Hi Everyone:
My model RR experience is next to zero, so please forgive me in advance if I am not being clear.
I have a MTH 4-6-4 Hudson PS 3.0 locomotive with attached tender in O gauge. It was purchased in about 2012 or 2013. It has always seemed very finicky with the z-1000 controller that I originally used it with, so I purchased a DCS Commander unit and used the Z-1000 transformer on it. I haven't used it all that much - once or twice a year on Lionel Fastrack layouts that we put on the floor (non-permanent). The commander unit seemed to make everything so much easier to run, and it worked just fine for one day.
Anyhow - the locomotive won't take any commands from the commander unit. The tender seems to be receiving commands just fine and plays all of the PS commands I send it. However, the locomotive has suddenly stopped working. It won't blow steam and the light does not turn on. Most importantly, the locomotive will not move when given power on the SMPH gauge. It will not work under the conventional power either. I have checked all the connections and everything seems OK.
When I do a track signal test, I received a 10 and a blank (0).... the second number reflects return power. This seems to indicate that there is no connection between the center rail and an outuer rail through the locomotive. Is this a wiring problem? If so, is there a way I could fix this myself? The nearest hobby store to me is 100 miles away. The only thing that I did before this happened was to wipe down the rails with a lightly damp paper towel with 91% rubbing alcohol. The tracks had a fair amount of black material on it, which I removed. Could this have damaged the track in some way?
Thanks for any advice!
My model RR experience is next to zero, so please forgive me in advance if I am not being clear.
I have a MTH 4-6-4 Hudson PS 3.0 locomotive with attached tender in O gauge. It was purchased in about 2012 or 2013. It has always seemed very finicky with the z-1000 controller that I originally used it with, so I purchased a DCS Commander unit and used the Z-1000 transformer on it. I haven't used it all that much - once or twice a year on Lionel Fastrack layouts that we put on the floor (non-permanent). The commander unit seemed to make everything so much easier to run, and it worked just fine for one day.
Anyhow - the locomotive won't take any commands from the commander unit. The tender seems to be receiving commands just fine and plays all of the PS commands I send it. However, the locomotive has suddenly stopped working. It won't blow steam and the light does not turn on. Most importantly, the locomotive will not move when given power on the SMPH gauge. It will not work under the conventional power either. I have checked all the connections and everything seems OK.
When I do a track signal test, I received a 10 and a blank (0).... the second number reflects return power. This seems to indicate that there is no connection between the center rail and an outuer rail through the locomotive. Is this a wiring problem? If so, is there a way I could fix this myself? The nearest hobby store to me is 100 miles away. The only thing that I did before this happened was to wipe down the rails with a lightly damp paper towel with 91% rubbing alcohol. The tracks had a fair amount of black material on it, which I removed. Could this have damaged the track in some way?
Thanks for any advice!