Hello all. Before I throw in the towel and send this decoder back, I would like to run this past you all and see if I’m missing something.
I have 2 Bachmann Spectrum F40 PH engines with factory strobes. Each engine has a circut board with a socket for a dcc decoder. I chose Digitrax DH163IP for each. Installed the first decoder into the engine by just putting it into the socket, assigning an address and tested it. Fine and dandy. Everything works, speed, direction, forward/reverse lighting as well as strobes. Cool. I copied the setup onto my laptop, saved it, checked it. Cool. Now to engine # 2. Repeated EXACTLY what I did with engine #1. Here comes the problem. If I turn off the lighting effects (F0) on engine # 2, the engine takes off full speed, ignores any command from the throttle, including E-Stop [alien]. Wow. I took the decoder from engine 1 and put it in engine 2. Works fine. Copied the programing onto my laptop, put the decoder I was having problems with back in engine 2, wrote engine 1’s programming onto it. Presto chango, same problem.
I’m thinking it has something to do with the factory installed lighting or I have a bad decoder. Why one engine would have to be wired/programed differently from another is beyond me, but could it be so? Has anyone else had a problem like this? The decoder is new, although it has been on the shelf for awhile. Even if I have to pay Digitrax to fix it, it’ll still be half the cost of just replacing it, but could I be doing something wrong?
Sounds to me like a wiring problem in the affected engine. Did you say the decoder works fine in the other? Then it is the engine…or the way the decoder happens to be wired to it in this case.
When I took the decoder out of engine 1 (which works fine) and put it in engine 2, engine 2 works fine. I copied the decoder programming ( from engine 1) and reprogrammed the decoder (engine 2) but still it doesn’t work. I compared the wiring from both engines, and both are the same. Like a goof, I didn’t try the questionable decoder (engine 2) in engine 1. I think I’ll open engine 1 again & put engine 2’s decoder in it and see what gives. Fred
My guess is that you must program the second decoder using the same procedures you used for the first. As I understand it correctly, you tried copying CV values from one decoder to the other through the computer? I have tried that, too, and it doesn’t work.
I don’t have any Digitrax, but according to the site, Digitrax (like many others) will reset if you set CV 8 to a value of 8.
This is a good idea with any new loco or decoder. It is possible the factory and/or dealer tested or demonstrated it and left some strange values in the decoder.
You don’t say how you copied the CVs. If you used DecoderPro, and used the “read all pages” option on the good one and “write all pages” to the bad one then yes, you’ve probably got a bad decoder. But still, try the reset first. It’s quick and easy, and may well fix it.
As far as doing a reset, yep, tried it 3 times. I do use Decoder Pro and thats how I tried to copy one decoder to the other, read all then write all. I’m thinking the decoder is bad too. The fact that the one decoder works both engines tells me the c.b. in the engine is ok. The only thing left is the cv’s. Oh well, I guess I’m going to the post office!
What is the value of CV29 on the one that works vs. the one that doesn’t ? I set all of mine to 39 (same as 38 only direction is reversed). I have had a smilar situation where the decoder CV29 register didn’t take. Resetting it to 39 fixed the problem. Have you tried setting it from the throttle ? In my case the problem ahs manifested itself as soon as the locomotive went from the programming track to the main track. I had to grab the locmotive before it got away.