# MTH DCS "Engine Not Found" Solution!



## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

I have noticed many times people posting an issue where no matter what they do, an engine cannot be found by the MTH DCS System, even though the entire loop has full power etc etc.

DCS Scenario:
You have two seperate loops, an MTH Block Terminal, and a MTH TIU and hand held.

The TIU has its 2 outputs going to the MTH Terminal Block.

From MTH the terminal block, you have a pair of red and black going to one MTH loop, and a second pair going to the other MTH Loop.

So you program in all your engines, which just happen to be on Loop 1, they all work fine.

Then you power down like a good model railroader, and take one of the engines from loop 1 and place it on loop 2.

Power everything up, and you will find that now that engine you moved from loop 1 to loop 2 cannot be powered up and no matter what you do the engine is not found, you get "check track" etc etc.

Solution!
Delete that engine from the DCS system with your hand held.
Menu/System/Delete Engine

Then add it back.
Menu/System/Add Engine.

You will then get the congratulations message that you successfully added an MTH engine.

Power that engine up and done!

Seems you cannot physical move engines from one seperated loop to the other without deleting the engine and then re-adding in the system.

Hope this helps!


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2017)

I've had a difficult time adding a new engine. I now take anything that draws power off the track, like lighted cabooses and passenger cars, and then adding a new engine is easy. The lighted cars seem to interfere with the DCS's ability to see the new engine. I only have 3 MTH locos and had a problem with the first. Removing the lighted cars made adding the next 2 locos easy. I'm assuming that it was removing the lighted cars that did the trick.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

What I have found with the DCS handheld remote is that you must have only one engine at a time on the track when adding an engine or all engines get added as the one you want to add.
Two or three engines can be sitting on the track when you go to power up but first have the DCS unit powered up then power up the handheld remote and select the engine you want.
Another thing is not to run lighted cabooses with the DCS system as I have burnt up a truck assembly on a Lionel lighted caboose. At first I thought my PS-2 steam engine was going crazy so the owner at my local hobby shop said to take off every car behind the engine and see what happens, I did that and the problem went away as the caboose was shorting out.
Another thing that happened to me was I burnt out a light on my MTH lighted caboose when using it with my DCS system. So I refuse to run lighted cabooses or passenger cars with my DCS system any more, I checked the voltage and I was only up to 13.5 volts AC on my digital meter.

Lee Fritz


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Actually, if the other engines are in the remote, I think it won't get confused. It even works with two engines not in the remote.

I just cleared a remote and then set two engines on the track, a VO-1000 and my GE 44-Ton engine. I went to add an MTH engine, it added the VO-1000, I did it again and it added the 44-Ton engine. No muss, no fuss.

The DCS has nothing to do with track voltage, and doesn't burn out lights, something else is going on there. I run lighted passenger cars and cabooses on DCS equipped layouts all the time with no damage. One thing to keep in mind is some lighted stuff is designed for conventional operation and has lower voltage bulbs, those will die pretty quickly when you put them on 18V tracks.


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## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

If you are burning out lights that is not caused by DCS but by the amount of power you are putting on the tracks. Apparently your lighted equipment cannot take the voltage that is required to operate DCS, TMCC, or Legacy. Postwar and MPC lighted equipment was not designed to withstand a constant 16 to 18 volts needed to operate todays command equipped locomotives.

Bill


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

I believe the DCS companion and the DCS/TIU manual say to remove all engines from the tracks and then add the new engine. 

I run only DCS Proto-3 engines and I have no problem running lighted cars with them. I have run 4 engines and lighted trains at once with no problems.

What I have had trouble with is derailments that trip the track circuit breaker. The TIU thinks the engine is still there. I have to bring the speed to zero on the remote and go through the startup procedure once the short is removed and the engine put back on the track if it caused the short. I also normally turn off the remote and restart it once I am ready again to run trains.

It turns out the TIU/Remote are not that smart and like things done in its order. It gets confused by a short on the tracks and the circuit breaker tripped. The DCS is after all nothing more than "confuser" controlled (one of my you tube favorite guys word for computer).  

LDBennett


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

*NEVER TOUCH THE READ BUTTON!*

That’s one of the most important things I have learned about DCS. I haven’t used the READ button in years and have not “lost” an engine in years. Once entered, if you don’t use the read button, all your engines stay in the active list. You may need to scroll a bit more to find the one you want to start up, but that’s better than losing an engine. And if you get tired of scrolling, you can change engine ID numbers so that the ones you use most are close together.

I use a test track to add a new engine. I pull the outlet wires from the TIU and plug the test track into the TIU fixed out #1. GRJ has demonstrated that it may not be necessary, but I do it anyway


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

I find it convenient to use the READ button once I power up the layout. It immediately gives me the confidence that the DCS sees the engine(s) on the layout. Scrolling through a long list trying to remember the name of my several engines and which one is on the layout is laborious and time consuming. I know which engine(s) I want to run as I put them on the layout. Being able to be sure DCS sees them makes starting up much easier. But to each his own.

LDBennett


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

seayakbill said:


> If you are burning out lights that is not caused by DCS but by the amount of power you are putting on the tracks. Apparently your lighted equipment cannot take the voltage that is required to operate DCS, TMCC, or Legacy. Postwar and MPC lighted equipment was not designed to withstand a constant 16 to 18 volts needed to operate todays command equipped locomotives.
> 
> Bill


My lighted caboose was made in 1989, a Lionel Reading Lines caboose # 17605. The truck assembly(at the roller) melted the plastic and got so hot it was dripping when I pulled the car off the track. I was running around 18 volts AC with the command control system. Tried to replace the truck assembly but the price for a new truck was about the same as a new caboose so it is now unlighted.

Lee Fritz


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## Richard E (Apr 30, 2016)

chipset35 said:


> I have noticed many times people posting an issue where no matter what they do, an engine cannot be found by the MTH DCS System, even though the entire loop has full power etc etc.
> 
> DCS Scenario:
> You have two seperate loops, an MTH Block Terminal, and a MTH TIU and hand held.
> ...


I have a siding that I can isolate from the rest of my layout. I use it to program all new engines. I rarely encounter “Engine not found”, but your solution works well.


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## Richard E (Apr 30, 2016)

phillyreading said:


> My lighted caboose was made in 1989, a Lionel Reading Lines caboose # 17605. The truck assembly(at the roller) melted the plastic and got so hot it was dripping when I pulled the car off the track. I was running around 18 volts AC with the command control system. Tried to replace the truck assembly but the price for a new truck was about the same as a new caboose so it is now unlighted.
> 
> Lee Fritz


There is an easy solution. 
Town & Country Hobbies offers a verity of LED bulbs as exact replacements for bayonet and screw base bulbs, Give them a look.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

Richard E said:


> There is an easy solution.
> Town & Country Hobbies offers a verity of LED bulbs as exact replacements for bayonet and screw base bulbs, Give them a look.


What do I do with the melted truck assembly on the Lionel caboose?
A new bulb can't fix this one because it needs a whole new truck assembly because it is so bad that the caboose now wobbles if used.

Lee Fritz


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