Adamml5 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hi,Im sure this has come up before but..I have been using my layout on and off today but the last time I turned it on my ELink started with a flashing green light and no power to the track. The ELink is about a year old I think I cant remember when I bought it.I have tried unpluging the power for 10 or so seconds, I have tried removing the USB and then plugging in the power, I have tried loading RM to see if that would sort it and at the minute I have just left it all plugged in and the USB keeps connecting and disconnecting to the PC. I think I know what people will say but just wanted to be sure, is the Elink dead?If it is so be it but Im not happy with it not being all that old. Thanks Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Have you tried disconnecting the elink from the track? It may be a short circuit on the track that is causing the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Have you tried disconnecting the elink from the track? It may be a short circuit on the track that is causing the problem. Yeh tried that too, just noticed when I turned the power off the light kept flashing for about 5 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Caesar Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 A flashing green light usually means a dead eLink although on one occasion I did manage to get one working again by installing a previous version of its firmware.The latest firmware, as it was already installed, would not take. I gambled on a previous version and it worked second time round. The unit now has the latest firmware and still, I believe (as it was a unit belonging to a friend's friend), is currently working very well.You could try this as there is nothing to lose. If it is faulty the firmware will not install anyway. To be cautious you maybe should check all connections and other usual fault finding missions before the firmware test and then contacting Hornby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Contact HRMS by email from the Help window of RM, they will diagnose it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Caesar Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Thanks Fishy... I meant to add that... I must be getting tired - well, it IS 04.27 here in the UK.... ... even though I posted the original at 8pm!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Thanks for the advice, I will try the firmware but it's only connects to the Pc for a few seconds so that may not work. don't think HRMS will be able to help again because the Elink will not connect to the Pc long enough and when loading RM it just acts as if you haven’t got one connected at all. I think I'm also going to give the track a good hoover just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynax Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 you could try using a different power supply if you have one, just make sure that the voltage is the same but no more than a 4 amp rating, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Tried a different power supply still no good. Looks like a new one then, just hope if it is a issue with the track it doesn't do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Caesar Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 @AdammI5If you go down the line suggested by dynax above you may wish to check out my site again as there is a very good explanation of what power supplies you can choose to do this job for you with all the correct ampages and wattages plus polarity of the connector to the eLink unit. You do NOT need the Hornby 4amp supply and it is very expensive at £35 anyway. Take a look at the site. However, having said that, you need to sort the issue of the connection to the web first. This in turn may correct or go some way to help correcting the fault with the eLink unit. You don't need to buy a 4 amp PSU to fix these as yet. Once sorted you could then think of the newer PSU when the eLink unit is confrirmed as dead or irrepairable and get one that is working. When attempting to get the eLink to work properly by removing cable connections to the track etc you say there is no fix happening. Have you tried the following...?Do this in order as below...Remove ALL cables from the eLink completely... this leaves the eLink box with no attachments at all.Plug the mains adaptor into a wall outlet with the on/off switch OFF.Then plug the connector into the eLink itself, switch on the power and leave for a small amount of time so it 'settles'... 30 seconds or so.Turn off the outlet switch. Pull the plug from your wall outlet. Release the mains connector from the eLink unit.Wait about 30 seconds. Now push the connector back into the eLink unit and nothing else.Wait about 30 seconds again. Pull the connector back OUT of the unit and wait just about ten seconds or so this time.Plug the connector back into the eLink unit.Plug the adaptor back into the wall outlout and switch on. What is the result? By doing the above you are releasing any residual power that may be still inside the unit at chipset level. If this fails to clear it up then you may well have a dodgy unit after all so HRMS may be a next step. Having said that you should consider what may be stopping your net connection. Take a look at my site (link at the top of this RailMaster forum (RailMaster Help Site)) and there is plenty information on there that will help you diagnose what may be wrong or at least help you think about something that may be stopping the connection to the web.If you are not getting a connection to the net then there is a possibility that other external connections are broken too by the same fault, including USB. Check the antivirus page I have on site and go through that. Remember Norton's and McAfee can and will break connections to the eLink unit aand the outside world. Whatever you do you need to isolate the problem and not worry about the track at this stage. Let us know how you get on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 @AugustusCaesar Thank you for the advice, I will give it a couple more go's.I am already using Hornbys 4amp psu and did try the original 1amp too.I'll give your site a look over too, I have been on there before and it looks fantastic. edit. Forgot to say the only reason I said about an issue with HRMS diagnosing a problem is because the Elink will not connect to the Pc, my pc and RM connect to the Web fine.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynax Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 it's a longshot but have you tried another usb cable, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Caesar Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 @ AdammI5No problem re the advice Adam... and, of course, thank you very much re the compliments of the site. That is much appreciated. It is good to know it is being used and utilised.If, as you say, the problem lies with the eLink unit alone not connecting to the PC and you having web access as normal you could, as dynax suggests, try another USB cable. However, it is a rare factor for a USB cable to be faulty if it has just stood alone for a while and not been 'snapped' or twisted about etc. If you have one of those with the capacitor attached to either end of it then do remove it and replace with one that has simply a USB plug at each end. The former are for printers and scanners usually.If you definitely getting just a flashing green light on the eLink unit even when the unit is not attached to anything then strikes at it being faulty. Until you try the other stuff we can't take it muh further. So we await your trials and subsequent results... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 I have a day off work on Wednesday so I will be having a day of testing I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamml5 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Well after a day of testing everything that has been suggested and looking on AugustusCaesar's site and searching this forum I have been unable to get the Elink to stop flashing, the only thing that I haven't done is email HRMS purely due to the fact that the Elink will not connect to my pc or my laptop. I have ordered a new one which should be here by the weekend so I'm now just hoping that there is not a issue with my track, USB cable, pc or psu that will cause the new one to do the same. Finger crossed. Thank you to everyone for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Even if the eLink will not connect you should still be able to use the rm reporting feature, else email them direct, address somewhere in the m forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 If I can repeat what I said last Sunday, contact HRMS via RM. If you can't as suggested above, email support@rail-master.com, don't leave out the hyphen. For a start they will be able to diagnose it for you and, if faulty, be able to report same to Hornby to determine if you have a warranty claim. I would certainly not not be ordering another until all of that dome and finalised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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