Digitrax DH decoders


meanjean

meanjean

Member
While I was gone my son tried to run some trains, he is 8. The loco I am having issues with worked fine before this incident. Now when I try and use the loco it wont move. The rear light comes on in reverse nothing in forward.
What do I do? Can I reset the decoder somehow? I have no idea what he did nor does he. This is not the norm and he doesnt run trains with out me, so I thought. The decoder is a DH123
:mad::confused:


UPDATE:
I reset CV8 to 009. and the loco runs fine. I have no front lights. The rear works and I can turn it on and off. I checked the lights and they are not blown. So now what? I have not touched the factory wiring simply pluged the decoder in. It worked before my kid played with it.
 
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EDIT
NVM, disregard that, i confused with MRC decoder.
 
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Chad, DJ is correct, the reset with a Digitrax decoder is CV 8=8. If you really entered 9, you probably accomplished a partial reset. Once you have a full reset, the headlight should come on in the direction of travel. I don't know what your son did either but, if he randomly pressed the right sequence of buttons, he could have reprogrammed a CV while the engine was on the main and that's what caused the problem. I wish DCC command stations came with a kid proof mode, where only the throttle and function buttons would work.
 
Reset or partial reset

After my similar experience (thread: Intermountain F7B won't move) I am left wondering if a reset can take place and yet not hit all variables correctly.

As Jim says if you did CV8 = 9 perhaps it did a partial although I am betting on a typo and you really did CV8 = 8 ( correct for Digitrak) and it still did a partial for some reason.

I might be all wet but I am suspicous as well.

,,, ken
 
CV8 to 9 will do a full reset, but leave any speed tables intact. It's possible the front headlight circuit in the decoder is bad, I have one in N scale that has that issue.
 
I reset CV 008 to 08 then 09. Neither worked for the front headlight. The rear works fine but nothing on the front. Does Digitrax warranty their decoders regardless of age or receipt?
 
Yes, Digitrax will replace any defective decoder for $10 plus shipping. However, you might want to call digitrax first and run through the problem with them to make sure you don't have a problem with how the light is wired. If you used the same clips that were on the light board to attach the light wires, the problem may be in the light board and not the decoder. I assume you've already tested the front bulb independently from the decoder.
 
CJ, it's officially $17 for out of warranty repair work. If it's less than a year old, they'll replace it for free. One of the reasons I say to call Digitrax tech support is that the techs have authorization to change the price, depending on what they think is wrong with the decoder. If it's obviously defective through no fault of the customer, they'll usually send a free decoder. Even for ones I've smoked, a little pleading will usually get you a flat $10 charge, as long it wasn't due to the fact you physically damaged the decoder or completely failed to follow instructions. I've had to send four back. One was under warranty and was replaced with no charge. Another one was about 15 months old and just quit working for no apparent reason. The tech guy thought it was a hardware failure that shouldn't have happened and I got a new one for free. I smoked one through stupid errors on my part and had to pay the full $17. I smoked another one but I pointed out to the tech where the installation instructions were at least unclear, if not wrong. I got a new one for $10. They have been a good bunch to work with.
 
Jim;

I've never had to partake of their warranty plan. It's not that I've not smoked decoders before (only 2), its just until recently a friend of mine and I could get the DH123 from a dealer friend for $14 dollars apiece! It was just cheaper to do it that way. The price allowed me to build up my "supply" of digitrax and other brands, to the point I have replacement decoders for every one of my engines if need be.
 
CJ, the replacement price used to be a good deal a couple of years ago, when decoders were selling for about $35-$40. That's when I was regularly smoking decoders. :) As you say, the street price for basic decoders is so low now that it really doesn't pay to send them back any longer. I have a bunch of them stockpiled as well and, although I usually don't smoke decoders now, they are always available when I get a new engine. The nice thing about Digitrax is that they'll replace any decoder, even the high end models, for $17, so it's still a good deal if something goes wrong with one of the SFX line.
 
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