Hello all, I posted a few weeks ago because I was having problems with an Atlas MP15 (N scale) and a drop in decoder. It was a brand new loco, brand new power supply/controller, and new track. I had no other equipment to test or rule out possibilities. After dealing with my first drop in decoder install and having it not work (was it the chipboard, the loco, the track?) I decided to go ahead and get a pair of DCC equipped Atlas SD60M's. If I had to guess what was wrong I'd say it was my installation and messing something up so I decided to get rid of that factor and get factory installed decoders. Just to test the locomotive and Zephyr I bought a piece of Bachmann EZ track with the rerailer and the push in power wire connector. On the power supply end are the U Shaped hooks which I took off and stripped to the bare copper wire to put into the jumper on the Zephyr. With one engine on the track I cannot read the decoder or move it. The only thing I can do is select address 03 and turn the light off or on, or change the direction of the light with the selector. When I try to page and read the CV address it flashes "d nd" which the manual tells me means there is an open circuit. So that's where I'm stuck...Read on for more information from my past battles with the MP15 but if you've had enough you can stop here. So with the MP15 I installed the decoder before testing it as a regular DC engine (big mistake I now know!). I did that because at the time I had no controller and I was just bored and wanted to try it out. When I got the Zephyr I tried it out with the same EZ Track set up and it did nothing. Realizing the mistake of not testing it normal DC I reinstalled the original light board. Now with the address 00 the lights came on, but it went nowhere. I went back and forth installing the DC chip, then the decoder and got the same results over and over again. DC - lights on, no movement, DCC - nothing, error message of 'd nd'. So a few days later I got an old old Atlas DC locomotive and put it on the track. With the address 00 it would light up and make the "singing" sound I've read about and I could actually move it back and forth although the noise is quite unbearable. So guys, that's all I can think of to share. Sorry I wrote a novel but I just feel like the more info and details, the less guessing you have to do. I used to model back in the early 90s but quit because I got to the middle school age and it wasn't "cool" anymore. But now post-college I got the itch again and this whole DCC thing is new. I've bought a door and I'm working on securing some extruded foam but if I can't even wire a program track or a simple loop of Bachmann EZ track (not what I'd use for the layout btw) maybe I need to quit while I'm ahead! Money is tight and buying a pair of SD60Ms equals Ramen noodles for a few weeks! Thank you so much for trudging through this and thank you even more for any advice and help!
Have you tried address 01, as I recall some decoders use this as the default. I had similar problems on my first decoder attempts. Read the decoder manual closely too. Not sure about those jumpers. I do not have jumpers on my zephyr. I think the jumpers are for using spare analog power packs as control devices. Remove the jumpers. You should only have two wires running from ports, as I recall A and B to the track, and two wires running to the program track.
Do you have the wires hooked up to the right places? There is a set of inputs for the program track wiring and the main track wiring. The engine won't run on the program track.
Thanks for the reply. Yes I tried every address in the world. But I know it's 03 because when it's on that, I can press the "light" button on the Zephyr and that turns the loco's headlight on and off, and I can change the direction of it with the lever. It doesn't do that on any other address, including 01. And I'm sorry if I used the wrong terminology, when I said jumper I meant the whole thing on the back of the Zephyr where you tighten the screw with the wire inside. So one wire is in Rail A and the other is Rail B. I also tried putting it in Prog A and Prog B and try to program the decoder with the same results. I think the problem is in the puny wire and power connector with the track. Can those handle the power coming out of the Zephyr? It seems the signals are getting to the loco, hence the light turning off and on, but the power to make it move are not.
Dave There are other threads similar to this in the DCC section. From what I have experienced and read it seems to always come down to the motor pickups and contact with the mobile decoder board. Should be plug and play but that's how it goes. If you are getting lights and the decoder seems to be responding to address 03 cause you can turn the lights on/off then the decoder seems to be working. I would bet that you have a problem with the motor brass contacting the decoder pads. I have experienced this many times as have others check out the DCC section, you will see some recent examples.
your wire gauge shouldn't be an issue. I am using very small wire, 22 gauge for my DCC jumpers and it works fine. Do your DCC locos run on analog track with a power pack? I beleive they are suposed to. So try that first. Also, the thing is to isolate the issue. So disconnect everything. Take your wires from your zephyr and lay an engine on it's back and simply touch the wires to the loco wheels on opposite sides to see if power is getting to it. Try this with a non decoder loco first on channel 0. Then if that works try a DCC loco. If that works reconnect to your track. Make sure to do everything in little baby steps till you isolate the problem. I had lots of problems getting going with DCC. They were very small user issues that i had to test for.
So an update...Remember I said I got a pair of SD60Ms? I guess after the first one gave me trouble I completely forgot to check the 2nd. Well it worked!....kind of. It moves, although not smoothly. A lot of times it stalls out (on one piece of track, no joints) and it takes a little tap on the engine or track to get it going. After moving it back and forth a bit I tried to change the address to the Road #. So using operations programming (which the factory installed Lenz board says it supports) I follow the directions to change it. The screen flashes busy infinitely. I tried even just reading the address and it just sticks on busy until i hit exit. I just don't understand why nothing is working...3 locos and only 1 moves, and the 1 that does I cant program or change anything...
Dave, i have the zephyr for my HO scale, I had an issue were I first had to program the decoders again on the program track, then it worked for a few days and my decoder in my loco grounded out due to me putting the shell on wrong, well it fried the decoder and did something to the digitrax. i called diditrax and they tried to walk me through some procedures, didn't work. I had to send the unit to the company and they fixed it, I had to pay shipping, but its warranty for a year. So Id say call the hobby shop you got it from, if they cant get it call digitrax customer care. ~Chris
Dave, I replied to you in the DCC forum. Before you send it back to Digitrax, let folks here help you and try to figure out what's wrong, one step at a time. If your unit is defective, you would not see three different symptoms with three difference locos. I got my Zephyr 3 years ago and it's been nothing but bliss.
Thanks again everyone for chiming in... MK - and this is really in reply to your post in the other forum (I'm going to try and keep this the main one, sorry again for the double post people). So you said that the 'd nd' is expected with Lenz decoders? So does that explain why when I try to read or write a CV on the loco that moves the LCD gets stuck on "busy" or does it only explain why the other SD60 does nothing? That's definitely frustrating...Just to give more info the decoder for my MP15 is a TCS, got both from BLW. That locomotive is still doing nothing. What I really need is some in person help. I've attended a local club meeting but it seemed to me that none of the n-scalers were personable, or maybe it's because the average age is 60+ and I'm only 23...They don't seem to have 'run days' that aren't at a show or for a public event. Ugh...Nothing but headaches Anyone want to come to Florida for the weekend? Ha.
Dave, I have had similar problems to yours, but I wanted to make sure you had it wired right. If you really want to fix this problem, go out and buy a Kato engine, put in a DCC board, and I think that will fix your problem. I had the same problem with Atlas engines, one was a 840BW and one was an SD60. I tried everything, two or three different decoders in each one and soldered the wires to the engine clips and the board before I gave up and bought a Kato. Put the DCC board in the Kato, and it was as smooth as glass. I seem to be in the minority on having these problems, but you may also be in the minority. I only got my one of my Atlas engines to run well once, and it was only for about two hours, and for that two hours, it too was as smooth as glass. Before and after that two hours, it ran like a V8 engine with 5 plug wires pulled off.
Ryan, when you say you had the same problems you mean that the engines wouldnt work at all (like 2 of my 3) or that they ran but ran jerky and loud (like 1 of the 3)?
Notwithstanding the help you are getting here, which is fine, you might also want to check out the Digitrax Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digitrax
They would work, but they would run an inch or two, and then quit, tap on them, they'd run another inch or two and quit again. Speed made no difference in how they ran. They ran like I had extremely dirty track. I cleaned it with a bright boy, alcohol, and then Flitzed(polished) them. Again, made no difference. I took the engines apart, cleaned all the engine contacts, truck pickups, soldered the engine clips to the DCC board, again, it made no difference. Bought a Kato, put a DCC board in it, set it on the same track, and it ran like a dream. It was as smooth as glass.
Dave, I really feel bad for you that the club didn't help you. I'm not that much older than you and if you were in my town I would come over now to help you out. I'm tempting to say "Send me the stuff and I'll get things working for you and send it back." It hurst to see a fellow N-scaler suffer like this! As for your question, the "d nd" is only for the Atlas stuff with the Atlas/Lenz factory decoder. The TCS decoder should not give you that error. I have 4 TCS decoders of various types (M1 and AMD1) and they have performed flawlessly. As a matter of fact I prefer them over Digitrax due to their warranty but I digress. If your MP15 is not moving I suspect the installation is not 100%, juice not getting to the motor. I have had less than a handful of instances of "busy" and when that occurred I just exit programming and try again. Usually it doesn't happen again. Funny thing is that I don't get this any more. It was only when I first got my Zephyr so it could be operator error. BTW, don't forget to put the Zephyr to Direct Mode for Atlas factory decoders as the other poster had said in your other thread. They seem to like it better.
