I have a digitrax decoder in one of my Athearn Dash 9s. My 9 was moving forward on a streight strech and just stopped! The reverse light come on. So I tried every thing to get it to move. So I put it back on the prog track and rest the decoder back to factor settings. All I can get out of it is turning the light on and off, and when I select forward on my MRC Advanced system the light still says reverse and the loco does nothing else. The Decoder is getting the info. But it is just not working. Any Ideas? Baker
Sounds like perhaps the motor drive has gone.
When you reset it - did you do so by setting CV8 = 8? If not, try that and try operating on address 03. Does the light blink as you advance the throttle? If so, you have a speed step mismatch. AFter rest the decoder wil want 28/128 speed steps, which is the default. If you managed to set your throttle to use 14 speed steps, you will get blinking lights as you advance the throttle. You said the light is controllable - so whe you hit F0 it goesoff, hit F0 again it turns on? Check connections inside the loc and make sur enone of the motor leads has come loose. But if you are in the forward direction and move the throttle to at least speed step 1, it should be tripping the decoder to forward and the front light should go on, not the rear. If the light flashes WITHOUT touching the throttle - there is a short in the motor side of things, or the motor is not properly isolated. Digitrax decoders will flash the lights if incorrect motor isolation is detected.
Is this a RTR or Genesis? Or an older blue box type?
00Randy
My Athearn is a DCC quick plug read. My decoder just plugged in. Ok I have tried to reset my decoder. when I do so it resets OK. When I advance the throttle nothing happens at all. All I can do is turn the rear light on and off! When I hit the directional change button my LCD shows the change but the rear light stays on and the loco does not move in either forwards or reverse! When I advance the throttle nothing happens. No light flashing, no nothing. MRC said that it is getting signal or it would not have reset. They told me that the decoder must have gone bad. Digitrax told me to run another loco on the track and then call them back with my findings. Baker
After messing with this decoder for and hour again last night. I found out that the Decoder was not resetting anything but the add. So I tinked with it and now it works again. Baker