Athearn DCC Locomotive Stalls!!!


Greg@mnrr

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Help...I have a relatively new Athearn Genesis locomotive with DCC and Sound. The problem occurring is that the locomotive will stall while running and not move. Or, I have parked the locomotive on a siding and when power is applied, it will not move.

I checked the wheels' gauge, the wheels are clean, track clean and I checked the continuity between all wheels and everything looks fine. I'm at a lost. Other locomotives run fine where this locomotive decides to stall. Could it be the decoder or loose wire?

Thanks.

Greg
 
That sounds a bit like the Atlas RS-1 I have. It would go into the start up sequence and quit. After screwing around with it for a while, we found that it was only picking up on the rear truck. One of the leads to the front truck was the culprit. May want to check out this possibility.
 
One of my recent Athearn SD40's W/sound had a wire that had broken off a truck pickup. Wasn't stopping it like yours, until the other truck hit a dead spot on the club's track. Maybe you have one broken on both trucks. My observation on Athearn's is this is becoming common. I've resoldered a few now while having them apart.
 
wrigth2626:

The locomotive just stalls with no sound or lights. Other DCC locomotives run perfectly over the same track.

Greg
 
That sounds like that broken connection on one truck/dead spot scenario. With your other locos the dead spot doesn't register because there's always a functional pickup truck in contact with live track. You wouldn't realise there was a dead spot. Use a continuity tester or a simple light bulb tester on your track to find it and check for that broken wire in your loco.
 
tootnkumin:

Good suggestion...the track is a one piece section of flex-track. Its clean, level and has been checked for power along its entire length.

Thanks.

Greg
 
Check the loco for a twisted truck or even a twisted chassis. A flat piece of glass (top of a kitchen scale if it has one) or a stone kitchen bench. Have a look to see if one corner wheel is sitting up, or you can rock the engine diagonally. Slide a thin sheet of paper under the corner wheels of each truck to detect anywhere it will pass under. Check your track for dips/bumps, especially at joins. Joins at straights to turnouts seem to be particularly prone to this.
 
I would take it by one end and smash it on the floor a few times then put it back on the track. If it runs after that, its a miracle.
 
The contact area between the wheels and however current gets from the wheels to the pickups is probably dirty or contaminated. Remove the wheels/axles, and clean the contact areas of the wheels, and however current is passed beyon them. The usual problem is dirt or oil preventing current transfer.
I've noticed this with several F units.
 
how old is the locomotive? check the axle gears to make sure they are not cracked and letting the wheels touch or the brass pickup move around. you do not have to take the truck apart, just hold one wheel and turn the other on the same axle. if one is still and the other turns the axle gear is broken. had one in the shop this week that was doing that, an athearn blue box. also on a good piece of track for that engine pick up one end and then the other to see if one truck is not powered. also try it side to side. sounds harder than it is, but you almost just do a twist motion with the loco. hold the right front wheels to the rail while you lift the left side up just enough to lose contact, and then do the reverse on the back side at the same time.

also does it do it with the shell off of it? i guess i would try that first. if you have a wire pinched and bare somewhere, even slightly it may cause just enough of a short for the decoder itself to shut off. even just for a second. the decoders usually have their own short detection and will shut off themselves. dont rely on that, eventually the decoder will stop working if the short is enough to cook it. and no, it usually will not turn off your dcc system if that is the case. the decoder will usually isolate the short from the track and shut off without the dcc system knowing.

dont remember what decoder you say it has, but sometimes the soundtraxx decoder will flash the lights to tell you if it senses a problem, and sometimes it wont, so it is unreliable as well.

try it with the shell off if it is easy to remove. know it is alot, but trying to help.
 
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