General Trouble Shooting
It takes the Command Station, the decoders and your layout to make the DCC system work. This Trouble
Shooting Section has been arranged in a manner easiest for you to find the cause of your problem. Please
go through this section in the exact order it appears because each following set of instructions assumes
that the preceding set has been tested and that component of the DCC system found not defective.
1.
Plug in the power supply of the base unit. The pilot light should turn on.
If not, make sure the power supply is securely plugged into the base unit and into a working AC wall outlet.
Then unplug the power, wait 3 seconds and plug back in. If power light still does not turn on, send the unit
in for repair.
2. Check the Main Track output.
Place an analog loco or test light on the Main Track. The loco should buzz or the test light should light. If
not, check all connections and make sure the rear green plug is securely plugged in. Make sure the screws
on the green plug are tightened on the wire and not on the wire cover (insulator). If the analog loco still does
not buzz or the test light does not light, send the unit in for repair. It is better to use a V.O.M (multi-meter)
on the A.C. scale to check for track power, as DCC track power is A.C., not D.C.
3. Check the communication between the base unit and the Cab.
Press key
2
. F2 should momentarily display on the LCD and the Link light should blink. If there is still no
communication, send the unit in for repair.
4. Your loco may have a pickup problem.
You should periodically clean your track and your loco’s wheels. Oxide coating or dirt on either the track or
loco’s wheels often causes intermittent and jerky operation.
If you pass the above steps, you’re Command Station and Cabs are fine. The problem may lie in the
decoder.
5. Your decoder may have lost its memory or is in Advanced Consist mode (CV19 is not 0).
Repro-
gram the loco address and try again.
6. Your decoder may have too much momentum
. Program the loco with zero acceleration and decelera-
tion rates.
7. The current loco speed command may not match the decoder’s speed steps.
Reprogram your decoder’s address. When you program the decoder with Prodigy Express it will automati-
cally set the decoder’s speed steps to 28/128. Select 28 or 128 speed steps on the base unit and then try to
run the loco.
8. Check the decoder wiring and make sure everything is correctly installed.
9. Remove the decoder and test it on a decoder tester to make sure the decoder is fine.
10. If the decoder is fine, check the loco to make sure the loco is fine before installing the decoder.
Checklist for General Problems
1. Clean your layout and the loco’s wheels.
2. Check the layout’s wiring.
3. Reprogram loco address and other data.
4. Reset the base unit by unplugging power supply.
5. Check loco for proper decoder installation.
6. Check wiring from the base unit to your layout.
7. Check for short circuits and/or stray objects lying across track rails.
8. Make sure the Link light flashes when you press F2.