RMweb Premium drjcontroller Posted March 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 31, 2016 Please forgive my ignorance on the subject of DCC, but I'm a newcomer to this. I have an NCE Powercab System bought several years ago but hardly ever used. I powered up the system this afternoon as I decided it's about time I got my stalled layout project moving again. When I switched on the power to the system, the red light on the power plate glowed very dimly and then went off, before settling down to the occasional flicker of illumination on what appeared to be at regular intervals. The handset seemed to power up normally but each time the red light flickered, the handset display dimmed slightly then went back to normal. After a bit of jiggling about with cables, the red light came back on, constant and bright, the system worked OK and I was able to run a couple of locos, but it only lasted 5-10 minutes before returning to its original state. I have dismantled the power plate, checked and re-fitted the power lead and the wires to the bus, but to no avail. Reading a few older posts on here, I wonder if the connections on the power plate or the cable have become "damaged" and need replacing. I'm grateful in advance if anyone has experienced this or may have an idea of what the problem is. I'm going to pop in to Digitrains in Lincoln tomorrow morning but thought I'd pop something on here tonight in the meantime. Thanks in advance, Douglas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLT 0109 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Douglas, Take all your NCE kit with you to Digitrains - I am sure they will identify the problem. It sound like a loose connection somewhere but it might be within the handset. Harold. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Sounds like a partial short-circuit - possibly due to a loose connection (as per Harold's suggestion) with a stray wire strand touching something it shouldn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austrag Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Unfortunately the Cat 5 connectors are not the best to have. They are meant to be plugged in to a fixed plate on a chassis, not as a wander lead so the fine tangs in the socket get bent and cease conducting. I have in the past managed to very carefully tease the tangs upward without pulling them out. Others have failed completely and a new socket was needed. Difficult item to source also but new items are on eBay USA, just remove the shielding and fit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium drjcontroller Posted April 1, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted April 1, 2016 A big thank you to you all for taking the time to reply to my post. It does indeed appear to be a fault with the cable from the handset to the power plate and a new one was sourced and tested from Digitrains in Lincoln this morning. Won't have time to test it on my layout until tomorrow, but I'm sure it's the solution. Thanks again, Douglas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnb Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Unfortunately the Cat 5 connectors are not the best to have. They are meant to be plugged in to a fixed plate on a chassis, not as a wander lead so the fine tangs in the socket get bent and cease conducting. I have in the past managed to very carefully tease the tangs upward without pulling them out. Others have failed completely and a new socket was needed. Difficult item to source also but new items are on eBay USA, just remove the shielding and fit. New sockets are readily available from Farnell in the UK who also trade as CPC. Had the same issuse and easing the tangs up only works for a short while, new sockets sourced from CPC in a couple of days for a very reasonable price. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravensdmufan Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Useful information, thanks johnb. I have a similar problem with my Powercab. The flat lead that connects the socket to the throttle always gets badly twisted and out of shape and almost impossible to straighten out. Now the telephone type plug on the end has now worked loose from the cable and power has become intermittent. Mine is currently held in with a lump of Blue Tac - not ideal! Does anyone know if you can get a telephone type coiled lead with the correct plugs at each end? And if so, where from? Thanks in advance for any help. CDF. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Does anyone know if you can get a telephone type coiled lead with the correct plugs at each end? And if so, where from? Ebay item number 281971985944, been using this more months and works fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravensdmufan Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Ebay item number 281971985944, been using this more months and works fine. Brilliant, many thanks for that information Holland Park. Edit: Just ordered one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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