I have a NCE Power Cab. I ordered 2 Bachman DCC on board trains, one with sound. I cannot program them with my own address. I have to use the default code for both of them. Is there an issue with Bachman trains and NCE Power Cab?
I can't speak for NCE because I use DIgitrax. But i've had a similar experience with programming Bachmann decoders, and for me the workaround is to put a 1000 ohm resistor across the rails of the programming track. I've soldered the ends of the resistor to alligator clips to make it easy to hook up as not all decoders require its use. Try it on your system and see if it helps.
I use an NCE system, and have had to use the same solution of putting a 1K ohm resistor across the tracks as Jeff mentioned. Also have to do this with some non-Bachmann sound decoders.
Len