I just bought a new power cab controller and ESU Loksound both are my first. At first the only sound was a horn. Then the power cab switched to pro cab and there was nothing. The NCE rep said a short must have occurred from the track. I tried two locos on DC without the decoder and they worked ok. Can someone please help me out?
[2nd thread contents pasted below with additional information and other thread deleted - Moderator]
I just bought a NCE power cab and after only about an hour of operation everything stopped and the power cab switched to pro cab. The NCE rep said there was a short circuit to the track that caused it. When I get another power cab should I put a circuit breaker between the track bus wire and the power panel? Any help is appreciated.
Welcome to the Forum! New members are monitored for awhile so responding could take a bit of time.
I’m not a NCE guy I have a MRC Prodigy so I can’t be of any help but there are plenty of NCE guys on the forum that can. I’m bumping your post to help others to see your request.
Did you install the Loksound decoder into your locomotive? Or, did it come pre-installed? Are you plugged into the Power Cab PCP panel and LEFT connector port?
[#welcome] welcome to the forum. As a newbie your posts are monitored, so don’t start any more threads on this same topic. Maybe Tom can merge your other post here.
In any event David said he put a circuit breaker between the track bus and the power panel
There is no such thing as giving us too much information when you have a problem.
What circuit breaker did you install?
Your DC system should not be connected at all when you are trying to run DCC. Unplugged from the wall isn’t good enough
With the Power Cab set up properly and nothing on the rails, what do you see on the display? The red LED on the panel shoul be lit. That shows voltage going to the rails via the little connector.
The very first screen I see on my Power Cab, says Pro Cab. Then as it boots up it change to Power Cab. I don’t know what it says when it shorts…I’ve got one of those PSX CB’s [:O]
I installed the decoder per instructions along with the speaker ( sugar cube). The engine motion was good but the only sound I had was the horn. I program the cab address ok and in less than 15 min the loco went dead. I tried the decoder in another loco and got nothing. The NCE guy said it probably short out from the track. So I’m wondering if I should have had a circuit breaker or fuse between the track bus and power panel. I pushed almost every button on the controller and it wouldn’t leave ”pro cab”. I sent it back to NCE. Hope all that helps. Thanks to everyone
He’s in new member “moderated limbo”. There are currently six replies from the OP awaiting approval and will probably show up sometime between 4:00 & 5:00 CST…
The electrical hoi polloi are as impatient as the OP for the next episode.
7:23pm CST
“Data! data! data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay.”
―
Arthur Conan Doyle,
[The Adventure of the Copper Beeches](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2763134)
He’s back. There were some extenuating circumstances that delayed moderationn. His moderated posts appeared above, but here is what he had to say
My fault completely, I misunderstood about the circuit breaker. The power cab has circuit protection, but normally it will cycle the power back on. I have not seen anyone have your problem with the Pro cab message.
The question remains, did you get a bad powercab, out of the box, or is there a track wiring problem. Since you sent it back, we will see what they have to say, please let us know.
Was your layout fuctioning normally with DC, before you got the Powercab, or is this a brand new layout? I would think a DC powerpack would also detect a short, if it was a wiring problem.
You don’t need a circuit breaker but a short doesn’t usually fry the Powercab on the first go. A uncorrected short, like a derailment, when you are upstairs getting an adult beverage, can be bad and melt expensive things. A circuit breaker can prevent the Powercab from trying to reset itself in the face of a uncorrected short.
Shorts don’t fall from the sky, either. Certain trackwork, like the Peco 3 way turnout are prone to shorting, derailments cause shorts or the backside of a wheel touching another rail on a DCC unfriendly turnout. Incorrect wiring of feeders can cause shorts too, hence my question, is this a new layout or did you add new feeders prior to the Powercab?
Mine too. I added a circuit breaker, anticipating I would be adding more power districts. That may yet happen. The quarter test trips the CB but nothing happens to the display of the Powercab, it just stops sending signals past the CB.
Rich you remember a couple threads about a Power cab that didn’t work. In the first thread, the OP didn’t want to send it back and then the next thread was how disappointed he was, having spent more money but not solved his problem over the course of a couple months. David is ahead of the game there.
