Cobalt Digital

[johng9]

Hi,

 

Bought 8 Cobalt Digital point motors - 4 programmed OK - 4 will not.

Got so frustrated switching from 'set' to 'run' to test the process I managed to break off one of the switch levers.

 

So - does anyone know if there is a way of testing these switches to see if they actually work (i.e motor moves), as there does not appear to be any movement if the programming fails (or does not work)

 

I use Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance DC02 and have attempted programming both in 'main' and 'prog' track modes.

 

Thanks

 

 

[hoovernut]

I know that on the non digital ones you can test them with a 9volt battery.

[johng9]

Appreciate that but on the digital ones I'm not sure that the battery test is appropriate as there is no input for DC other than the remote switch. This only works when DCC is connected to terminals 1 & 2.

[Rammstein2609]

I bought 18 of these last year and 5 were 'faulty'.  This ranged from not programming or not responding at all.  A few emails back and forward from the retailer I bought them off and DCC Concepts a solution was suggested.

 

This came directly from DCC Concepts so won't void any warranty:

 

• Loosen the 4 screws which hold the two parts of the casing together (just a few turns)
• With the flattest part of the motor facing down, bang the motor off a hard flat surface 2 or 3 times
• Tighten the screws back up
• Try programming the motor now to get a response. 

 

Out of the 5 I had which were 'faulty', three of them worked fine after this treatment.  Two were still non responsive so DCC concepts replaced these for me (posted from Australia).  The reason I was given for this 'fault' was that the plastic wasn't left long enough to cure after production so when the motor was assembled the casing was still curing which caused it to shrink and bind against the internal components.

 

Top marks to DCC Concepts for their customer service and resolving the problem.  I would suggest contacting them if this doesn't solve the problem.

 

Thanks

 

Martin

[lilchris]

I would contact Richard at DCC Concepts he is really helpfull. I have a problem with one of the cobalt anologue motors and he is sending me a replacement. He contacted me on another site, not sure if I can mention it on here. In my thirst for information  as a restarted newby, I am a member on three model railway sites.

[RFS]

Customer service may well be excellent but Quality Control is the real problem: quite simply there shouldn't be this failure rate with Cobalts and I've seen these problems reported on all 3 forums that I watch. I've installed 65 Tortoise motors on my layout and every single one has worked flawlessly from day 1, and they're all now over 2 years old.

[johng9]

Thanks to all Esp Martin. will report on progress later.

 

John

PS - RFS - I have 24 tortoise as well - no faults found.

[bbishop]

Bit of help needed guys. The background is that Höchstädt has nine turnouts; which are to be operated digitally. To make life easy for my operators, they will be numbered 1 to 9. Five of them are Lenz simple points which are easy to program; and have the addresses 2,3,6,7 and 8. The other four turnouts are Lenz three way points which are only available in an analogue form.

 

So I purchased five Cobalt digital motors (including a spare). After quite a struggle, Nick and I have managed to program three of them with the addresses 1, 4 and 5. This has been done on a Lenz system. However two problems:

 

1. The other two Cobalts have refused to program and presumably must be returned as duds.

 

2. Then none of the Cobalts will accept the address 9. Does anyone know a reason for this, and is there any way round the problem?

 

Bill

[lilchris]

Not sure if this is any help to you its from the cobalt digital manual, available from DCC concepts and probably Gaugemaster.

 

LENZ SET 100 (disable railcom to ensure communication)
Put Cobalt digital into “set” or learning mode with the switch.
Press the F Key then Press 5 to access the turnout control menu. Now enter your chosen number for the Cobalt digital that you have set to “learn” mode. Once you have entered the number, press enter followed by either the + or - key.
Return the Cobalt digital switch to the “run” position.
(Lenz accessory information from P21 of V3.6 LH100 manual

[Adie89]

Had exactly the same problem with a multi pack of 12 cobalt digital, only four worked. I fixed all of them by directly connecting the track output from the command station direct to the point motor and ensuring the turnout on the controller was in the same position as the motor before programming with my multimaus. After this they worked fine connected to the dcc bus.