Problem: I have a SoundTraxx LC installed in a Bachman 2-8-0 (HO Scale). I did the installation here at home 8 weeks ago. The engine and decoder have worked fine until several days before Christmas. The sound works... and the engine works. Its just that NOW, whenever I blow the whistle... the engine COMPLETELY stalls out. As soon as I release the F2 button (Digitrax DT400) the engine runs fine. So..... essentially the engine runs the layout and stops anytime the whistle is played. ALSO.. as it stops, the lights slightly dim and blink. As F2 is released, the lights go back to normal. F2 Works normally on the other sound decoders. A QSI, Soundtraxx Tsunami, and one LokSound that I have. The only attempt I have made in correcting this mystery error is resetting the LC decoder CV30 to its default value of "2". This is the CV that resets the decoder to all factory defaults. Resetting the decoder to factory values had no effect and the problem remains. Anyone ever run across this flavor of gremlin???
Kitbash: I'm in N scale, but I've read that there are problems with certain decoders and Bachmann HO steamers. I've never been particularly happy with the Soundtraxx DSD-90 decoders in N scale that combine sound and motor functions. There aren't in my opinion very high quality decoders in comparison Lenz or certain Digitrax decoders for motor functions. You might want to recheck the wiring to make sure that all is fine. Their DSX sound only decoders are superb as well as the new Tsunami based sound decoders. Tony's Trains list some of the problems so you might want to call and speak to either Ken (my first choice) or to Tony himself. I have two Bachmann HO steamers, a 2-8-0 and a 2-10-0 but have never put decoders in them. Stay cool and run steam... [ December 26, 2005, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: Powersteamguy1790 ]
I had a similar problem with a bachman 2-8-0 and the bachman 4-8-2 and the plug and play soundtraxx decoder. Except in my situation the locomotive ran perfect for a few months, then for some odd reason the loco had sound that worked great, however it displayed very erratic motor control, plus the lights were constantly flashing. Doing some reading on Tonys train exchange and a few other places, I found out that the board in the tender of these locos causes problems with some decoders. So I removed the bachmann circuit board and wired the decoder directly to the harness, *remembering to include a resistor for the headlight* and its been working fine every since then. So now for all of my bachmann locomotives, I immediately remove the stock circuit board and wire the decoders directly to the loco. Removing these boards has had the side effect of all my bachmann units running much better/smoother/slower than they did with the bman board still in the loop.
Turleridge: I knew there were problems with the Bachmann circuit board casually reading Tony's site. I'm in N scale, but do have three Bachmann HO steam loco's. If and when I ever decide to put decoders in the loco's, I'll remove the circuit boards and wire them in as you suggested. What size resistor did you wire to the light? Thanks for the post. Stay cool and run steam....
Turtleridge.. interesting response. I called Soundtraxx and they seemed to be fairly confident that the LC in the Bachman was sensitive to ampereage draws from other sound decoders "idling" on the layout. I had a QSI, LokSound, and Tsunami "idling" when the LC went on the "fritz". I cut off the other decoders and electrically isolated my 2-8-0. It did the samething. Ran perfectly, but stopped anytime I engaged the F2 button for the whistle. As soon as I release F2, the engine runs fine again. The bell has no effect. In fairness to Soundtraxx, it is difficult for those guys to diagnos something like this over the phone between Colorado and Virginia. Kudo's to thier Tech support for thier efforts. Turtleridge... WHAT size resistor did you use (ohm and watt rating)???????? I may just try your trick. AND.. is there any clue as to what wire color coming from the harness in the tender is hooked up to what? I may try your method.
Ok heres some more detailed info on decoder wiring... - lighting: I don't remember what resitor I used on the bachmann light, however I started with about 750ohm 1/4 watt and worked my way down until I found a brightness that I liked. (So long as it wasn't bright enough that it would burn out quickly) Remember that you can use two resistors together to create a higher ohm rating if you can't get a specific value. (IE: a 150 and 200 ohm 1/4 watt resistor together "in line" will give you a total of 350 ohms at 1/4 watt. Wire Guide: For digitrax/soundtraxx/MRC (I haven't used any others note: I can't remember off the top of my head wich of the orange/gray and black/red are positive. I keep a diagram taped to my workbench so I don't have to remember Black: Track power Red: Track power Orange: Motor Grey: Motor Blue: Function Common White: Forward light Yellow: Reverse light green: aux function purple: aux function As for the bachmann circuit, I just traced the wires through the circuit board to figure out which wires controlled what function, then tested with a regular dc power pack to ensure I had the motor and light leads correct. I wish I had documented the procedure, however I do have another 2-8-0 that I need to do in install in, so I'll try to look at the circuit again soon. to get started with tracing the circuit, look at pin 1 of the plug and trace it through the circuit until you hit a wire. normally the bachmann boards are fairly well labeled. you should see a m+ and m- some where. the lights sometimes are not labeled, however most times the rail + and negative are. Hope that helps some, -C
Okay... tracing it from the pins back. Dang... I should have figured that out... not rocket science to say the least. THANK YOU for your most helpful reply. I am going to go through this w/ Soundtraxx this afternoon. If they can't get a solution, then I will tag this engine to have the Bachman card removed as discussed.
BINGO RAMA! Problem solved. The problem is the "playable whistle" function. I received my Tsunami in December, hooked it up, and eventually set my playable whistle function on the DT 400 (Opt 3 to 81 from the default of 01). Well.. in a subsequent run, I called up the Bachman w/ the LC and that was when the problems started. I discovered this because this afternoon, I hooked my Super Chief Radio receiver (91R) and the two new throttles. The new throttles were set to factory default. Just for yuks I set the road number of the "faulty" Bachman and it ran like a charm. I noticed the new DT400 was not giving me the "playable whistle" bar. LIGHTBULB CITY! I then knew what the story was. I just called Soundtraxx and they confirmed having heard this from other Digitrax users. Apparently, there is an amperage draw on the LC decoder when the playable whistle function is pressed but w/ no capability of the LC to handle it. Dang gremlins!!!! I am just happy to see the 2-8-0 pulling a few cars around again! Sooooo.. I would conclude that ANY sound decoder not set up for playable whistle may "possibly" have the same amperage draw when the throttle is set to activate the whistle in "playable whistle" mode.
Interesting news there. I hadn't thought of that possibility. I got tired of the playable whistle thing real fast with my tsunamis because the sound is horrible, so I switched everything back to normal, which is why I haven't experienced that problem with my LC decoders. Thanks!
