I would like to know if it hurts anything to run a DC Loco on a DCC Controller. I posted this on the Layout and Layout Building forum and I got no reply. I have tried it and nothing happened to my knowledge. It does run a little different than it does when running it on a DC Controller. I have a Mckinley Explorer train set and a Bachmann E-Z Command DCC Controller System.
You have gotten it to run on address “00”, I take it. As you have found, it doesn’t run very well, and is probably quite noisy. You can continue to do this, but as soon as you want to park that loco for any length of time, (more than 3 minutes according to moi), you should remove it from the DCC-powered sections of track. The issue is heat- the DC motor will begin to heat up if it is left idle on DCC-energized track.
Sherwyn,
I just finished answering someone else’s post asking pretty much the same thing. The noticeable thing you’ll hear - whether your locomotive is stationary or moving - will be the annoying “buzz” that emanates from you DC motor. I think running it for a short time should be no problem. I would, however, be cautious about leaving it running on a DCC layout for a prolonged period of time - i.e. 2-3 hours. (Much less, if stationary.)
Tom
Sorry, I don’t know what address “00” is. What will it hurt if I do let it sit on track. The controller or the loco. And another thing is is have you looked at this controller? #10 is mean’t for DC loco’s. Does this make a difference?
I have let this loco sit on the track, idle, overnight before. Actually it has been sitting on the track for about a week but the controller was unplugged. I just now checked it and it still runs normal!?!?!?!?!?!?!
If your instructions say to use a specific address for a DC loco, then that is what you must use. As for letting your loco sit on powered track when the energizer is a digital system, ya takes yer chances. Run it, by all means, but I would not leave my expensive engines on DCC track for any length of time when they were parked.
Running on DCC, yes, parked on DCC,…watch for heat build-up over time.
Sherwyn,
I’m VERY familiar with the Bachmann E-Z Command. (Had one for a year before I bought my Power Cab.) It’s the locomotive motor that’s the concern. What Crandell is saying is that, because the way a command station has to go about “stretching” the command signal to mimic a DC controller, a DC motor “heats up” - even when using it in “DC mode” (button 10 on the Bachmann).
Tom
Sherwyn,
There’s no problem when the power is OFF. It’s when the power is ON and the locomotive sits idle on the track that the heat becomes an issue. Does that make a little more sense now?
Tom
Actually this loco is NOT expensive. I got it from a friend for $10 when he bought a new $700 train. I’m not to worried about the loco as for the controller. My controller was $60 so I’m a little concerned about it. Trust me if I would have known anything about it hurting the loco while idle I would have pulled it off as fast as you can say 1,2,3. It IS now off the track though. I am foirly new to trains so it didn’t even cross my mind it would do anything when idle.
Sherwyn,
You won’t be harming the Bachmann E-Z Command by running a DC locomotive with it. (Otherwise, they wouldn’t have that as an option, would they.) As stated, it’s only when using a DC motor on a DCC layout that you need to be careful. A DCC-equipped (or decoder-equipped) locomotive on a DCC layout poses no problems whatsoever. And, some DCC-equipped locomotives with sound (e.g. Proto 2000 QSI) can be run on either DCC or DC layouts.
Tom