ERR F-3 Railsounds Board and RCDR Upgrade Issue

wmswenOGR Forum Member

I just completed a TMCC upgrade to a Lionel NYC F-3 with the ERR AC Commander. I also upgraded the dummy A with an RCDR and ERR F-3 Railsounds board. Both units were programmed with the same engine code and all features respond properly to the Cab-2 remote buttons. My only issue is with the dummy A unit when track power is first applied and it fires open the front coupler immediately. If I close the front coupler manually, it stays closed and only responds to the front coupler Cab-2 button. Does anyone know if there's an electrocoupler polarity requirement going to the RCDR pin 8 connector that could be causing this issue? I thought that polarity was not an issue with electrocouplers but this was my first installation using the RCDR board to do an upgrade. Or can anyone offer some suggestions as to what may be causing the electrocoupler to open as soon as track power is applied? Any thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.

7/11/151:48 PM

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SantaFeFanOGR Forum Member

There is no polarity involved in the coupler connection. Ground/Common needs to be single point connectivity, and all tied solid to the chassis. A 1uf 50V NP cap across the coupler may help, but should not be needed. If your connections look good, then I suggest to get a replacement RCDR from ElectricRR.

7/11/152:01 PM

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wmswenOGR Forum Member

Thanks Jon for your very informative reply.

7/11/152:08 PM

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wmswenOGR Forum Member

Jon, I tried installing a 1uf 50v NP cap and the coupler still opens when track power is first applied. I think that I may have gotten a defective RCDR board.

7/11/152:44 PM

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SantaFeFanOGR Forum Member

Sorry to hear that, I am sure Ken will take care of it ASAP.

7/11/152:45 PM

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romiller49OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I had the same happen. Reversing the coupler wires will solve the problem.
Romiller

7/12/1512:09 PM

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wmswenOGR Forum Member

Where you installing the RCDR and Railsounds boards when reversing the electrocoupler leads worked to stop the coupler from opening upon initial track powerup? The reason I'm asking is that I was told by Jon Z. that the electrocoupler has no polarity. Basically, the coupler is one wire on each end with a coil wire in the center.

7/12/151:54 PM

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gunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I can't imagine how reversing the wires would help. The EC has a totally isolated coil that is energized by the AC from the coupler triac on the RCDR, the same setup as the R2LC/R4LC uses. I've never found the "polarity" of the connection to have any effect, and I don't see how it could.

The usual issue is a pinched wire if swapping them actually did have an effect, one side is frame ground at the TMCC board.

7/12/152:08 PM

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wmswenOGR Forum Member

Thanks for your input John. I'll recheck for a pinched wire but I don't believe this is my problem and always appreciate your responses. I think that ultimately I'll need a replacement RCDR board.

7/12/152:42 PM

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gunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I tend to agree, I was just offering my observation about reversing the coupler leads. If the coupler isn't damaged, and there's no short in the wire, I suspect the RCDR is just triggering falsely.

I do a log of ERR upgrades, and I occasionally get a bad board, nature of the beast. ERR has always been good about warranty replacements.

7/12/152:59 PM

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wmswenOGR Forum Member

I tried reversing the electrocoupler leads and it still fires open when track power is first applied. Thanks again to everyone that replied to my post for helping me resolve this issue. The RCDR board is being shipped back to Boxcar Bill for replacement tomorrow.

7/12/154:09 PM

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romiller49OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Wmswen,sorry reversing the leads did not work. Crazy things happen with electronics. It has worked for me several times with misfired couplers. You did the best thing by having the board replaced. Good luck.
Romiller

7/14/1512:07 AM

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