# Power cab problem. Please help



## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Im new to all of this and i just finished wiring my layout the other night. I installed my power cab and got my only trian working pretty quickly. (its a bachman DCC On board)

My problem today is that i can not get it to work at all. First, when i turned the system on my power cab red light was blinking as was the screen also. The screen would go blank while the red light blinked off. I remedy this by unplugging everything, then plug the power and the track wires back in

However the power cab does not recognize the decoder that it opporated two nights ago. Even when i try to go back through the programing process, it does not recognize anything is there.

Also using a volt meter, i dont seem to have any power at the tracks. So i used jumper wires from the cab and alligator clipped them directly to the track behind the trian. Still no recognition at all.

Please help


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

No power on the rails would be why your power cab does not recognize the decoder.
I know nothing about the power cab. If it has an external power supply, make sure
the power supply is working. If that is good, reread manual on how to reset the power cab unit. It is probably something simple, you just need to find it. If all else fails, call NCE Monday. They will help you.

Maybe you have a short somewhere and power cab is shutting down. Is the blinking red light for a short? Read the manual.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Yes i understand no power to the rails can cause this. But i have power to the back of the cab., my wires are firmly secured by the small screws holding them in place.. But power does not seem to travel further than that.

No the blinking light is not for a short and i have read the manual. And why did you respond if you know nothing about it?


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hoytguy said:


> And why did you respond if you know nothing about it?


He's trying to help you. There are certain things that are common with DCC systems.
Good luck.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks flyboy for explaining that. I am wondering why I responded now myself.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

mopac said:


> Thanks flyboy for explaining that. I am wondering why I responded now myself.


My apologies 

Another clue.. When i remove the power wires from the cab going to the track. I get 12volts with the meter. And my red light on the front is bright. As soon as i plug the wires back in, i get no volts out of the back and the red light dims by 50 % or so.

Imthis happens with my original wire set up that worked two nights ago, and with my temporary jumper wires. 


Again mopac. My apologies


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

No problem. I was just trying to help. I will go back to a possible short somewhere.
We had one guy on the forum, his short was a pair of pliers laying across the track.
If you find it, let us know what it was. LOL, we learn from your mistakes. Just kidding.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Hoytoy

Your test indicates that your DCC controller is
putting out the track voltage it should.

The fact that it reacts to reconnection to your
track indicates that there is a short circuit
of some sort after your wire is connected
to the track.

Remove all locos and cars from your layout.
Try again to apply power. If you get no short
indication and the controller lights are normal
the indication is that your loco or cars were
the culprits. (we can later go into testing those if
needed)

If, however, you still get the unusual lights
on the controller and no voltage, carefully inspect
every inch of the track. There could be some
metal debris across the rails causing a short.
Check closely any turnouts or crossings. 
Be sure to look under the rails.

If you don't see anything unusual disconnect
the tracks connected to the section where your
controller wires connect. If that restores the
normal voltage in that track section and the
controller lights are normal, reconnect the other
track sections one by one until you get the short
indication. Something is wrong beyond that point.
Take it one by one until you find the problem.

Don


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

When i disconnect the wires that power the track by removing them from track, i still have no power to them, however if i put my volt meter touching the two soder points on the bottom of the factory plate, where the cab plugs in, i have power.

Im not sure if that makes sense.

So as i understand this. I am removing any possible shorts because i only have two leads coming out of the back of the cab. They're not hooked to anything. Yet there is no power at the end. And when i did this test, my red light was very bright


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

If after looking at your track and if you see nothing. With no loco or cars on the track, turn your volt meter to ohms. One probe on one rail and other probe on the other rail.
There should be no reading. If your needle moves or the digital read out reads something
there definitely is a short in the track.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

mopac said:


> If after looking at your track and if you see nothing. With no loco or cars on the track, turn your volt meter to ohms. One probe on one rail and other probe on the other rail.
> There should be no reading. If your needle moves or the digital read out reads something
> there definitely is a short in the track.


Thanks. Ill try that at my next opportunity. Probably tomorrow night


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

if it matters, your multi meter should be set to AC volts when checking for power .. it's a DCC system , not DC


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

If you have power where track wires plug into the power cab but not when wires are plugged in there is no power at the end of wires one of your wires is broken.

I don't know if your wires are solid or stranded. Solid wire breaks pretty easily.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

As Mopac had written if you get no multimeter
reading on the DCC controller 'track' wires there
is some problem with them. You are describing a
short circuit condition with them.

You say when you disconnect the track wires from
the controller there is no short circuit indication and
you get an AC voltage reading. This seems to
indicate a problem with that pair of wires.

I am not familiar with your controller. How do
the wires to the track connect to it?

You might try a new pair of wires from controller
to track.

Don


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Were you able to get this working, if so, what was the culprit?


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Bwells said:


> Were you able to get this working, if so, what was the culprit?


No i havent been able to get back to it. Ive been working alot this week. I ahould be able to get to it this weekend. Thanks for checking up. I will report back


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

flyboy2610 said:


> He's trying to help you. There are certain things that are common with DCC systems.
> Good luck.


Generally, people who have been around the hobby for a while have a step by step troubleshooting checklist in their heads. You start at the beginning and go through it. Sometimes, this means you start with the gross and obvious.

As flyboy said, the basic concepts are common to all systems, even if the specifics of how to do it on a particular system are a little different.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Hoytguy said:


> When i disconnect the wires that power the track by removing them from track, i still have no power to them, however if i put my volt meter touching the two soder points on the bottom of the factory plate, where the cab plugs in, i have power.
> 
> Im not sure if that makes sense.
> 
> So as i understand this. I am removing any possible shorts because i only have two leads coming out of the back of the cab. They're not hooked to anything. Yet there is no power at the end. And when i did this test, my red light was very bright


Let me make sure that I understand what you are saying.

1. You get the 12-14 Volts AC when you probe the output
terminals on your DCC controller but with NO wires
attached. That would indicate your controller is
working as it should.

2. When you connect the track wires to the 
terminals, but leave them UNCONNECTED to the
track, you get NO Voltage reading at their 'ends'
which normally connect to the track and the
controller light dims.

If #2 above is correct, it would seem that the wires
you have been using from DCC controller to track are
defective. Try another pair of wires. Connect them to
the controller output and measure the voltage at the
other end. It should be 12-14 volts AC and your
controller light should be bright. If so, then try
connecting the new pair of wires to the track. If you
again get the right voltage across the two rails and
controller light stays bright, you have found the
problem. The original wires to the track are shorted.

Don


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## Rook (Nov 5, 2017)

Hoytguy said:


> When i disconnect the wires that power the track by removing them from track, i still have no power to them, however if i put my volt meter touching the two soder points on the bottom of the factory plate, where the cab plugs in, i have power.
> 
> Im not sure if that makes sense.
> 
> So as i understand this. I am removing any possible shorts because i only have two leads coming out of the back of the cab. They're not hooked to anything. Yet there is no power at the end. And when i did this test, my red light was very bright


Just got my first PowerCab and the only connection point is the RJ12 plug...no track terminals. Track connections should go thru the PowerCab Connection Panel. Via the supplied circled connector. I never could get a good connection trying to connect gator clips to that little circled connector. Screwed down a wire lead made it easier to measure the current and connect to the track.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

I don't mean to sound condescending, but are you using the right cable? NCE systems come with two cables, flat and coiled. Only the flat cable will deliver track power, the coiled cable is for use with a second throttle. Make sure you are using the flat cable between the controller and the power panel.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

flyboy2610 said:


> I don't mean to sound condescending, but are you using the right cable? NCE systems come with two cables, flat and coiled. Only the flat cable will deliver track power, the coiled cable is for use with a second throttle. Make sure you are using the flat cable between the controller and the power panel.


Yes im running the correct cable.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

DonR said:


> Let me make sure that I understand what you are saying.
> 
> 1. You get the 12-14 Volts AC when you probe the output
> terminals on your DCC controller but with NO wires
> ...


Yes your number 2 is correct. I will be running errands today and picking up new wire. When i return i will report my findings. 

Thanks again.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Ok guys. I just finished working on it. First thing i did was go over all my volatge measurements. Still were all the same. Conected brand new wire and i still had the same results. I then grabbed a second unused section of track and set it up with the brand new wires conected. I then had intermittent voltage. Long story short i realized that the small plug in adapter you hook your track wires to, wasnt making solid contact with the pins it is supposed to connect with. Ill have to call the manufacturer about that tomorrow.

Thanks for the guidance and again sorry for the attitude in the beginning


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hoytguy said:


> Thanks for the guidance and again sorry for the attitude in the beginning


Forgiven. :thumbsup:


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## Rook (Nov 5, 2017)

Surprising how much force that connector requires to seat completely. Im guessing it isn't designed to be plugged/unplugged more than is necessary. Another reason to connect a couple leads to it. Sounds like you are onto the solution.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Hoytguy: Do you have any news from NCE as to the plug? It seems that you have a short and not an intermittent open. Are the wires inside of the female aligned correctly? Please keep us updated.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Bwells said:


> Hoytguy: Do you have any news from NCE as to the plug? It seems that you have a short and not an intermittent open. Are the wires inside of the female aligned correctly? Please keep us updated.


No there wasn't any short. I didnt end up calling NCE. I ended up using a dremel and triming the plastic plug a little. Making it just a tiny bit shorter. That allowed it to seat in further and made contact with the pins. Everything works now. There are a couple areas of track that have lower voltage than it should so im working on that now.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Good to hear!


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Glad you got it sorted, these irregular problems can be a devil to find. Enjoy your PowerCab it’s a great system.


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## Hoytguy (Jan 7, 2018)

Cycleops said:


> Glad you got it sorted, these irregular problems can be a devil to find. Enjoy your PowerCab it’s a great system.


Thanks. Ive got all the low voltage issues sorted out now and the trains are running great. Now onto planning and building scenery


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