Losing It ? -- a simple check

[Sunshine Express]

I recently mislaid 2 sets of test leads,one black& red,the other yellow & Blue,about 2 ft. in length.
They usually hang on a hook on the right hand side of my 10x5 US Layout.
Did not need them immediately,but later could not find them in the garage(part of the house),and looked everywhere.Under the layout,car,desk,work table ?
My wife said she saw me with them. At 81, I am getting a little forgetful .
I gave up ,but started to have an attack of self hatred,thinking I really am losing it.
About a week later I took my dust coat off the old office chair where I operate the trains,and behold,there were  both leads hanging behind the  chair seat.
I told this to my friendly Pharmacist Lady,and she reassured me I was not losing it.
She said ,  The test would be if you forgot you mislaid  them.If you remember losing them then you are not "losing it" . Felt better , Good modeling,  Owen

[Jim Banner]

I like your Pharmacist Lady and I haven't even met her yet.  Next time you see her, tell her what you posted and that there were sighs of relief from around the world.

Jim

feeling better in Canada

[richg]

Sounds familiar.

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering,
what happened?

Rich

[mf5117]

yep what happened .I left my wall wart plugged in with my commander left on . And cooked 2 of my diesels . Was it my grandkids or me . So got to find out what I did to them . Luckly I tested another Loco and my EZ commander still worked and the GP40 ran . How could leaving the controller on and one of the addressed Loco's on with the throttle at 0 cook the loco .where do I start .Should I check the decoder . No lights no hmmmmm no nothing .

Oh and glad you found your test leads . They told my mom she was losing it .But it was my dad who had the Debit card .

[ACY]

I have many times warned people of the hazards of running DC locos on DCC or leaving them sit on DCC. The reason you have an issue is because with DCC even with the throttle at 0, the DC loco still gets power, which will cause it to overheat or stop working completely, and probably melt the shell and other parts. Although some DCC systems can in theory run a DC loco, you have found out why it is a terrible idea, becuase if you forget about it or run it too long you ruin it potentially for good.

[Doneldon]

Well, I can remember some things so I know I don't have Allzheimer's. I figure it's more like halfheimer's.

[RAM]

Sunshine, are you like me. 70 years ago you would go to the store and buy a nickle candy bar.  Now that size bar is a dollar and you say to yourself, or to anybody that will listen, I'm not paying that much for a candy bar.

[Thomas1911]

I experienced a similar situation years ago.  I was working on a project doing some steel fabrication and was using a tape measure quite frequently.  The tape measure I had at the start of the project was chrome plated and I was constantly having a hard time finding it on my work table among all the steel parts and other tools.  Decided to buy myself a new fluorescent orange tape measure to avoid the issues with the chrome one.  Later on, was laying out some cuts using the tape measure.  Set it down to move some material around to measure more parts.  Went to grab the tape measure again, but couldn't find it.  Looked for a good 10 minutes, wondering to myself how could I lose a bright orange tape measure.  Eventually realized the tape measure had been in my hand the whole time.  Whats bad is I was 18 at the time.

[CNE Runner]

The Monks' Island Railway's two handheld throttles run off 'wall warts' which are plugged into a power strip. To operate the layout I simply turn on the [lighted] power switch, on the power strip, and the layout is operational. Last month, I did my usual procedure; but nothing would run! After checking the wall outlet, and the GE 45 Tonner at the separate 'cleaning/testing center,' I realized the power switch on the strip was in the OFF position (...did I mention it is lighted?). Apparently, in a temporary fit of palsy, I had turned the switch ON and immediately OFF.

The Golden Years aren't all that shiny are they?

Ray

[Doneldon]

No, Ray, gettin' old ain't for sissies.

[Jim Banner]

... How could leaving the controller on and one of the addressed Loco's on with the throttle at 0 cook the loco .where do I start .Should I check the decoder .

I take it that the addressed loco was equipped with a decoder.  What about the other one that fried?  What ACY is suggesting applies ONLY to dc locomotives that do not have decoders.  If your fried locomotives have decoders, it is a whole new ball game.

One possible way of overheating a locomotive motor is to leave the throttle at a low level - low enough that the train is stopped but still high enough that the motor is receiving power.  This can cause overheating no matter if you are using dc or DCC.  It can take a long time before damage occurs although the time can be shorter it the train is long or is stopped going up hill.

Normally, it is only the motor that is damaged.  Can motors often/usually have a plastic end that hold the brushes and the armature bearing.  If the motor gets hot enough, that plastic end can soften and let the field magnets pull the armature sideways enough that it binds on the magnets.  You can tell for sure when you open up the locomotive and try turning the motor back and forth by hand.  It should turn easily.  If not, it is binding.

Often you can get a new motor from the manufacturer for a reasonable price.  If you need two, you might want to consider buying three just to have a spare on hand.  You might want to keep the old motors as well.  Even though the plastic end is distorted, the armature and brushes should still be fine.  And you can always use a couple of free magnets.  If you need any advice on installing new motors ... well, you know where to come.

Jim

[mf5117]

I did a post about an Incline ,I was getting sparks as the Locomotive was going down and into the mainline . Jim as you wrote the Locomotive that is dead was on the incline sitting with 4 Athrean Pulpwood cars and a caboose . And yes they were Bachmann DCC . I haven't removed the shells yet to see or check the motor . I will check and see if I am getting output to the motor and also from and to the decoder . Could it have possibly lost or wiped the address away . I may try the readdressing process just to check that as well .didn't think of that until sitting here . Can or will DCC Locomotives run off a DC controller .As I have ran DC Locomotives off the DCC controller . But never the other way around . Just to test them  .

regards Mark F

[ACY]

Some DCC locomotives will run on DC, if they have dual mode decoders they run on DC and DCC, if it is not then it will only run on DCC. Presently, mostly only sound decoders are made as single mode, but some older non-sound decoders could also be single mode (DCC only).

[Jim Banner]

Was the sparking you saw from dirty wheels or dirty track?  Sometimes the electrical noise from that or from accidentally shorting the track can change an address or other operating parameters.  The best way to check this possibility is to reset the decoder back to factory settings and see if it will run on address 03.  Unfortunately, the E-Z Command cannot do this but a local hobby shop or model RR club might be able to help you.

Jim

[mf5117]

Got power to the decoder on the GP40 , but can't readdress it from my EZ commander the motor doesn't smell burnt . And got cont . across the motor leads . So maybe I'm looking at decoder problems .I will take it to the LHS and see if they can reprogram it . I've got the specs on the Bachmann decoders if not I'll put a new decoder in it and see if this fixes my problem . Do the Bachmann decoders come preset on the CV's .