djrspurs Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have been running DCC for several years and feel for every step forward I take a step back.i run the Prodigy Advance and have 50 logos either Factory fitted or ones I have converted to DCC. A gifted amateur! I have had to rebuild my layout due to moving countries and am about 90% complete. (Mainly scenery left o complete). A typical issue. Today I thought I would run my Hornby Class 31 with factory fitted DCC sound. dead as a dodo ( it has runs since the rebuild). I placed it on the programming track and either reads nothing or it reads 0000. I try the factory reset but that doesn't work. Is there any "generic" reasons why decoders just stop working? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrspurs Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have been running DCC for several years and feel for every step forward I take a step back.i run the Prodigy Advance and have 50 logos either Factory fitted or ones I have converted to DCC. A gifted amateur! I have had to rebuild my layout due to moving countries and am about 90% complete. (Mainly scenery left o complete). A typical issue. Today I thought I would run my Hornby Class 31 with factory fitted DCC sound. dead as a dodo ( it has runs since the rebuild). I placed it on the programming track and either reads nothing or it reads 0000. I try the factory reset but that doesn't work. Is there any "generic" reasons why decoders just stop working? My apologies for the numerous typos! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Have you tried just reprogramming the address? This has happened to me once or twice and resetting the address (not to the default 3) has usually worked. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil S Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 In the past, I have found that decoders stored at 'high temperatures' might lose their user-programmed values (I've also experienced this, in th epast, on broadcast elctronics equipment! - when shippe dgoods were left in un-airconditioned warehousing during relocation). Howevr, you mention having run this since moving. It is not necessary to be able to read-back a decoder: in fact, I find this slows down the procedure considerably! Simply try the 'reset' code - and hope it is the generic CV8=8, or that you have the manual, and follow this by simply either ASSUMING it is now Loco 3, or try to program it as Loco 3 and re-testing it in normal mode again. Even if the motor appears not to be working, try some of the sound and light functions. IF this still fails, and the loco had been used with 4 digit/extended addressing, then ALSO try setting CV29 to the default 6 for a short address... and trying again. The final possibility, depending on your controller, is whether it has been left as part of a consist .... in which case the Sound and Light functions should still be able to respond on the non-consist address ??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 ...I placed it on the programming track and either reads nothing or it reads 0000. I try the factory reset but that doesn't work. Is there any "generic" reasons why decoders just stop working? None that I have so far discovered in a dozen years, with several hundred installed on my own and friend's equipment. Only ever had one go truly and permanently 'dead' between operating sessions with no evidence by sight or smell of a burnout, and I tested that track power was reaching the decoder's terminals (every other decoder on the layout at the time was fine which suggests no major static discharge incident or something similar). Presumably some component on the decoder turned its toes up or wasn't receiving power; whatever, the Lenz guarantee took care of it. But here's something I learned thanks to the helpful advice of a German retailer now past a decade ago. Don't give up on resets just because it doesn't work immediately after the problem has been detected. I have several decoders in use on my layout which had apparently failed, some needed multiple resets over weeks before 'coming back to life', and they have worked fine ever since. I don't pretend to be able to explain what the operating mechanism of this is; but since it works, I'll take it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeg Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've had this problem with a loksound V4 chip that appeared to go dead and got the same results as you on my prodigy, as it was a new chip I sent it back to the supplier and was told that it was fine but had been sett to address 0000 how I do not know but it came back reset to the address I wanted and has been fine ever since. I was told if it ever happened again just reprogram to the address I wanted without doing a reset, I had tried this 4 or 5 times before I sent it back! regards mike g Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrspurs Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks for your various posts. Would you believe it but the next day the loco decided to work perfectly! I am intrigued with the heat and storage theories, especially when items have spent weeks at sea. I had installed several FL2s to operate lighting in carriages and these have been the most troublesome since I moved countries, either not working or working in reverse, ie on when they taken off the track (due to DCC Concepts stay alive gizmo) and off when they are on the track! I have a couple of others currently giving me grief (one is Lok Sound v4) and I will persevere with the resetting, trying several times over a few days. But it can be so frustrating! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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