I am using a Bachmann EZ Command systems and I installed a Bachmann decoder into a Athern AMD103 which has a quick plug NMRA 8 PIN Connetor in it. The decoder fit nicely but it does not respond. When I put the loco on the tracks it moves in fits and then the controller signals a system short. I have to recycle the system to try again and I get the same results (a little insanity here!). When I remove the decoder the loco responds like a regular DC loco should.
When I reinsert the decoder I get the same results and I can not change the direction of the loco either.
I don’t have a local hobby store so I need any help I can get.
First: It is possible to plug an 8 pin plug in backward. Check that first. Then reread the instructions for adding a decoder that came with the ENGINE. Sometimes something must be removed when the decoder is installed. Third be sure that you have not pinched or otherwise compromised the insulation on the wires.
It sounds like you have a bad decoder. Bachmann decoders are a cheapened down Lenz product. The only way to know for sure is to try a different decoder.
Under normal circumstances, the only ill effect from plugging a decoder in backwards is that the motor will run backwards.
I’m not familiar with the internal wiring of the Athearn locomotive you have, but if it also has a 9-pin JST header with a dummy plug in it, that must be removed in order to use the 8-pin socket.
This may sound like a dumb question but what is a 9 pin plug, where do I find it, and how do I remove it? There’s really poor documentation that comes with decoders and loco’s.