SOLVED: Baldwin 4-6-0 DCC-ready question

[Piyer]

SOLVED:

A second decoder worked fine, so I went back to the first one and did a factor reset on it and that fixed the headlight issue. It was either a programming malfunction, or human error. All is well with this little beauty now.


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I picked up a nearly mint Spectrum Baldwin 4-6-0 off a friend the other night. It's DCC-ready, runs beautifully on DC with no issues, and the headlight functions normally. Today I popped in a Digitrax 126 decoder, and while it still runs beautifully, when standing still there is no headlight and while moving the headlight comes and goes. It's almost like a MARS light or dirty track power interruption, but we are talking about a clean 3-foot test track and a factory-fresh decoder.

Has there been a history of headlight problems when install decoders in these models? Or do I fire up JMRI and start playing under the hood with CVs?

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

A couple things I can think of for that issue are simple fixes. One is making sure that Pin 1 on the 8 pin plug is lined up with the spot marked with a 1 on the PCB in the tender. Another is making sure the decoder is plugged in all the way. I had that issue with a Spectrum 2-8-0 when I first got it because I hadn't pushed the plugs between the engine and tender all the way into place so I would recommend checking the ones between the engine and tender as well as the actual decoder socket. The final thing is try a different decoder as it could simply be a faulty decoder.