Need help Dead TIU

You should find that posts have come loose. This creates a poor connection and creates heat.  There are a couple of recent threads on this issue with the details of the nut size.

The repair is to use two nuts (locking arrangement) with the internal connection between the two.

Change the title of your post to TIU post loose and case is melting and you should get the responses from those that have made this repair.

You can also search the forums and you will find the previous threads within the last 4 months.

Repair the posts and the internal connections and all should be fine.

Good Luck!

What do you mean by 3 channels not working? No power out? No DCS signal?   The melted post can be fixed, what the other symptoms are drive the additional fixes.  Was this all at once?   G

this was all at once the only channel that is working is verable 1 now i can get power to the track on fixed 2 but none of my trains will come on i tried several ones the remote says they are not on the track

i get power and dcs signal only on the veriable 1 everything else no dcs signal

Is the TIU's internal red LED lighted? The LED is under the grill on the front-right corner of the TIU, if you're facing the channel inputs.

yes i am using a MTH power supply i also tried to cycle the power to see if that helped but nothing

my question did the F7 caused this problem i had no other problem before this and if not will this sort of thing happen again i dont want a fire on my layout

The problem was caused by the prior owner, not by your loco.  Looking at the picture, I see that there is no lock washer under one of the binding posts.  This means he/she had removed the nut, possibly having a problem. 

There should be a star washer against the plastic, as on the other post.  Tighten all the nuts.  On my TIUs, I have added a second nut with an internal star washer between the 2 nuts.  The nuts are metric, and the size is given in another thread.

Turbo,

The loose connection is what caused the problem, not the engine. The engine may have produced more heat at the connection if it used more power, but it was just a matter of time before this happened.

Are you using Fixed 1 to power the TIU or are you using the Auxiliary power port?

i am using a MTH power supply to power the TIU the question is can it be saved and how do i go about saving it   thanks

First, look on the bottom of the TIU and see if there is a sticker with the letters "Rev" followed by a letter.  If so, what is the letter?  If no sticker, it's a Rev G, the original TIU, and it might not be worth putting money into.  However, looking at the picture, I do not see soldered connections; only the Rev G had wires soldered to the posts. 

So it's probably worth asking one of the expert techs their views on repairing it.  GGG has a top reputation.  So do Marty Fitzhenry and gunrunnerjohn, although I do not know if they do TIU repairs.  I think any of these 3 would give you their opinion on whether it's worth fixing.

I would not, repeat NOT, take it to a local hobby shop.

the TIU has I3 sticker on it is there somthing i could do to fix it at home   thanks

I"d sent it to George (GGG), he turns them around quick, and probably has repaired more of them then the rest of us combined.

George does do quick turnarounds.  That I can vouch for.  Sent him a damaged PS2 board and had it back in a week.

As to what you could do at home, that would depend on your proficiency with electricity and electronics and whether you had a VOM multimeter.  About all you could test would be continuity and do a visual.  If any components had failed, you would probably not be able to replace them unless a skilled electronics tech.

George (GGG)'s email is in his personal data.  I suggest you email him and seek his opinion.

thank you to everyone who responded i will try everything you all suggested and update

well i spent most of the evening repairing the TIU i got it to work moved the ground wire and added a nut then replaced the wire and added a second nut and it fired back up i only tested it on a piece of 30" straight and a switcher every channel started to work i have to put it back on the layout and lets see what happens i also upgraded it to 5.0 the TIU was easy to upgrade but it took several tries to get the remote  to upgrade  not sure why it kept saying that it was looking for the tiu had to cycle the power several times  thanks again for everyones help i will buy a new one to replace it but for now i can run again