Help with 2-4-4-2 ON-30

[phoffer]

Can any body give me a clue why the head lite and tender lite flash. The lites come on , when the engine is running the lites flash appox. 10 times the go out for appox 15 seconds them come back on. This continues to happen all the time it is ran randomly.

[Burlington Route]

Is your track clean? DCC hates dirty track....if the track is good the engine is suspect.

[Tomcat]

Hi there, here are some ideas:

Did you change the headlight? If so, or if any clue about it: You may want to check the cables and plugs in the smoke box of that lokie...

Did you check the Decoder settings? I know some Decoders do have some kind of Strobe Light CV´s....
Check the electric plug between engine and tender, check track if clean...

Try to undo the electric plug on the decoder and plug it in again.

If this won´t work, I would have no other idea....
Any comments, friends?

Cheers, Tom

[railtwister]

You didn't mention whether you are running with a DC power pack, or DCC. If you're running on DCC, flashing headlights usually indicates a mismatch of the speed step settings between the decoder and the DCC system. The earliest DCC decoders and systems used 14 speed steps, which was later upgraded to 28 (and then 128), but if the system is set for 14 speed steps and the decoder for 28 (or vice-versa) the lights will flash, so check your speed step CV's. If you have several other DCC locos and their lights are OK, you might need to change the speed step settings on your new loco to match your system. If some of your older locos can only handle 14 speed steps, then you're pretty much stuck with setting your new locos to match them, otherwise the lights will flash.

If you are running with a DC power pack, make sure the "Pulse Power" switch (if there is one) is turned "off".

Bill in FtL

[Burlington Route]

Phoffer, any updates? I forgot to ask you before...is that an oem dcc you have or an aftermarket? Reason I ask is that some of the aftermarket dcc/sound boards have a mars light and ditch light wiring option...oem bachmann doesn't.
I have the 2-6-6-2 w/ dcc & sound, and while it's not eacatly the same drivers as yours I can compare since it's close enough...

[dutchbuilder]

I have the same problem.
A software bug maybe?
Ton

[railtwister]

Since the decoder & sound board is a Tsunami, made under license, perhaps a phone call to Soundtraxx in Durango, Colorado, will provide the correct answer to the lighting questions. If you call, please post what you find out about it here.

Bill in FtL

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

Over voltage or an unstable power pack could cause this too. My only tsunomi dcc does not like my old conventional power pack. It works, but irratically. The packs throttle output currents float to much, limits me to lower set voltages.
ie..Blinking lights, then a restart, are my symptoms of over voltage of DCC, run on my older conventional power pack.