# Broadway Limited Paragon 3 Rolling Thunder Steam Locomotive NEC DCC issues



## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

I bought this as the most money I have ever spent on an engine , we recently moved so it sat in the box for 2 years. I recently set double oval up in the basement hooked it up to my NEC power cab and it ran great. For a while. On one of its loops it had trouble negotiating a switch , the engine went forward and the but coal car tried to turn. This shorted the track and everything stopped. After that I could not get the engine to run again. I have tried following the NEC manual and reprograming it, to no avail. I found a function to reset the Decoder to factory settings that didi not work either. Occassionaly during my attempts i get a code that says cannot read CV. Though I have been modeling for years i am fairly new to DCC and also new to the NEC power cab. Right no the engine is a brick. I cannot get it to do anything.

Any help?

If I am in the wrong group please redirect ne.
Many Thanks; Happy 4th.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

This may help but I do not know. Worth a try tho.
The Paragon 3 sound system can be reset to the factory default by setting CV8 to a value of 8. If this cannot be accomplished, the system can be manually reset by holding down the tiny reset button on the sound circuit board while turning on track power. 
I know you said you reset using the nce system but sometimes the manual way is better. this is from page 11 from:
https://www.broadway-limited.com/support/manuals/Paragon 3 Steam manual.pdf


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

I will try changing CV 8 and see what happens. Is the sound circuit board in the coal car. I have nor opened it yet.
Thanks


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

That I do not know. I do not own one but I knew where the manuals are. If you check here they give a lot of info on them.








Broadway Limited Imports: The Cutting Edge Leader in Sound Equipped Model Trains


The industry leader in premium sound-equipped HO & N scale Model Trains. Featuring our exclusive Paragon2 Sound and Control system which operates in both DC and DCC. Limited run production quantities. Preordering is highly recommended.



www.broadway-limited.com




I also see on page 2 of the manual about connecting the loco to the tender. That may be loose and causing problems. Hopefully someone that has one comes along so we know where the board is.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Paragon decoders use CV 8 to reset the decoder with a value of 8. Use “programming on the main” mode, or what is also called “Ops Mode”. The decoder is in the tender, so the locomotive isn’t necessary.


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

Thanks mesenteria , I will give it a go and let you know


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

Set CV8 to "8" and start over. This is the standard way to "reset" a decoder.
BLI may do it other ways. I don't have any BLI locos, so I'm only guessing.

It's -possible- that something happened when the tender derailed that might have damaged the decoder (electrical short, etc.). If that's the case the only option is to replace it yourself or send it back to BLI and have them do it. But again, that's only one possibility.


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

*Broadway Limited Paragon 3 Rolling Thunder Steam Locomotive NEC DCC issues*

More news - The controller(NCE) is now talking to the locomotive because when I try to change the CV code it jumps about 1 1/16 of an inch. Buy the reset does not seem to work. I go into program mode reset the long address just so there is not something weird happening , I then go to program CV. It asks what CV I put in the number 8. It comes back with a value of 038, I key in an 8 which on the screen over writes the 038 and push enter and nothing happens accept that tiny jump. I have tried it on the program track and program on the main. It only seems to work while programming on the main. I am stuck again. I tried getting to the decoder which I am lead to believe is in the coal tender , but after removing 4 screws and still being secure it did not popping open I gave up not wanting to pry anything. Any ideas would be appreciated.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

When you reset cv-8 to 8 do you remove power from the loco?? If not then it may not work. Some times you have to "Reset" the decoders like a computer to update the settings. All you do is pick up the tender off the track or unplug the NCE for a moment then restart.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

It seems like your system is inquiring as to what value you wish to assign to CV29. There are calculators online that help you with that. A value of 38 is common. It’s necessary if you want a long address, standard lighting, and direction for forward when travelling.
See if the loco responds to a long address after cycling power to the rails since it appears to have accepted 38.


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

I'm gonna draw flak for posting this, but...

... get a Roco z21 dcc setup, or a Digikeijs DR5000 (used with Roco app).
Programming CV's becomes *so easy,* you'll say to yourself _"why would I want to do it any other way...?"_


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

Thanks for all the input , I have tried to open the coal tender to get at the circuit board without much success , I will try stopping the power after changing CV 8 fro 38 to 8 and see if it makes a difference.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

What is the model of the loco?? I find sometimes if I do a google search for what I am trying to do it comes up with a page for it or a video of how to do it. Sometimes it takes a bit of looking thru everything tho.


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

I wrote to the manufacturer and here is his response:

Hello Robert,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with that engine, we will be happy
to assist you.

The next thing to try there (and you can do this on the main) is a
hardware reset.

A video for this procedure can be found here under "Hardware Reset For
Paragon2 Locomotives" (although it is for a Paragon2 the procedure is
the same (except you will not hear the "CH-Ching" sound until the reset
is done and then powered is removed/re-applied to the tender):
Broadway Limited Imports: The Cutting Edge Leader in Sound Equipped Model Trains

This can be done as follows:

Remove the tender shell:
Lift the circular hatch on the tender and lift the deck off to expose
the decoder.
The deck on the tender can be difficult to remove after you get the
small Philips head screw out, so I use an angled metal pick to grab the
inside edge of the circle that the screw was in and lift up.

Locate the small silver box between the screw holes at the front of the
decoder, or opposite the large silver capacitor. This is the hardware
reset switch (See attached photo).

Place the loco on an unpowered track.
Press down, and hold the momentary button on the reset switch - do not
release it yet.
Turn on the track power, select and throttle up address 3 (just throttle
up if you are running in DC).
You will hear an acknowledgment the reset took place when you remove
power and then power up again.
Release the reset button.

After a successful reset, your engine will be on address 3 and all
settings will be at factory default.

Please let us know if this works for you or not and we'll go from there.

Thank you.
I did these things and the engine came back to life - Horn Sound , bell smoke but it does not move , still working with them. I posted this hoping it would help someone else if they read it. Thanks Forum.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

If you could come back when they sort it out. Just to let everyone know what was wrong and what was done to fix it. It may help someone later on.
Thanks.


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Not sure where it's at at this point. But I just wanted to add: When the the engine and tender went two different ways at the switch maybe it tore out a wire in/at the plugs between the two...


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

J.Albert1949 said:


> I'm gonna draw flak for posting this, but...
> 
> ... get a Roco z21 dcc setup, or a Digikeijs DR5000 (used with Roco app).
> Programming CV's becomes *so easy,* you'll say to yourself _"why would I want to do it any other way...?"_


You're right !! Here's some flack: He already has an excellent throttle; an NCE PowerCab.. Because you fell into Roco and thus came to understanding it it made it seem superior to the others, when in fact all gadgets have pluses and minuses and are subject to failures and design flaws. 
So, When your Roco gives you trouble get an NCE..and you'll say to yourself "why would I want to do it any other way...?"


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

To just to keep everyone up to date I have sent it back to Broadway Limited for Repairs. after resetting the decoder everything worked but the engine would not move. They said it might me the driver chip ?? I am really amazed that on such an expensive model with such sophisticated circuitry there there is not something in there to protect the electronics from occasional shorts which I assume sooner or later happens to everyone. Am I wrong?


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

Nope you are not wrong they should have. Like a fused link or even a small fuse. As small as they make stuff now-a-days they should not have any problems doing that. Why they do not who knows. Money??


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Unfortunately a fuse would be too slow to protect the electronics, instead its the electronics that become the fuse.


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## bob1957ja (Jul 12, 2015)

There nees to be some way to protect very expensive models from this fate


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## railandsail (Jan 28, 2009)

What became of this problem?


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Lemonhawk,

Couldn't some sort of Zener diode or something be helpful to these circuits ?


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

While a Zener would limit a voltage spike, its a current short that probably took out the driver or a way too narrow trace. In this case I think Teltale may have a reasonable explanation in that it may be something shorted in the connector.


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## railandsail (Jan 28, 2009)

Are these paragon 3 decoders available as an individual purchase,...foe someone interested in adding 'rolling thunder' to their locomotive?


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

railandsail said:


> Are these paragon 3 decoders available as an individual purchase,...foe someone interested in adding 'rolling thunder' to their locomotive?


I have a couple of there loco's I have asked them about that and no they do not sell just the decoder. You may get lucky and find a "Used" one. (I have only seen one on ebay)


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## Raider (Mar 14, 2021)

bob1957ja said:


> I will try changing CV 8 and see what happens. Is the sound circuit board in the coal car. I have nor opened it yet.
> Thanks


I had the same issue and corrected it by opening the tender and following the procedure to press the button on the sound circuit board while restoring power. The reset cleared all my problems.


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