OK, I've also posted this over in the DDC & Electronics Forum. Worked very carefully on a LL FA-1 install. Wired the bulb with white and blue wires, careully insulated. Put it on the programming track. Great! Put it on the track, and it ran great in forward. Hit reverse--pzzzt! Now it won't read on the programming track. What did I do wrong?
Pete: You need a decoder with a higher amp rating in that loco. The "stall factor" kicked in when you put the loco in reverse and the current through the decoder exceeded it's limit. I had that happen with a LL 2-8-8-2 when put in reverse. I switched from a Lenz 541W to a Digitrax DZ 143 which has a higher amp rating than the lenz 521W. Stay cool and run steam....
Bob/Pete, Can you safely go from forward to reverse without stopping the loco when using DCC? I think this is a no-no when using DC. Al
I've been using DCC for almost five years now. I stop the loco when I go from forward to reverse and vica versa. I was told by an old friend of mine who's been in DCC alot longer not to go go from forward to reverse without stopping the loco. Stay cool and run steam.....
Never knew that they were that sensitive. Momentary surge causes an overload? Guess I'd better slow to a stop before reversing.
Pete: That's why you blew the decoder. Forward.. stop .... reverse.. No problems with decoder. Power surges make a decoder fail . Axiom # 1 Stay cool and run steam...
That may be true as the LL units are heavy and have some momentum even without flywheels!!!!! However I seldom stop a loco before going into reverse. Lenz decoders come factory set with a slow down speed up setting. I noticed Digitrax don't. When you hit the direction button they change direction instantly. I program a small amount of deceleration and acceleration into them when they are on the programming track. This allows you to hit the reverse button and the loco will slow down ,stop , change direction and then accelerate back to the set speed again. Again I say a small amount . Just enough for you to notice the slow stop action before it starts up in the opposite direction. This is one of the joys of DCC in my opinion. When you are working a Yard goat it is great feature. There is no need to stress the decoder when you program them properely, and this will allow you to hit the reverse button without fear. I do it all the time.
This would also be a good thing when you are tying to introduce a young person into the hobby. They have quick fingers from video game training and can have all kinds of buttons pushed in a blink of an eye.
