Any ideas as to why my PSX-AR fails in one direction only?

I have two reverse loops through a double crossover. Depending on the position of the crossover I can have the loco make long loop or a figure eight. It was working beautifully for a couple of hours in all directions and then it started shorting out in one direction only. When the Loco shorts the PowerCab resets and then it’s off again without any intervention on my part except to give it some throttle..

 

Sounds like your reverser may have failed. I had a Digitrax AR1 that did the same thing....Worked good a few trips through then It started shorting in one direction.

 

Oh boy I don't want hear that I just got it. I was hoping it might just be a matter of swapping some wires.

 

The Power Cab trips too quick.
As it is now, there is no reverse loop circuit that works with a Power Cab.
At least to my knowledge.
I upgraded to a smart booster (SB3A) to make my reverse loop work.

 

Ah yes, now I remember. I think I just had this discussion the other day when my PM42 wasn't working.

I have Zephyr in the mail which was supposed to be here yesterday and I’m hoping it shows up tomorrow. If it does then I’ll check it.

One question though, why is only one of the two PSX-ARs having a problem and why only one direction?

 

It could just be a defective unit. Contact Tonys Trains and ask for Tony. He actually owns DCC specialties too.

Outside of that, the only thing I can think of is that there may not be as good a connection to the DCC bus on one side of the reversing loop. Or that there may be some sort of leakage of power between the DCC bus and the AR section.

 

Thanks I sent an email and I guess I’ll see what happens. I have another PSX-AR to try but I think I’ll wait to see if my Zephyr shows up tomorrow before replacing it.

I don’t think it’s a bad connection, because I have three feeders soldered to each loop and they are soldered to a #14 going straight to the PSX-AR .

 

Hi Johnny,

I too believe that the unit is bad. I had an AR1 from Digitrax do the same thing out of the box. To quote an instructor I had back in the early 70s, "Just because it is new, does not mean it is good." But that does not make it any less frustrating.

Gary

 

You’re probably right. I have had lots of stuff DOA, but it’s rare for something to work than quit.

I was trying to think how long it was actually working and I realized that even though I was running trains for a couple of hours, I think it actually only went through the loop a couple of times because I was struggling with the switch operation using the DS64 for the first time.

 

I tried doing the test described in the manual and the PowerCab trips so fast that I can’t see any results of the test. Then I tried testing the good board and it’s the same thing, so I can’t do anything until the Zephyr comes in.
This is not looking so good for the PowerCab and I got to say unless you have a basic oval with only a couple locos, I cannot recommend it to anybody without the a smart booster. So when comparing prices between the PowerCab and the Zephyr, you need to also include the price of the SB3A to the PowerCab.
Anyway, I’m stuck in the doldrums until that zephyr gets here. frown:

 

If one PSX-AR is working and the other isn't, try swapping them to make sure the problem is with the reverser.

Also, try putting a jumper between pins 1 and 2 of J6. This will set the PSX-AR to switch at it's lowest current rating (1.27amps). The default is 3.81 amps which is more then the Power Cab puts out. You can also set the current by changing CV49 to "01" for 1.27amps.

 

By jumper you mean a jumper wire?
I have a total of 4 PSX-ARs and none of them have pins at J6. I read about this in the manual but I assumed that since there wasn’t a pin header there that the function wasn’t available anymore.
I will find a wire approximately that hole size and plug it into the holes, thanks. :thumbs_up:

 

OK THAT WORKED

YEA, by golly that did it, thanks. :w20z6q::w20z6q::thumbs_up:

 

You have 50 % chance of the polarity being correct one direction or the other.
It looks like you have it working OK now.
I have never had a PSX-AR unit to test on my Power Cab. I had the OGAR unit and I was never able to make it work with my Power Cab.
As I recall the OGAR does not have a trip set point that is adjustable.

 

I still haven’t actually run a loco because it’s a 3x8 portable unit and I have to flip it on its side to get to the electronics. I need to find a jumper that will stay in the hole when I drop it back down. Since it does switch when I short out the output without tripping the PowerCab, I believe it’s fixed.

Plus while I have it up and accessible I thought I would try to change the address to my DS64s, but I’m have trouble figuring out how to do that using the PowerCab. Well I guess that might be another thread if I don’t figure it out soon.

 

I checked mine, there weren't actually any pins in the holes for J6. I soldered a wire between holes 1 and 2.

 

I thought about that but I didn’t want to void my warranty just in case something else happens.

[FONT=&quot]I remember having some plugs for this sort of thing when I used to work on computers, but I don’t know if I still have them. I tined the ends of a short piece of wire to push the through the holes and bent it around the edge of the board to hold it from falling out. I'll replace it later when I find the plugs.[/FONT]

 

I don’t know how to do that with the PowerCab. I can’t even figure out how to program my DS64s with this NCE system, so if you tell me how I’ll do it.

OK I figured out how to program it with the NCE specific instruction on Pg 12, thanks for pointing that out :tb-biggrin: