@gunrunnerjohn posted:

He might have missed that Joe.   Let's try again...

You must power the TIU from fixed #1 or the aux power in!

GRJ:

I didn’t miss it! 😉

I’ve got an input from side 1 of my Z4000 to input 1 on the TIU.  As noted above though, I checked earlier and the TIU LED did not illuminate with just the transformer on.

If this indicates I’m not getting power through the Fixed 1; does MTH sell a cable I can plug into my power bar then into the Aux power in?

Idle thought and likely irrelevant but; my fixed input 1 pairs with my fixed output 1 and the track that leads to it is hosting a conventional engine.  It’s running fine.

Thanks!

Curt

YIKES!

Do not connect TIU inputs to TIU outputs!  I hope that's not what you're saying!

GRJ and Joe:

I owe you two a bucket of beer!  Borrowed the power supply cord from the Z1000 on my test track, plugged it into the TIU and things are working properly!  

A huge thank you to everyone who responded.  I’m smiling again and will be able to sleep tonight!  👍

Curt

PS:  GRJ no sir, in is IN and out is OUT.  😉

Sometimes it's the simple things that bite you.  Glad you sorted it out and are back on the air.

Thanks again John!  After seeing how the additional power source worked on mine, I dug out another I had laying around, plugged it into my son’s TIU and now his DCS system is functioning properly as well.

Curt

Are you saying that it didn’t work using the TIU fixed input 1, but did work using a Z1000 on the aux power port?

@rplst8 posted:

Are you saying that it didn’t work using the TIU fixed input 1, but did work using a Z1000 on the aux power port?

That’s pretty much it.  Before I got the WiFi, the only power to the TIU would have been through Fixed 1.  After adding the WiFi, that was putting power to the TIU as well.

Since this arrangement worked just fine for years and I always had 10’s the whole way around my layout when I’d check the signal, I guess I didn’t really think I needed to do it any differently.

Something must have occurred either when I disconnected my TIU to try my son’s on my layout or when I reconnected.  I have no idea what that something was but, given how tired and frustrated I was, it would not be a shock if I screwed something up without knowing.

In any event, the addition of the external power sources solved the problem on both my layout and my son’s.  We had an early morning father / son train running session this morning before he and his fiancée headed to the mountains for the day.

Curt

@juniata guy posted:

That’s pretty much it.  Before I got the WiFi, the only power to the TIU would have been through Fixed 1.  After adding the WiFi, that was putting power to the TIU as well...

Hmm, seems like something is awry in fixed input 1 then.  If your trains are working, that’s good, but the TIU should work fine with power applied to that input. 

I have a Rev. I3a TIU sans USB therefore there is no power coming from the USB so I can’t test this, but maybe it’s a sequencing problem.  For example maybe if there is power applied to the USB port before power to fixed input 1 it then fails to use that input for power?

@rplst8 posted:

Hmm, seems like something is awry in fixed input 1 then.  If your trains are working, that’s good, but the TIU should work fine with power applied to that input. 

I have a Rev. I3a TIU sans USB therefore there is no power coming from the USB so I can’t test this, but maybe it’s a sequencing problem.  For example maybe if there is power applied to the USB port before power to fixed input 1 it then fails to use that input for power?

Beats me. 🤷

I had a Stat professor back in college named Dr. Kelly.  At one point, when I was struggling with a statistical “tree” Doc Kelly told me - “Mr. W, you need to simply accept that some things are and quit worrying about why they are.”

It was advice that served me well in Statistics from that point on and my overriding inclination right now is to simply leave well enough alone. 😉

Curt