RMweb Gold jamest Posted November 29, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2018 (edited) Hi, I recently acquired a second hand LH100 with a LZV100 base station and transformer. A very good friend let me have it free as it was getting little use, and was getting on. It has not been used for a few years and it sat with me until I got a connector set for connecting the wires to the base station. Last night i connected it up. Just power in to base, feed to track, and LH100 connected via din plug to base. The red led was ok on the base and the power was good to the track.....but no life in the LH100. Completely blank screen. I've tested the wire by opening the LH100 and using a multimeter between the din plug pins and the end of the wire at the circuit board.....All ok. The kit is in good condition and has been looked after, just not used much recently. Does anyone have any ideas\tips? Regards, James Edited December 1, 2018 by jamest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 Or even better...return to Lenz and get an new LH101 for lesser prices! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted November 30, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 Hi, Thanks for the advice - I got this controller set-up for nothing - so I am willing to shell out a bit. But until I find the error (or find someone who has another handset I could test) I don't want to buy something else that potentially will not work. I am in the wilds of North Devon so I'm not near a good DCC stockist. I really need to test another handset on my base, or my handset on another base. I have checked the pin to circuit board connections on the handset and all looks good - checking the DIN female socket on the LZV100 is beyond me. One other thing - reading the LZV100 manual it looks like you can connect directly to the 'green terminals' marked LMAB instead of the DIN socket (see below). I realise this is not optimal - but it might help with my troubleshooting? Cheers, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PaulCheffus Posted November 30, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2018 One other thing - reading the LZV100 manual it looks like you can connect directly to the 'green terminals' marked LMAB instead of the DIN socket (see below). I realise this is not optimal - but it might help with my troubleshooting? Hi You can indeed and that is how I have mine setup as I use the LA152 faceplates. If considering swapping for a LH101 then the command station needs to be at Firmware V3.6 and I believe the handset needs to be in working condition. Might be worth sending it to A&H models for them to look at. Cheers Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted November 30, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 One other thing - reading the LZV100 manual it looks like you can connect directly to the 'green terminals' marked LMAB instead of the DIN socket (see below). I realise this is not optimal - but it might help with my troubleshooting? All you need to do this is a 5-pin DIN socket with bare wires on the other end which you can then connect to the LMAB socket on the LZV100, making sure you do so in the right order. You can then plug the LH100 into that which would help eliminate the possibility of the DIN socket on the LZV100 being faulty. But as Paul above suggests, an LA152 faceplate would be useful in its own right, as you can locate it near to your preferred operating position which may be some way from the LZV100. This is the way I operate too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted November 30, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 Hi, Thanks for that. To check I think I will cut off the din plug and wire to the green connector (carefully). If that works...great...and I consider a female plug or connector plate. If not, back to the drawing board! Cheers, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 I would check inside the handset before youvit the DIN off, easier to see if that is the fault - if not then try taking the plug off Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 Have you got a loco with a decoder installed? Put the address into the handset (numbers+enter) and see if the loco then moves on speed up, speed down. If it does then you know it is a working unit, and probably a relatively simple fault needs fixing. I would echo those above recommending A+H as your first port of call. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted November 30, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 Hi, I have opened the unit and checked continuity between the din pins and the circuit board pads/other end of the wire. That would seem to rule out the plug and the wire and the connections on the lh100. I have cut the plug and directly connected to the box without the din and the handset is still showing no signs of life. I assume there does not need to be a train on the track for it to work? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted November 30, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2018 (edited) I notice the LMAB on the circuit board does not match the colour to pin info I've seen on here. I swapped the wires to correspond with the circuit board markings, but still no good. Edited November 30, 2018 by jamest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 The system output and handset display will come on with nothing on the rails if all is well internally and all system connections are good. You are rather fishing in the dark. This problem could be no more than a broken connection to the LCD, everything else working, just no display. (Just an example, not a diagnosis.) Have you tried entering a decoder equipped loco number and seeing if it runs? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted December 1, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2018 Hi, No I haven't tried a loco yet. That's good advice, thanks. I need to solder on a new din plug and then I'll try that. If that fails I'll ring the shop mentioned above to see what they think about a possible repair. Thanks again everyone, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted December 1, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2018 Don't need to try a loco to do a simple test: just set everything up and press the red ST key on the LH100 and see if the LZV100 goes into stop mode (red light will start flashing). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul80 Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 If looking to pick up a handset, don't forget the cheap Roco/Fleischmann hand set work with Lenz base stations and only cost about £55, so might be worth picking one of them up to test your base station Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted December 1, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2018 Hi all, Great news....it lives! I re attached the wires to my new din plug and took a few inches off the cable that end. I then checked with the multimeter again. It was ok....as before. I then plugged it in the box and put a train on the track. Switched on....nothing on the handset display. I went to press cl to enter the address of the loco (as per the test suggested above).....and hey Presto the display appeared after pressing cl. I'm happy but a bit confused. I had tried this button before...along with several others! The main differences are loco on the track, and the new din plug minus a bit of wire. But the multimeter said the wires were good all along? I have turned it off and on again, and now it starts up fine, loco or no loco on track. Perhaps the handset was dormant in some way? All's well that ends well and all that! Cheers, James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 A common problem with the LH100, the cable gets stood on and a wire/s get broken, but cutting a length of the cable and refitting the DIN plug you may have by-passed a broken wire ? A good alternative is to replace the fitted cable with a coiled curly one, no more standing on it !! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul80 Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 (edited) And replace it with a short curly one, so it stops the handset hitting the floor when some idiot drops it, we have quite a few of these handsets on our club layout, all have short curly leads now, as we do have a higher than average number of idiots in our club. Edited December 2, 2018 by Paul80 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 A common problem with the LH100, the cable gets stood on and a wire/s get broken, but cutting a length of the cable and refitting the DIN plug you may have by-passed a broken wire ? A good alternative is to replace the fitted cable with a coiled curly one, no more standing on it !! I was thinking same way. A broke cable makes no contact. But it´s good news that TS did solved the problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted December 2, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 2, 2018 Hi, I agree that the cable looks most likely - even though my multimeter tests were saying otherwise. If there was a weakness in the small section I removed it might not have been occuring in the orientation I was testing. It is difficult to test all orientations of handset/wire. Another thought is that the wires were complete but the insulation was fauly and there was some combination of cross connection somewhere? I notice the curly wire meant for the LH90 (is that right?) is around £11 - and I would have to cut off the 'telephone' connector from one end and hardwire it to the LH100. That might be a fix for another day though - I want to familiarise myself with the operation of the handset to decide if I want to persevre with it, or another handset option. Cheers for now, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 My view, now its working, is enquire of A&H about updating the command station to current firmware, and then trade-in the LH100 for the new LH101 handset. That's a nicer throttle to use, and has a curly cable with a telephone plug into the handset. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 (edited) My view, now its working, is enquire of A&H about updating the command station to current firmware, and then trade-in the LH100 for the new LH101 handset. That's a nicer throttle to use, and has a curly cable with a telephone plug into the handset. Can't say I'm that impressed with my new LH101 throttle. It does have some nice new features,like route setting and easier access to double heading/consisting etc. The loco stack has been reduced to 8 (12 on the LH100) but the biggest issue I find is the rotary speed control. it's fine for ultra slow speed shunting etc, but requires a considerable number of complete turns to get up to higher speed steps - not ideal for some sound decoders - especially Bif's with the Wheel-Slip function which needs max power/SS before releasing the brake key. Edited December 2, 2018 by tractor_37260 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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