EZ DCC controller

[randyzook]

Are these controllers all junk? I bought my son this set for Christmas and the controller was dead out of the box. Just received a replacement back today and it is yellowed and obviously used. All the functions work but the train runs at full throttle no matter what position the speed knob is in. What is going on with this Bachmann controller? Am I doing something wrong? I bought a cheap Bachman DC controller just so my son could play with his train 5 weeks after Christmas. It works fine with that controller but connect the DCC EZ command and the train has no speed control. Any help would be appreciated.

[jward]

That is a problem i've encountered before with DCC locomotives, and it's usually a decoder problem not one with the command station. Most decoders are dual mode, that is they work on both DC and DCC. Sometimes the decoder gets tricked into thinking it's on DC which uses a variable voltage on the rails, as opposed to DCC's constant voltage. Since the decoder think's it's on DC, it isn't looking for the DCC control signal and is instead responding to the full DCC voltage on the rails.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for you. It is possible to go into the decoder and disable the "analog conversion" feature that allows it to run on DC. But the EZ Cummand cannot do such reprogramming. If you know anybody nearby with DCC, or are near a model railroad club they can probably do it for you. That would be your best option.

I know how much of a panic it can be to have your locomotive take off at full speed with no way to control it. That's why I disable analog conversion in my locomotives.

[randyzook]

Thanks for the reply. I tried a second locomotive that I have just to be sure that it was the controller and it ran at full throttle as well. I already scheduled the repair with Bachmann so she will be on her way for repair once again. It really makes me wonder about the long term reliability of these EZ controllers? Hoping it's just bad luck on my part. I am very pleased with the system Bachmann has in place for warranty repair just wish shipping was included.