My new Bachmann 4-8-4 New York Central (DCC onboard) won't run on DCC

[poliss]

As you are in New Zealand, the seller is in the USA and it was an auction item your options are limited. By all means wait for a response from Bachmann.
If the option they give is to send the loco back to them and the cost would be too high for you there are some things you could do. It's possible that circuit boards etc. have come loose in the postal system.
I presume a service sheet came with the loco? Take the top off the tender and make sure the decoder is properly plugged into it's socket. Take a good look around to see if any contact strips, such as part No's MTB33 on the tender wheels, are where they should be. Look out for wires that have come loose.

[BestSnowman]

If it runs perfectly on DC and shipping it back to the sender or Bachmann you still have other options.

If there is a club nearby that has experience with DCC and decoder programming you could ask them to take a look at it, it might be the case where it's not configured correctly.

If the cost of shipping makes warranty repairs unfeasible you could always replace the decoder yourself or find someone more local since the locomotive works fine.

[jonathan]

I went back to your original post, just to make sure.  I have to say Matthew's advice sounds right to me.  I still feel something simple is wrong.  You will not void the warranty by opening the tender to check connections or replace/test the decoder.  You will void the warranty by trying to make unnecessary modifications.

Consider how far across the planet your loco has traveled to get you.  Today's packaging is not as cushioned as it once was. I have received at least two locomotives that needed some simple tweaking because things got a little loosened in shipping.

If indeed your loco ran well with a DC controller, then you need to check in the tender.  It can't hurt to look.  Just take your time and don't overcrank or pull too hard on anything.  I still believe you have a decoder problem.  Decoders can be had pretty cheap, lest they are rare in your part of the world.  Haven't searched for a hobby store in New Zealand, yet. On my to do list...  Good Luck. I'm sending you some positive waves (sic).

Regards,

Jonathan

[judgethe]

thankz everyone for your inputs. my friend will pick me up later and he will help me to program the 4-8-4 from "unknown" to another new address. if that still won't work then we'll try to swap with another dcc decoder which i have an extra one at the moment.

will keep you guys posted.

[judgethe]

just got back from from my friend's place. good news and bad news.

good news:
we fixed the 4-8-4. we reprogrammed the 4-8-4 from an unknown address to a new address using steps available in bachmann e-z command manual. so it's working perfectly now.

bad news:
previously i did tried pressing address number 1-10 on my e-z command but the 4-8-4 just didn't response. so there could be a possibility the 4-8-4 might have a different address than 1-10. or it could be a faulty decoder perhaps? but upon further observation on the locomotive wheels we discovered something very disturbing. well i think the seller himself wasn't really aware with the 4-8-4 conditions at all and all these beyond his control.

maybe someone from bachmann could provide some kind of explanation on this matter. unfortunately there still no response from bachmann.

i emailed the seller and told him the same thing about the unknown address and our discovery on the wheels. like what i told him, i'm not a fussy guy but as long as the 4-8-4 is working and running perfectly then it's fine with me and it's working perfectly at the moment.

so just another unlucky day for me

[poliss]

What's wrong with the wheels?

[ACY]

Like I said before if it is really necessary to get in contact with Bachmann you should call them 9-5 Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.

[Doneldon]

judge-

What did you find with your wheels?

                                  -- D

[judgethe]

will try get some pics up soon but i don't have a good camera that could zoom into the locomotive wheels. i'm trying my best not to create any misunderstanding on the wheels since it was our observation and we could be wrong too. perhaps after seller got back to me then i'll update everyone the outcome on the wheels.

for the time being send me a message and i'll explain the wheels condition through message.

*** i've updated everything in my new thread/topic so i'm going to lock this one ***