Mark, this is the first issue of this kind that has been reported. Which means I have little troubleshooting experience from the Budds to go off of. Here is what I would recommend to start with. Make sure the trucks are seating properly. You may want to reseat them. I did take one RDC apart and had rough running on reassembly. The issue was the trucks and the fact I did not seat the drive train into the trucks properly. Start there. If you think you have a bad truck, I do have trucks available and can send you one. If the issue is a drive train, we will have to send you one (we are currently awaiting for spare drive trains to come from the manufacturer). The RDCs will run with only one drive train. By removing one and then the other, you may be able to deduce if it is a truck or drive train issue. If this doesn't solve the issue, let me know. The unit is under warranty and we can move to replace it for you. Rob
Dirty wheels, flashing lights are a clue but also that dead truck. Odds are against you. Can you gently hold it in place (finger in front so no downward pressure amd/or finger on top so as not let the chassis move). Want to test for mechanical (truck to frame) electrical pickup.
Thanks. It'll be a couple of weeks before I have a chance to try anything beyond what I already have. The wheel crud that I mentioned was akin to the build-up found on old ball-mouse rollers. It was patchy, but the patches had a noticeable thickness.
David, its very tricky to get it back there. The joint has to go in tightly, or the trucks are not going to in the right position. Test the installation of the join and truck before installing in the chassis to get the feel.
Got the trucks back on - I was just in too much of a hurry. Got home from work and installed a Z-2 decoder. Very easy install. Runs nicely on DCC. Only problem is no crawl speed. Speed step 1 is about 3 mph. I will keep working on it. I will shoot some video of it at this weekend's train show. Big Train Show in Ontario, Ca. May 21st and 22nd. And if the world does end this Saturday, I can't think of any nicer people to die with then with my fellow ZoCalers!
Can't wait to see the video. But, how did you install the decoder? It didn't seem all that DCC friendly to me.
There is a circuit board mounted inside. Just like the SD70 series engines from AZL, there are two small copper clips on each edge connecting the wheels to the lights and motor. You pull the clips off, and solder the decoder to the six marked solder tabs. Follow the SD70 directions for the color code of the decoder to the six tabs. They are numbered just like the SD70. On the Z-2, you cut the blue wire and not use it. Hope this helps.
Are you talking about the 3 pronged clips on each edge that reveal the numbered tabs when you remove them? Will I have to remove the lighting board and scrape off something like the SD-70 directions?
Hey Dave, pictures ! I'll bet the slow speed run issue is BEMF related. Don't have the manual access with me, but change the CV to turn it off. It is likely trying to get the Permanent Magnet motor going a bit too much. .
I just thought of something. Couldn't I just cut the clips into 3 separate ones, then solder each one to a wire? That way I could just slip them onto the contacts without worrying about soldering the board.
Maybe superglue a small piece of plastic or something in between the 3 separate contacts so they don't short together?
The clips can easily be cut so they don't contact each other. If you've got one, check it out and you'll see what I'm talking about. Plus, the pads have enough space between them. As long as there's no problem with making electrical contact with the bottom of the board, I see no reason why this shouldn't work.
Well, I just gave it a try and it's easier just to solder the wires directly to the board. Clips are too small to deal with and don't stay on as well as I thought they would. But, now have a DCC powered RDC-1, so at least I can claim success in that area.
