BagEndJct Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 This is one of my favourite locos as it has been running so well, though I know that control and sounds are rather limited compared to modern, full priced, DCC decoders.I was having a running session yesterday and was about to put everything to bed when suddenly, King George I stopped. Everything else was working fine and there were no traumas such as derailments, shorts or power surges (which we can get here in Spain).I transferred it to the programming track (Railmaster with eLink), depowering everything as usual when I rail or re-rail anything. Sadly, all the values were returned as 255 with the error message about having difficulty reading the decoder. I cleaned the wheels and the track. Same result. I tried writing value 8 to CV 8, still no joy.Any thoughts on whether I might be able to recover this beloved model, please? Thank you,John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Possibly a simple wire off somewhere and hopefully not a dead decoder.I would take it apart and look for the obvious, using a meter if necessary. Maybe unplug the decoder and fit a blanking plug to check for life on DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BagEndJct Posted May 14, 2021 Author Share Posted May 14, 2021 Thanks Rob. I'll see how I get on. Not great at taking locos apart, historically! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Just take the bodies off. No need to fully dismantle the mechanics of it. Presuming the decoder and speaker are in the tender start there. If it all looks good then go on to the loco.If the decoder is in the tender and it is OK then you should be able to run basic steam sound and any spot sounds, but it needs the motor in circuit for the chuffs to work when you throttle up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Generally when a TTS expires it goes short circuit and often smokes. So it sounds like as 96RAF says, a wire dropped off or a pickup not working. This may seem a funny comment, but it has not been very hot lately, so it probably hasn't died (they seem to die more frequently in hot weather).The only other thing that kills them is if the capacitor across the motor goes short circuit, which has happened to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BagEndJct Posted May 15, 2021 Author Share Posted May 15, 2021 I'm going to take it apart and have a look next week. Thanks for the tips. It's certainly heating up here in Spain at the moment!I could always fit another TTS kit - though the King version does not seem to be available apart from one up for auction on eBay which will probably sell for a premium. I see various other steam TTS kits available elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 If pulling the tops off unplug the decoder and fit a blanking plug or jumpers across the pairs of end pins to see if it runs on DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BagEndJct Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 I'm resurrecting this as someone has kindly brought me out a new King TTS Decoder as I'm pretty sure the chip has blown.Now I have, to me, the daunting task of taking the tender to bits, removing the old decoder (hopefully I can just plug in the speaker already fitted to the new decoder) and installing the new one, plugging in the old speaker.I am happy to admit that, whenever I have tried to disassemble anything, then things go disastrously wrong and I need all the help I can get.I see from the King George I instruction sheet that the tender cover is "easily" (ha ha) removed by removing 2 screws and moving the cover back and down. I do think I should disconnect it from the loco first and have purchase a plug puller for this very purpose.If anyone can give me any hints and tips, I would be extremely grateful. 'Good luck' wishes also gratefully received!John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Just be aware that TTS speakers are directly wired [soldered] at both ends [speaker and decoder ends] thus there is no 'plug n socket' arrangement that will easily allow swapping speaker from one decoder to another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Before you fit the new one check all the pins of the socket with a multimeter, just in case there is a fault with the loco that is blowing them up. Check especially that pins 1 and 5 are not connected together (you will get a low resistance value, but if it reads 1 ohm or less then you have issues). Check also that pins 1 and 5 don't have short circuits to pins 4 and 8 ( make sure any header in the socket is removed when you do this). Usually when mine die there is normally a burning smell. The other thing to check is the 4 pin socket on the front of the tender, the PCB has very fine copper tracks, I have had a couple where the track has actually broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 By ‘plug in the speaker’ I am assuming you mean simply positioning it into the tender mounting.As Chris says the speakers are soldered to the decoder so its out with the old and in with the new.The task will be fairly obvious once you get the lid off, but you will likely have to unscrew the tender weight and possibly the decoder 8-pin socket to extract the decoder and speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BagEndJct Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 OK. Thanks very much for the advice. Not as easy as I'd hope for! I will see how I get on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 What might be a good idea before you start ripping bits apart, just in case a wire is not connecting properly. Open up the tender, remove the DCC header from the socket and let it hang out the way making sure it doesn't touch anything. Now get yoursekf a DC header and plug it in. Now check that it works on DC. If it doesn't then you have an issue with wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted August 14, 2021 Share Posted August 14, 2021 Mods, this is at least a 2nd DCC topic this morning with posts in the wrong order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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