Dropped engine - delayed problems.

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

My n scale Kato NW2 with a DN123K3 decoder installed fell earlier tonight, then I put it back on the track, and everything was fine. Then I shut it all off, and a while later started back up again. Now the decoder is shorting out, making that beeping sound, and the lights are flashing. Smoke also made a few appearances. I took the decoder out, and the engine/frame wasn’t shorting the system out - only the decoder. Was the drop responsible for it? It was only a few feet onto something not totally hard, and then carpet. Would something have been knocked loose? The decoder has no loose wires, so I’m a bit puzzled by this.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

2

Electronics can be strange sometimes. I’d say that one or more of the electrical connections got pushed around by the drop. You say you saw smoke make an unwelcome appearance? Time for a new decoder. Before you install a new one, go through the loco and check every connection. Use a meter to check for shorts. It doesn’t have to be a dead short to cause damage. A wire or connection making even an intermitent contact somewhere that it shouldn’t can wreak havok on sensitive electronic circuits, of which decoders are VERY sensitive.