Vision Line Challenger - No Signal

These locomotives are getting old I had one that I had to replace the RCDR because it wasn’t always getting signal. As long as the antenna isn’t shorted to ground anywhere that’s where I would start assuming you’ve proven your base has good output with another locomotive.

I’m sure you already checked. Mine did the same thing and infrared was miss aligned with tender.

Bringing this topic back. I replaced the RCDR with no luck. Tonight I tried to run conventional. Engine gets power, I can blow the whistle, but it does not move. Cycled through with power a dozen times, doesn’t make a difference. Try to address with TMCC and nothing there either.

The wire between engine and tender I believe is functioning correctly. When I blow the whistle I get sounds from both engine and tender. When I disconnect the wire sound only comes from the tender.

How do you test the IT connection? I see above IR could potentially cause an issue like this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Does the headlight power on? It’s sounds like your not getting serial data down the line. I would double check the connectors on the RCDR make sure all the plugs are seated and no wires are broke. The RCDR powers the headlight so if that’s coming on then at least we know it’s getting power. Serial data daisy chains through the SCF1 and the DCDS before sending out the IR teather.

In conventional I believe the RS6 sound boards will pickup the whistle signal vs waiting to see it come over the serial data. But I do think the DCDS waits for serial commands no matter what from the RCDR before moving so I’d start at the RCDR and follow the serial data through the locomotive.

hope that makes since it was a lot of information

Thanks @zhubl. The headlight is on. I replaced the RCDR so thinking that isn’t the issue.

Is there a way to check SCF1 or DCDS without replacing it? I tested other engines and they will move with no tented attached. Curious if that is true for all legacy steam?

@SuperChief posted:

Is there a way to check SCF1 or DCDS without replacing it? I tested other engines and they will move with no tented attached. Curious if that is true for all legacy steam?

Any Lionel locomotive with the IR tether will run without the tender, that applies to Legacy or TMCC.  The IR is a one-way interface to the tender that only sends data to the tender.  The locomotive doesn't know or care if the tender is there or is receiving the signal.

@SuperChief posted:

Thanks @zhubl. The headlight is on. I replaced the RCDR so thinking that isn’t the issue.

Is there a way to check SCF1 or DCDS without replacing it? I tested other engines and they will move with no tented attached. Curious if that is true for all legacy steam?

Seems odd for a new RCDR but wouldn’t be the first time Lionel sent out nonfunctional parts. So if the old one just would loose the TMCC signal occasionally can you reinstall it and confirm you get your normal functions back just with the occasional headlight flicker?

Thanks @gunrunnerjohn.

@zhubl- I would say the old one wasn’t just occasionally. It worked maybe 5% of the time.

I made myself a little test harness for the RCDR boards so I could test those separately to insure proper operation.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I made myself a little test harness for the RCDR boards so I could test those separately to insure proper operation.

I’ll be over in a few minutes. 😀

It does make debugging a lot easier if you can divide and conquer.  I try to whittle down the possibilities until there's only one left.