Docksider LC 2.0+ Debacle (solved)

Make sure the control type setting under info for that engine ID is set to Cab1 or TMCC and NOT Legacy. Other than that not sure.

Thanks @MartyE. I'll give it a shot. I woke up with quiet a head cold this morning. Looks like my body scheduled me a break since I wouldn't schedule one. It seems odd to me that the locomotive starts up when power is applied (lights, smoke, and sounds come on). I wonder if I damaged a LC+2.0 board in the locomotive.

If the command base is connected and functional, even if the engine type is Legacy, the LC+ 2.0 engine should come up dark and silent.  I'm thinking there's still something wrong affecting the TMCC signal.  Have you tried firing it up without the shell on?

You're correct.  I missed the part where the sounds are coming up.  Sorry.

@gunrunnerjohn I have not. Ill try that as well. Will a short to the shell cause the locomotive to come up loud and lit when given power?

@MartyE no prob!

Correct, if there's a short of the antenna to the shell, you'll get no TMCC signal, hence conventional mode.  I'm thinking the handrails or their wiring are shorted to the shell/frame, that kills the TMCC signal.

Well it sure did work when I held the shell off the chassis. So is it more correct to say the short to the shell was really going to the chassis?

I noticed that setting the shell on the chassis caused the head light to flicker. Not sure if that means I should start searching at the head light wire or what but I assume it's related to the issue.

Thanks for the help! I'll have to set aside some time to find it.

It's shorted to the shell, when you have it separated from the chassis, it's not shorted to the frame.  Look to see what happened to the antenna wire and the handrails, those are the antenna.  If they're shorted to the shell, it won't work.

Im betting I came in with too much heat whole reattaching a wire. I'll check it out and report back.

The handrail stanchions are plastic, and the insulator feeding through the boiler shell is as well.  If you melted that, that's probably where the issue is.  You can use heatshrink to go through the boiler shell, the stanchions are a bit more problematic if you've wrecked them.

So I checked scratched some paint off the underside of the boiler shell so it was easier to get a better short (if there is one). I checked continuity between the handrails and that spot: nothing. I checked between the spot the wires are attached and that spot: nothing. I put put proves on that spot to make sure I was doing it right: got continuity. Put both probes on the handrails outside the boiler shell: continuity. Put a probe inside and a probe outside on the handrail: continuity. Put a probe at the end of the wire where the connector is to the board and checked both wires and handrails this way: continuity.

So I put the shell back on, put 18v to the track....and it fires up and won't listen to the CAB2 remote alright. So in my mind, the uninsulated ends of the antennae wires that go from the board to the handrails must be touching something. I insulated them with some hot glue but got the same result. If I hold the shell away from the chassis, we're good. The head light flickers and I don't have a CAB2 signal once I put the boiler shell on.

I'm not sure what to do next. I'm going to take the dog outside and then go see if I find some bare wires touching where they aren't supposed to touch when the boiler shell is on. Then I guess I'll redo the section that insulates the handrail from the boiler shell because maybe there's something about having it upright that causes continuity.

I did notice there is another two wire port (see attached pic) on an upright board. I'm plugging into the port on the larger horizontal board. I thought this is where I took the wire from. Any chance I got it wrong and this is affecting it?

Well either the top port is the correct port or it just magically works because that seems to have been the issue. I should have taken pictures during disassembly. But I guess I got my continuity and small wire soldering practice in. The locomotive is running fine so far.

I was connecting to blue arrow instead of orange arrow. The two wire plug for the antennae should be connected to the orange wire. I feel dumb for messing that up but I'm sure glad it was something so simple!

Glad you sorted it out.  It was clearly an antenna issue.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Glad you sorted it out.  It was clearly an antenna issue.

It feels good to be right, even when I'm wrong