why do these engines act crazy??????

What transformer?

yes I forgot that point...........I use two 180 watt Lionel bricks, and I did buy and use the "cord" that allows you to tie them both together. My k line engines (no Legacy) run just fine..........so does my Atlas O Dash 8 40B.........BTW I heartily endorse Atlas engines!

is odyssey turned on in both engines?

I have the WM F7 set. Set up can be tricky.

If you assign separate engine numbers to the ABA units you will need to set them up as a train / lashup. 

For my purposes I assigned the same engine number to all units and they run very smoothly together.  Be sure the B unit is facing in the right direction.  There is a small F in the lower front corner.

I use a Cab 2, however the Cab 1 should work fine. 

With respect to the K4, could be the antenna may not be seated properly or one of the handrails has gone to ground.  Good luck!

Bruce

to all, especially Bruce .........you may have hit the nail on the head! I will try later today to use that advice.............that's advice I didn't know about!

Hey BruceT47.............and others that tried to help.  The reprogramming went smooth as silk by using Bruces' recommendation! For some FUNKY reason the owners' manual DOES say to set each engine with a separate number....but that isn't the way!  Giving them all the same number as the lead engine worked.

now let's see if I can get the Pennsy 2 8 0 to also work!

There was another guy that was trying to figure out how to set up and run a Legacy ABA set just a few days ago.  I hope he sees this.

You can set them to different ID numbers and then build the MU in the remote.  That will give you correct coupler and light operation.  If you set them all to the same TMCC ID, you can't do things like run tail to tail, and all the rear couplers or front couplers will fire instead of only the correct one.

Hey John...........I don't know about your technique, but I repeat that I set all mine to the same engine number as the lead, #36 I think< and they respond perfectly.

      rear couplers fire.........the rear A unit headlight stays off when they move forward............then comes on when I switch direction (and the front units' headlight goes off).   I know this for a fact since after I got these running, with advice from the Gurus at the Mt. Airy Md. Train Depot (old friends) , once I got home and tested and reset them I couldn't stop going over and over all the "features" for about an hour. Like a kid in a train store. the B is in the middle and one A unit is backwards and the lead A faces front so my wife can hit it with her model R/C tanks!  Yes a tank(s) versus train situation!!!!!!!

I think you mean that in Legacy one must give each engine a different number...............I just have the original TMCC Cab1............easy piecey!

I didn't say you couldn't run that way, just pointing out some of the limitations.

TMCC works the same as Legacy as far as the MU is concerned.  If you set them all to the same ID, all the rear couplers will fire, including those in the middle of the MU configuration, thus decoupling your engines from each other.  Also, all the front headlights will be on when running forward and all the rear headlights will be on when running in reverse.  Obviously, you can't run in any configuration except nose to tail either as the engines will not be running in the same direction from a reset if one is reversed in orientation.

As long as this isn't an issue for you, it's not a problem. 

Whether configured with the Cab 2 or the Cab 1, features of this particular set will function properly with a single engine ID.  It will also function properly with separate engine ID's if  MU'd as a train with either Cab 1 or Cab 2.  John is correct that if you wish to change the running order of the consist to another variant such as nose to nose you will have to assign each unit a separate ID and configure as a train.

Most folks will likely run this set nose to tail so the single ID makes for an easy set up as RedJimmy and I have found.

As a side note when set to a single ID, and you hit smoke, the three smoke units starting at one time move the AMP needle sharply.

Bruce

As I was trying to tell Gun Runner John and Bruce confirmed it......setting up the three engines as follows.... rear A facing backwards....B unit front pointing front ....and leading A facing front.......there AREN'T ANY limitations on the features AT ALL!

Only the rearmost coupler opens (actually the front one of the backwards A unit) when I press "rear coupler".

only the front A unit headlight comes on when running forward....the rear A units' headlight stays off.............marker lights always on. The front A unit cab light goes off once it is set to go forward...all the features are perfect by just setting all three units on ONE engine number! nuff' said!

He confirmed nothing.  If they act that way without configuring them as an MU, they have been modified in some manner.  That is NOT the stock behavior of any TMCC locomotive.  nuff' said.

Fell free to have the last word, I won't argue the point.

William 1 posted:

There was another guy that was trying to figure out how to set up and run a Legacy ABA set just a few days ago.  I hope he sees this.

I saw it but the major difference is the set I have, the Legacy Postwar Scale NYC F3 ABA with the powered B has funky wiring involving the board, as confirmed by Martye, Mike Reagan, GRJ and others, that does not allow you to program either just the AA or ABA like other Legacy sets and get all of the lighting and coupler features that you would expect either with the same ID number or as a lash up with individual unique ID numbers. I will not repeat the issues involved with each but trust me I tried every possible method.

Mike

Well, I guess it gets back to the original question.  Why do these engines act crazy?  They sure don't mind making things difficult.

I have ABA in B&O F units. I have them all with different numbers but also have them programed as train 4. The AA is one powered one not, the B is also a power unit, so it gives me the opportunity to run a dummy A unit in front of it and use the B as the power source. Also as john has said I can pick which  coupler I want to release. 

Geesh............no one rewired or soldered.......changed any wires. And the previous owner merely ran them for a short time. They are pretty much "straight outa da box" stock behavior.

 Believe me.............if they were not running as they should.........or the features weren't responding, I'd leave no stone unturned to find out how to get these engines running.  Im a happy camper with my lash up. Dennis says he is retired and now a PAIN.........well, there's two like minded individuals then living here on earth! LOL!

OK, I looked up these locomotives, and it becomes clearer why we had a disconnect.

The A-A set indeed only has one EC for each locomotive on the front, and the non-powered unit responds to the rear coupler command as it's designed to run tail-to-tail.  Since the B-Unit is running forward and doesn't have any electrocouplers, as long as it's running forward, it would be fine with the same ID #.  This is a set that specifically designed to run in this manner, I should have looked them up previously.  My comments apply to individual units you're trying to run together, not a set designed to run this way.

Forget my previous comments, they indeed should run like you are running them with a single ID.