4-8-4 dcc wont run HO.

[SCHOOLBUSLEO]

Hi all, I have a bachmann factory equipped dcc santa fe northern 4-8-4, road #3783. I use a Dynamis dcc controller. The steamer just all of the sudden quit working, no lights, no forward or reverse. Tried it on dc, nothing there either. It is a ho unit, the track is ez stell. DC controller is also a bachmann, All the other loco's run fine. Any help would be appreciatted. Thanks

[richg]

Did you unplug the decoder and plug in the DC adapter to run it on DC?

Rich

[SCHOOLBUSLEO]

Thanks for a reply. No, I did not pull the decoder & put an adapter in place. I have 3 other loco's that run on dcc & dc without doing that exercise. I assumed that this didnt either. You know what they say about assuming . I will need to get an adaptor & try your suggestion. I will let you know how it went. Thanks again for your time.

[richg]

Next thing I would do is make sure the decoder plug is firmly inserted. I have heard here before of a partially plugged in decoder.
I believe there ar one or two screws to remove under the front tender truck. Use a small Phillips head screwdriver. unplug the loco and tender to avoid breaking a wire out of one of the connectors.
If the decoder is plugged in correctly, then I think a replacement loco is in order. That is explained in the Bachmann Parts page.
You might want to order a replacement decoder.TCS makes a nice small decoder with eight pin plug.
Others may comment.

Rich

[trainmainbrian]

Thanks for a reply. No, I did not pull the decoder & put an adapter in place. I have 3 other loco's that run on dcc & dc without doing that exercise. I assumed that this didnt either. You know what they say about assuming . I will need to get an adaptor & try your suggestion. I will let you know how it went. Thanks again for your time.

Make sure all of your connection's in your Loco are soldered good & making good contact... Also if your other Loco's are running OK.. Your Track could be dirty & not allowing proper electrical current pickup.. I clean my Track daily on my layout... Being my layout is in the basement with exposed joists the dust from walking around upstairs drops dust onto my layout. I plan on installing drop ceiling tiles soon that will solve a lot of dust issues... But in ALL having a clean track is #1 a lot of people post on hear saying there Loco's run & stop... & can tell you from experience if you have a properly running Loco "ANY LOCO FOR THAT MATTER" & a CLEAN TRACK" there NO reason WHY a Loco should not run  ALL 5 OF MY LOCOS RUN FLAWLESSLY with no running issues....

[RAM]

 I can't see any reason to clean Track daily.  Since his other locomotive run, the track is not the problem.  It is either a bad connection or a bad decoder.

[Doneldon]

I did not pull the decoder & put an adapter in place. I have 3 other loco's that run on dcc & dc without doing that.

Leo-

You shouldn't have to use the jumper but most folks report better performance with the jumper.

                                                                                                                                    -- D

[Doneldon]

I clean my Track daily on my layout... Being my layout is in the basement with exposed joists the dust from walking around upstairs drops dust onto my layout. I plan on installing drop ceiling tiles soon that will solve a lot of dust issues.

Brian-

An open ceiling above a model railroad is a real pain in the patoo. Try hanging an old sheet, tarp or even cheap poly painter's drape horizontally over your pike until you get the ceiling installed. You can use coat hanger wire to suspend a sheet or tarp. Just about anything will support the poly as it only weighs a couple of ounces. You can even just tape it to the floor joists.
                                                                                                                                                                             -- D

[SCHOOLBUSLEO]

Thanks for all the ideas, I will order an adapter to put in place of the decoder. But now I took out the decoder & forgot to mark position it came out of the 8 pin connector on the board, anybody know which one on the board is #1, it is suppose to be marked #1, but of course it is not. Thanks again folks, youve been great.

[jonathan]

In all the Bachmann locos I have worked on, the PCB has a very small number "8" to mark the 8th hole.  You can workout the correct orientation from there.

Worst case scenario:  if you intall the plug backwards, the loco will run, but the lights won't work.  Then just flip the other way and you're done.

Regards,

Jonathan

[SCHOOLBUSLEO]

Thank you Johnathan, thanks for the info.                                                                      Thanks to all, Leo

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Hi all, I have a bachmann factory equipped dcc santa fe northern 4-8-4, road #3783. I use a Dynamis dcc controller. The steamer just all of the sudden quit working, no lights, no forward or reverse. Tried it on dc, nothing there either. It is a ho unit, the track is ez stell. DC controller is also a bachmann, All the other loco's run fine. Any help would be appreciatted. Thanks

One other thing I would recommend checking would be the wires between the engine and tender.  I have a Spectrum line 2-8-0 (HO scale obviously) and when I first got it and started running it, every once in a while it would just stop all of a sudden and the headlight would shut off. After a few days of that happening, my dad and I took a look and we found out that when we took it out of the box and hooked the tender up to the engine and got the wires in place, we didn't push the wire plugs (the engine to tender ones) all the way into place.

[electrical whiz kid]

Doneldon;
Even the best ceilings have shortcomings.  Mine came in the form of a bad winter.  I had started a roof de-icer system this fall, but got busy, and winter hit before I had the chance to get at it.  My layout such as it is (under construction) got some leaking from the ceiling-which I had had planned to get redone before I went much further.  Now, I HAVE to get that de-icer done before the ceiling.  I am a semi-retired electrician, but it is still a royal pain in the derriere to get that ladder up-and worse- to get my carcass up IT .  Mick Jagger was right:  it really is a drag to get old.
Rich C.

[Doneldon]

Rich-

Having chipped ice off of a few eaves in my lifetime, I understand what you are saying. It's all well insulated and
vented now, though, so it's easier to enjoy winter weather now. NB: That doesn't mean I have enjoyed all of
this winter!
                      -- D