I think i fried a decoder.

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Littlefoot14

Littlefoot14

Active Member
Hey guys lookin for some experts opinion on this one.

Ive got a Proto 1k RSC-2 thats been giving me trouble for awhile now. At first i thought it was just that the worm gear game loose of the drive. Turns out its not. Im not sure who wired the locomotive for DCC. It has a Digitrax DH123 decoder in it. I took the shell off and i noticed a few holes in the plastic wrapping around the decoder. They look like they were literally melted there. Theres a metal thing almost centered underneath the holes. Theres also a tear on the backside. Its very different from the holes though, the tear is jagged, the holes are very uniform around the edges. Like i said it looks like someone melted it.

It ran when i bought it.

So what do you guys think? I fried the decoder?
 
If there's little holes and they look melted I'd say yup you let the smoke out.
You need the smoke to stay in the wires to run things, once it's out it's toast.
Luckily DH123's are cheap and easily replaced.
 


Sounds like it overheated for sure. Might have a short under the hood. Before replacing the decoder I'd give everything a once over and make sure the original job was done right. post pics if you have any questions along the way.
 
If it means anything to you guys i had my dad take a look at it. Hes been an electrician for years and he seemed to think everything was fine with it. Ill get a shot of where it connects to the board tommorow.
 
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