Dead Athearn Genesis GP38-2


R

rjstill

New Member
I think I killed my loco! I took the front truck apart to lubricate axles & gears. I was interrupted and didn't get back to it for 3-4 weeks. When I put it back together I mistakenly reversed the side frames on the truck (left & right power to decoder reversed). It ran a bit but in FWD it ran in reverse & vice versa but then it just died after about 15-20 seconds. I corrected my mistake but now it doesn't do anything. Did I cook the decoder or something else? Help!

Thanks
Ron
 
If you reverse the polarity of the power feeders from one truck, its possible that you shorted out the decoder.

Hope I'm wrong.

Greg
 
I don't think the track polarity is an issue with the loco, otherwise they would warn you to put the loco on the track facing in a specific direction.
I would try a CV8=8 reset. Hit it a few times to make sure it resets then try running it in address 3. If it runs, reprogram your special functions to it and have fun.
 
Connecting the track wires backwards would be no different than the engine derailing, and the right wheels contacting the left rail, so I don't think that is your problem. I have noticed with DCC, sometimes settings can get scrambled during a short circuit event.
 
Terry:

I semi-agree with your thoughts on derailments with DCC, but with a DCC derailment the booster's circuit breaker should open immediately and avoid most problems. The difference being is that the locomotive ran for a while with the power being fed with two different polarities into the decoder.

I had several derailments cause brain damage to decoders and they had to be reset to factory settings and then reprogrammed or at least the address reset.

If it is a Digitrax decoder, it has a no fault, one year warranty.

Just some thoughts on the subject.

I hope for the best.

Greg
 
Which decoder do you have? Does it have a capacitor? I ran into something similar recently with a loksound decoder I put a capacitor into. Ran fine until I tried to change the loco address. Thought I cooked it. Took out the capacitor, checked all the wiring and connections and she works fine now.
 
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