I have a Proto 2K steam loco that I need to get apart and I have not a clue how to do this. The tender is easy that is not my problem. I need to get into the loco and can only remove the smokebox cover. Oh yea it may help if I tell you all that the loco is a 2-8-8-2 from the heritage line and it has the QSI sound unit in it. I found 2 screws hidden under the boiler but I cant get to them with the drivers in place nor can I remove the drivers, It looks like the drivers will come off once the top of the boiler comes off.
Now to let you all know what is going on with this loco you all may be able to help me in this department too. The loco will not move in DC or DCC. I had to reset the decoder to get it to program in page mode, before that it would only program in ops mode. I get sound and it will tell me “One” when I hit F10. It will sometimes tell me what I have it programed as but usually it just says “One”. Lights will come on and turn off just like they are supposed to and the loco will “change diredtions” but no moving. I am hoping that there is just a broken wire in the loco, I checked the tender and could not find any in there.
This loco was a gift and the box is not normal so Walthers wants the recipt for warranty. It is a new loco never before been run but my Father does not have the recipt any more. It looks like I will have to swollow any repairs that it needs. No biggy, it is not every day that I get a $500 loco for X-mas. Any help would be appreciated.
I’m guessing the loco is fine, it is the programming that is the problem. Start with a factory reset. Many systems have problems with sound decoder programming. You need to get ahold of the yahoo group for whatever DCC system you’re using.
I did reset the decoder. I said that above, that only allowed me to program the loco in page mode not just in ops mode. Still no moving, but everything else seems fine.
Why does the engine say “One?” Forgive my ignorance (actually, forgive my sloth, because I’m just too lazy to look for my QSI manual) but what does F10 do on this engine?
Now, you didn’t program in 1 as the engine number, did you? I believe 1 is reserved for either the base station or the first hand-held throttle on DCC systems. (Yes, the base and the throttle have addresses, too. The whole system is bus-addressed, after all.) Try giving the engine a number like 42 and see what happens.
When you did a full reset, could you then address the engine as 3? Could you blow the whistle, ring the bell and turn the lights off and on? If it didn’t run as engine 3, did the lights toggle when you changed direction?
I’m going to guess that you’ve got a bad decoder, assuming it won’t move as engine 3. Still, replacing it is a small price to pay for that engine, right?
Sounds to me like the base unit needs to be descrambled. There should be instructions to reset your main controller. Try that, and then see if you can programme an address and then get the loco to move. You would be well advised to reset everything, loco included, once again, and start from a fresh slate of factory defaults.
Edit- it occurred to me that you may have a broken connection between the decoder and the motor.
Yes I reset everything and this is on 2 different layouts and a DC test track. I am thinking about a broken wire as well but I cant get into the loco shell. I checked and rechecked the tender and plug, NO joy.
The loco says “one” like it says the speed but it is not moving. When stopped the loco should give it’s address and it does untill I tell it to move then all it says is One and that stays till I remove it from the command station and reaquire the loco. I am thinking that there is a bloken wire but I dont have schematics for the plug to check for Voltage or resistance so I must verify this visually.
Now If some one knows how to get the shell off the Proto 2000 Heritage 2-8-8-2 I would appreciate some guidance.
When you program the engine address, does it speak the address? I think a QSI will always do that.
Are you programming this on a programming track or on the main? My BLI Hudson won’t program on the track, so POM is the only option.
If you can program on the programming track, and maybe on the main (not sure about this one,) then the motor wires should be OK. When I try to program a decoder with a loose motor wire, it won’t program or read back, even if all the other wires are OK.
Ok I just put the Tender only on the track and it does EXACTLY the same as with the loco attached. If I put the throttle on full and change direction I will even cause the comand station to trip its breaker (DB150) for a second. By that happening I am guessing that my decoder is applying power to the motor. If I knew the pins on the plug I could check the voltage to be sure.
Still need the shell off the engine. I cant tell what is holding it on I can pry out all the sides, remove the cab and smokebox cover but I cant get the top off the boiler.
OK figured it out. You need to remove the steam dome and find a screw and washer in there once that is off the shell comes right off. I tested the motor by using the PC board plugged into the decoder and all worked fine the sound chuffed right and the motor spun freely. It seems that the pressure contacts were just not making a good contact.
Repaired:
It was not the motor contacts. The problem was a defect from the factory. There are 2 inductors on the PC board that attach directly to the motor and well one was not soldered on very well. I reflowed the solder joint and the loco runs fine now with all programing features intact.
Wow, well done! Next time you answer the questions!
So, how did you figure out the dome thing? And was it just obvious from physical inspection that the components weren’t soldered well? I’m not a CSI fan, but real detective work like this fascinates me. Good job. You and a fresh bottle of Harpoon IPA have brought a smile to my face.
a friend told me that the screw may be under the sand or steam domes so I tried to pry them up and the steam dome came up. As for the contact it looked soldered and when I test ran the motor off the loco it worked. That is why I thought that the connections were not making very well. After I applied more tension on the motor and put it back together nothing happened. The only difference was the driver wires were not attached to the PC board so I went to remove them and the loco moved I poked and prodded a little and found that if I pressed down on the inductor the loco worked. I tried moving it and sure enough it moved. Plug in soldering iron and a few minutes later the joint was reflowed and much better than before. I could not see the break from the vantage point I had the leads were tinned and the joint looked good until I touched the inductor. All and all I am happy that the loco runs now and I will give it a run on a layout this wednesday and let ya all know how she runs.