UP Mikado #1925 takes off in conventional

I'd try swapping a working board from another locomotive in there before ordering a board.  Make sure you do a type reset as well and then see if it runs better.  Did you actually measure the handrails to the shell to make sure they're not shorted to it?

Well, if you check all the functions with a C08, you can probably use one.  I have had several engines with C11 and C13 boards, so far they all worked with a C08 as well. 

Once again, knowing what changed with the boards would be useful.  I believe that at least one rev was associated with Odyssey fixes, but I'm not 100% sure.

With the cab off the engine, check continuity from pin 23 on the R2LC to the antenna on the boiler.  While doing this, use a jumper wire to connect the boiler to locomotive ground.  Next check engine ground to handrail (antenna) and see if you have continuity.  My guess is you might see that indicating the antenna wires from the R2LC to where they go through the boiler might be touching and grounding the antenna causing your problem. 

Was your examination done by eye or your continuity meter?  Your problem is common and do the checks I outlined.  If it runs great as you started early in your post with the body off, it has nothing to do with the R2LC and is your antenna.  Again to varify this, do a continuity check from pin 23 to the handrail antenna and let us know what you are seeing.

You stated the engine will run in TMCC  with the boiler off the engine.  Hook a jumper from the boiler to the locomotive and loose signal, you are at the point I addressed earlier.  Yopur problem seems to be shorted handrails going through the boiler shell.

Thanks for the reply. I did check continuity of the antenna to the boiler with a meter and have no shorts. I at first did expect the problem to be there. The feed thrus look good visually too. The path I need to check is indeed the pin 23 R2LC all the way to the antenna wire on the mother board. I allowed that the antenna connection inside the R2LC could be an issue, but I really suspect the path over the mother board, wire to pin 23. When I get back to looking at it, that's where I will look.

The R2LC C13 board did in fact have a small scratch on a trace along side the board from pin 23 to a capacitor C1. I fixed that trace (not easy to do, but did it carefully I think) and now the antenna wire shows continuity all the way to C1. Great.

But now I'm stumped. I no longer get headlight flickering, but do not get any functions either. When I try to program, no headlight flicker acknowledgement.

When I remove the Legacy Base, I get a bit of headlight flicker when I raise the voltage and then steady headlight. Reduce and then up the voltage and move forward or idle or reverse in conventional mode.

But in Legacy mode with the base on, steady headlight always, but no functions...no horn, motion, etc. I have tried to do a reset but since I get no flicker when I push set or aux1 code, then I guess there is no reset.

Kind of worried about the R2LC board since we had functions before fixing the trace, but cannot see why it would have been affected in this way. I work on an anti-static pad, etc. 

New board? Any other reset than aux 74 for wireless tether engines?

The tether configuration won't affect setting the locomotive address.  I'd try a different R2LC at this point.

I'll call Lionel Monday and ask if they send a C13 even though the parts list shows a C08.

When you get a flicker in conventional thats normal. The radio board is looking for a signal. When you did the reset, did you have the tender with the engine, did it give a whistle confirmation after pressing engine number set, Aux1 74. Also Chuck we have a search box now

Bill

Yes on the conventional. I mentioned the flicker because I thought it significant that something worked properly.

With the base on, I did the program ID #, then ID# and aux1 followed by 74 and got no flickers or whistles with the tender connected.

And when going back to run, no features or motion.

Oh search box. Great, I will be looking. Thanks for the replies.

Do you have continuity from the handrails to pin 23??  The wire on the motherboard is not your issue.  When you have everything together your handrails are finding ground.  On the second line of your post, you stated it runs with bopiler off.  This would tell your R2LC and motherboard are OK if you can run at that point.

When it worked without the boiler, that was an earlier chapter.

There was never a short of the antenna wire to anything.

The antenna problem was a broken trace on the R2LC which I found and fixed.

Thats why it would only work with the boiler off.

BUT, then, after I repaired the trace on the R2LC, the Legacy features would not function, even with the boiler off of course.

I fear that somehow the R2LC board has broken in some other way, or I haven't been successful in programming it. A new board will tell the tale I think.

This locomotive has Odyssey, so I suspect the C13 was to improve the operation of the Odyssey.

Wrong.  With the boiler off, the boiler was not connected to the frame of the locomotive to complete the ground circuit.  If things worked with the boiler off and not ground connected to the frame, nothing was wrong with your R2LC.  If you read my earlier post on this I told you to connect the boiler and frame with a jumper so you would have the same situation as having the boiler mounted to the chassis.  Remember, if the boiler is off and not connected in any way to the frame, your handrails and boiler would be your antenna if you have the short that is suspect. You never did connect the boiler and chassis with a jumper and do a continuity test from the handrails to pin 23.  With the boiler off, do a continuity test on the handrails and boiler.

   When I first read your post and observed you say "I think" , I thought I might be of help as I see this situation very often.

I got the replacement R2LC c13 board and had the same results so I was encouraged to look elsewhere. I did definitely have a broken antenna wire trace on the original R2LC board, but after fixing it, I thought the engine was Legacy and didn't know the ID# at first (until I asked the owner).I tried to reset the ID# in Legacy instead of TMCC which apparently doesn't work. Then I thought I had somehow zapped the board.

Got a new board, and realized that maybe I should try TMCC. It all worked.

BTW, using TMCC I set the ID on the NEW R2LC c13 board and was successful. Then I did an ID#, aux1, 740 which was successful, but didn't get any chuffing or brake noises. With the old board, I had everything working, chuffs, brakes and all.

What am I doing wrong with the new board that I got no chuffing? I set the ID# and the features # exactly the same with both boards...

Have you disturbed the cherry switch?  Have you gone back and tried the R2LC 08 now in TMCC?

Could you post a picture of the burned trace on the R2LC antenna trace.  I would like to know exactly where that occurred.   G

Interesting.  If it isn't code maybe defective.  I would ask Lionel on that one.  G

So the one that wasn't working 2 post up, now works?  G

What fixed it?

The original board worked when I fixed the trace. But I couldn't get it working after fixing it at first, thinking it was Legacy and using Legacy. When I realized I needed to program and operate with TMCC, it all worked. By then I had ordered and received the new board. I was going to use the new board anyway, but couldn't get any chuffing. The new board was/is probably bad since I had no chuffs with it. I sent that board back today at the request of the seller.

I realize this is all confusing, it certainly was to me along the way.

I originally deduced that a trace on the original R2LC board was open, and it was. All the rest was my bumbling use of legacy instead of TMCC.

And along the way I learned a lot about the signal paths for the various boards. So, again, it was more fun than if everything just worked the first time.

You learn more from your mistakes than your successes.