TIU not recognizing engines

J.

If your engines have batteries in them replace all the batteries with BCR's or new batteries.   It sounds like you have bad batteries in your engines.  Sense I replaced the batteries with BCR's I have no problems from year to year.

PCRR/Dave

only one engine at a time is powered right? Are these all older PS2 engines?

So you deleted everything and get no MTH DCS engines message? Do you have others still loaded?

Have you tried pressing the read button?

Charge the batteries as Dave suggests. They maybe OK. Test each engine for full shut down sounds by killing the power in conventional. Test each engine to run in conventional. If one is stuck in neutral, the battery is probably dead. 

Older versions of DCS had different flaws that get corrected in later releases. One version in particular, had trouble loading engines. I don't remember what flaws 4.0 vs 4.1 had. I do know there were also 4.2 and 4.3 releases afterwards.

Also, Check your TIU at power up for what number the LED flashes. Try using a 4 wire handset cord to connect the remote to the TIU.

Yes, one engine is powered at a time - I have a short powered test track that only fits one engine.

All engines were deleted from the remote - as none of the engines were responding.

I have tried the "Read" button.  It did not help.

I am not sure what testing in conventional means - sorry!  None of the engines respond to anything from the remote and this system is all I have to run the trains.

I will look for software upgrades - thank you.

I will give hardwired a shot - I have not tried that yet.

And, I am almost certain the batteries in the SD80 and SD70 are shot.  The AEM7 however, seems ok.  It is the behavior of the AEM7 that worries me about the TIU.

The TIU flashes once and the light stays a solid red.

Update!

I replaced the batteries and now the engines turn on (lights and sounds) with track power supplied via "Fixed 2"

In the engine setup menu, I select Add MTH Engine and now Looking for Engine remains on the screen longer.

The issue: Now, I get a "OUT OF RANGE" message that quickly flashes on the screen before the "No Engine to Add" message is displayed.

Also, in the controls, I went to reset the TIU and again, got a message the remote cannot connect to the TIU.

So, I think there is a wifi problem between the TIU and Remote.  I went to purchase a narrow 4 pin cord, but cannot find one.  I am quite unhappy actually MTH simply did not use a basic phone connector!!

jwanck11 posted:

Update!

 

I replaced the batteries and now the engines turn on (lights and sounds) with track power supplied via "Fixed 2"

In the engine setup menu, I select Add MTH Engine and now Looking for Engine remains on the screen longer.

The issue: Now, I get a "OUT OF RANGE" message that quickly flashes on the screen before the "No Engine to Add" message is displayed.

Also, in the controls, I went to reset the TIU and again, got a message the remote cannot connect to the TIU.

 

So, I think there is a wifi problem between the TIU and Remote.  I went to purchase a narrow 4 pin cord, but cannot find one.  I am quite unhappy actually MTH simply did not use a basic phone connector!!

If the TIU is not powered with either the fixed #1 or the aux power in, you won't get any DCS signal on the other channels.

jwanck11 posted:

...

I am not sure what testing in conventional means - sorry!  None of the engines respond to anything from the remote and this system is all I have to run the trains.

 

powering the engine without the TIU's DCS signal present. In other words, powering directly from the transformer, straight to the engine.

After charging the engine, kill the power (with the sounds playing) and see if the sounds play the full shut down sequence. If they cut out very fast, the battery is probably dead.

Thanks.  I just replaced the batteries - and they all function as you mention ... the sounds and lights cut out slowly.

When in Fixed 1, I flip the power switch and the engines make a clicking sound but the lights and sounds do not power up.  When in Fixed 2, the engines light up and produce sound, but cannot be recognized.

I will flip to Fixed 1 and see if I get any signal.

Thank you for the help!

When in Fixed 1, I flip the power switch and the engines make a clicking sound but the lights and sounds do not power up.  When in Fixed 2, the engines light up and produce sound, but cannot be recognized.

That's exactly as it should be. If using Fixed #2 and the TIU isn't getting power via either the Aux. Power port or Fixed #1 Input, there's no DCS signal on any TIU channel and engines on those channels start up in conventional mode, and cannot be found by DCS.

Before proceeding further, delete all engine that can't be found from the remote, ensure that their batteries are charged and re-add them to the remote.

Everything that you need to know about DCS is all in MTH’s “The DCS Companion 3rd Edition!" This book is available from many fine OGR advertisers and forum sponsors, or as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

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