Hello all:
I have somehow unsuccessfully attempted to put 2 different make decoders (a TCS and a Digitrax) into 2 different DCC ready J-class 4-8-4's. Both units ran a couple of loops on DC (for testing), before the decoders smoked and burned up. It seems that the wiring used between the locomotive and tender are nothing more than bare wires, with what appears to be some kind of "chalky" covering / insulation over the wire (flakes off if moved around too much.)
I have since removed the decoders, replaced the jumper plugs, and all seems to work as it should. As far as I know, DC is more forgiving than DCC.
I was just wondering if anyone else has had the same or similar problem with a DCC ready loco, or am I the only one?
Any thoughts / inputs are more than appreciated.
Thank you all for your time and consideration,
very respectfully,
Mike
Pahrump, NV
Everyone:
I am not putting down Bachmann-I am an HO scale modeler, and their Spectrum equipment is FANTASTIC!! I was just inquiring into their N scale equipment--
Mike
The wires between the loco and tender are coated with clear plastic
FWIW... while the wires are plastic-coated, I found that on mine, the soldering work attaching the wires to the socket which plugs into the tender was... well... not the best. There were also a couple of wires twisted together that were likely touching where the the wires were over-tinned but still a little flexible.
Mike, I suspect that you're looking at the same problem. Check around this connector and make sure that all the wires are straight out of the connector and not kinked together close to where they are soldered to the socket board.
DCC is going to highlight weaknesses like this because of the increased requirements for isolation. Your (and my) locos ran fine under DC because it was likely that the short was across circuits that were jumpered together for DC but isolated for DCC. I would also suspect that both of ours passed QC because they ran fine on the test track but there was no separate QC procedure verifying everything was still good for DCC after it was assembled.
Hello group:
I would like to thank both members of this forum who responded to my inquiry, and shared their experiences. Upon further investigation of my own locos, I have determined that the wiring to the plug was indeed bridged at the solder connections; also, the wiring itself had somehow managed to "rub itself" out of its insulation, so there were some bare spots, which apparently contacted either the loco or tender frame.
I have since gone into the loco, and re-wired the connections to the plug, and all now seems to work great!
Again, thank you all for your inputs-I really do appreciate it.
Mike