hornby elite loco programming issues

[briantaylor501]

having alot off grief programming locos from the elite , the firmware is up to date , track is clean , the elite unit is clean and the locos are clean any ideas what could be causing it also the test track is corrcetly joined and sparkling clean so covers most off the basic issues any ideas why the locos are not programming ??? also i do use the programming sockets and the wires are correct!!!

[WilliamDavid]

I recently posted a similar problem with mine.

I sent it to Hornby for repair and they returned it as not economical to repair??

It works fine in the controlling function, but is erratic in the programming, whether standalone or with railmaster.

If it was bust, wouldn't it not work at all?

Do you sometimes get when asking for the address, say, get xxx displayed?

[WilliamDavid]

Good start, duplicate post.

[Fishmanoz]

Have you tried programming with only your programming track connected, not the layout?

[mjb1961]

😆Hi ,having had an elite myself and had the same problem I can tell you that this is a bit of a common fault with the elite ,I think the problem is due to the programming outputs being of LOW VOLTAGE ,a lot lower voltatage than the track outputs ,I tried everything to get it to program ,it even fried one of the decoders so I got rid of it ,i now use a very well recomended American dcc controller ,I would recommend it to you as well ! 😆 😆 😆

[Bulleidboy]

Try resting your hand on the top of the loco during programming - it just adds a little pressure to the wheels onto the track - I have found it works. BB

[Fishmanoz]

This being a Hornby forum, we should not be recommending non-Hornby products to replace a Hornby one.  This is especially true of the Elite which has wide acceptance and proven reliability as as a fully functional DCC controller.

 

On the problem itself, may I start by correcting mjb's assertion on low voltage. Programming outputs are designed as low power rather than "low voltage" in order to avoid the possibility of causing faults during operation.  Therefore they are unlikely to cause fried chips unless there is an underlying problem of some sort, so mint that should be able to be sorted by contacting HCC, not just throwing the Elite away.

 

Then because they are low power, programming outputs are more sensitive to stray interference and dirty track or wheels thsn track outputs.  So avoid interference by not having the track connected at the same time as you are programming, make sure the loco wheels are clean, pickups tensioned to the wheel backs, programming track is clean, and also try the gentle pressure suggested by BB.

 

If you do all of this and still can't program, you may have a faulty Elite.  Again, contact HCC, a phone call being much cheaper than throwing away an otherwise perfectly good controller and buying another.