I am working on a new Intermountain ET44AC today. The loco looks nice and runs nicely. But I have an interesting issue. Opening the box, the loco runs no problem. All DCC functions work. But when I set the address to the loco number (on programming track), sounds and light work well but the loco does not move, no matter which speed and which direction. I then reset the loco to factory default. The loco moves nicely, sounds and light work nicely. I have no clue what is going on. Does anyone have any hint?
It sounds like you may have the address you are setting it to in a command station consist. If that’s the case, then the command station will only send function commands when the loco address is selected and won’t send motor commands unless the consist address is selected.
I used Digitrax DCS 210 command station and programmed the address on a program track. It has no problem with my other locos. Just tried again, still have the same problem…
If I understand a command station consist, it varies from system to system. The OP is using a Digitrax system, so the command station consist is referred to as a Universal Consist. I use an NCE system, so the command station consist is referred to as an Old Style Consist.
I have never used an Old Style Consist, choosing instead to use an Advanced Consist. My understanding is that an Advanced Consist is referred to as a Decoder Assisted Consist as opposed to a Command Station Assisted Consist.
My question is, why would someone choose to use a Command Station Assisted Consist?
Did you try a factory reset? If not, try that and then program your engine to the road number you were going to use and see what happens. It may take a couple times to reset, but give it a try…
Most times just using the default number, which in many cases is ‘03’ the loco will run as it should. I use NCE, so it may be different with Digitrax…
Well for one, it’s the Digitrax default and they work fine, so for many people the question would be why not? It’s just a different way of doing it and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think the main reason for Digitrax choosing command station consisting as the default is because in the early days of DCC, most decoders didn’t support advanced consists, so for those decoders a command station consist was the only option unless you wanted to program the decoders to the same address (sometimes called “brute force” consisting).
Personally, I use a mix. Consists that tend to stay together I use advanced (decoder assisted) consisting, but for more temporary consists I usually use command station consisting. Using this scheme I can also do a “consist of consists.” If I have an advanced consist pulling a train and want to add another advanced consist of helpers, I can create a command station consist of the two advanced consists instead of breaking one down and adding the locos individually to the other.
With a command station consist, you are telling the command station that address x belongs to consist address y. Nothing gets programmed in the decoder because it is all stored in the command station, so you do not actually have to have the locomotive to add it to the consist. It’s possible he had another loco with the same address, or that he entered an address wrong when adding one to a consist.
Just wake up. Wow, thank you so much for the replies.
When CSX Robert mentioned about possibly because of consisting, I felt it makes perfect sense. Laster, I was also wondering when this loco was put into a consist. I checked my list of locos and cannot find this number. So I felt I might do this unintensionlly.
This morning, after seeing all the suggestions, before I replied I went for another check. The problem is still there and becomes more interesting.
The loco number is 2670 so I am trying to set the address to 2670.
It is still as I said before, when the address is set 2670, all functions (sound, lights, etc) work but not moving. I used my command station DCS 240 to remove it from any MU list. Still, it does not move. However, if I set the address to another one, 2671, it moves with sound and lights. I also tried another number 2680, and tried reset to factory default with address 3, all worked.
I felt that 2670 might be a mysterious number. So I set a Walthers Mainline loco, which also uses ESU decoder, to number 2670. The walthers loco behaves normally. It moves with sound and lights. I even put the two locos on the same track and both have the same address 2670. The Walthers loco has sound and lights and moves, and the intermountain one has sound and lights but does not move…
I guess I can live with setting this 2670 train to the address of 2671. But still curious about what happens…
Yes. Motor commands have to be sent to every loco in the consist, whereas in an advanced consist motor commands are just sent to the consist address and every loco in the consist responds. Not really an issue on most home layouts, but when running really large numbers of locos it can affect loco response times.
Since they are stored in the command station, you can be more limited in the number of consists you can have and they can affect how many single locos you can run. For example, a Digitrax Zephyr has 12 “slots.” That means it can’t have more than six two loco command station consists, or four three loco consists. With two three loco consists (6 slots), you can only run an additional 6 single locos at a time.
Advanced consists have more flexible function control. For example, with sound locos you can have only the lead loco horn and bell, but all locos dynamic breaks and break squeal, respond to the consist address.
Many thanks for the help! It is a good learning experience. The problem seems solved, although I don’t know why.
I checked my loco and read Intermountain ET44AC instruction again. The function F15 is “isolation switch”. The manual says “Pressing F15 while stopped will lower the prime mover and lock motor. F15 must be turned off to begin moving”. I don’t really know what this means. My F15 was not on. I then turned it on, then off. Interestingly, the loco with 2670 as address starts to move! If I turn on F15, it would not move. Turn off F15, moves again.
So the problem seems to be solved. But I still don’t understand why this only happened when I set the address to 2760. With other addresses, it had no such a problem. Also, why Intermountain has this F15 function?
Does anyone have similar experience or know this F15 function?
Isolating” a particular locomotive means that the prime mover is still running, but the main generator and electrical system for propulsion are disconnected. It will have current for auxiliaries (light, heat) and continue to make air for the brake system. F15 is just replicating that proto-type feature.