgrade Issue...

Mark, is the radio board in the tender or engine? That is where the power for the headlight and taillight come from. If its in the engine, no light in the tender might just be a tether issue. Also what did you use for a feature code. Normally its Aux1 4. With that code headlight is always on and taillight only comes on in reverse.

Pete

Where's the Antenna? does holding your hand over the engine help at all?

All the electronics are in the tender. I isolated it with Kapton tape. I programmed it with AUX1 4. The rear light when plugged into the board doesnt come on at all at any time, and the headlight flickers. I wonder if I should reintall the constant lighting board.

Flickering headlight is a poor TMCC signal strength issue.  Are you sure the shell is isolated, sounds like you are grounding the antenna.

Test with shell off and just a wire antenna.  If it works than, the issue is antenna grounding.  G

If you used ERR components, you should be able to read the voltage at the terminals used for the lights. You don't need the engine to do this, just place the tender on the track with the shell off and toggle the DIR button after addressing it. The voltage should read either ~12 volts or close to zero.

Pete

I will have to find my meter. The light stays on when the engine doesnt move. When the engine runs, the light stays off. Never has the rear grain of wheat bulb worked with this board. The tender frame is isolated. Should the board be isolated from the tender frame? I screwed it in to the frame directly, with no tape.

No part of the circuit should be touching the frame other than the ground wires. Put something between the board and frame, electrical tape, foam tape, packing tape, etc.

Pete

On any metal framed engines I always super glue down plastic sheet and then stick the foam tape, then the ERR sound board.  On the ERR commanders I super glue down plastic sheet on the frame under the board but not under the heat sink just to be on the safe side so if the screw that holds the commander board at the heat sink should back out the bottom of the board does not short out to the metal frame.

Are you using incandescent bulbs or LED's for headlight and taillight?  If you use LED's, you need a .01uf capacitor directly across the lamp outputs to frame ground to allow the triacs to fire and light the LED's.

Just a thought from a non-expert, what is your Command system, TMCC Cab1, Legacy Cab2, or Legacy Cab1L?

Ray