Hey everyone, my brand new Athearn SD70 ACe is acting strange. I just ran it on my DC track a few days ago and it was just fine. Today, I took it to Caboose Hobbies in Denver to get the horn sound changed, some momentum programmed in, and the sound turned up. As soon as it was on the test track there it was acting like the wheels were dirty or something (i.e: hunting, resetting the sound, making the lights flash, etc.). The guy there had asked me if the wheels had needed to be cleaned, but this engine is brand new and the wheels looked fine to me. When I got home, the sound was much louder, the horn sound was more correct, and the engine is acting like it has some momentum programmed in. However, when I placed the engine on the track, the startup alarm plays, then the bell as its supposed to, but all the sounds die immediately following. They come back on, but the primemover sounds go straight to high idle and the engine at this point after adding some more voltage may or may not move at all. The sounds continue to play and the engine just sits there. I read the DCC manual with it from soundtraxx and apparently the loco has a built in safety switch that will make all the lights strobe if the circuit board is being overloaded (this happens after I add the max voltage and the loco doesn't move.) I tried to hook the engine up to some cars while troubleshooting this, but it will barely move under its own weight! What the heck?! Has anyone else had any problems like this? BTW: my other engines, although they dont have sound work just fine!
-Richard Wongsing
-Richard Wongsing