Steve-1322233 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Hi all i have in total 4 decoders all fitted with no problems and locos running faultlessly. Installing my 5th in an old Class 50 and then putting on the track I noted a puff of smoke from the decoder and before my eyes a wire that was soldered to one of the pins popped. i contacted Hornby who where helpful and asked me to send back. They said the loco circuit was to blame and as older model some 12 years old plus unable to help but sent me a new decoder. I tried to install on an other loco this time a modern model but the same results of the decoder smoking and the wire solder breaking. I contacted Hornby who in fairness asked me to send back the decoder and I await comments. I have 3 more chips awaiting installation but dare not until found out what if anything I am doing wrong! I run off Hornby H&M 7000 transformer only. When I install all other locos etc of off the track my other chipped locos running well in the mean time on the same track. Any ideas anyone please? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Do you have an elite or elink with a programming track? This is low powered and will not pop the decoder if there is a short circuit fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 @Steve-1322233 are you plugging in decoder whilst loco is on the rails & power supply connected? (hopefully not, but in case you are… it is almost never a good idea to connect up electronic circuits whilst powered - can easily result in sparks, shorts & damaged components.) Also since you mention wires, are these all 8pin HM7k decoders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Are the locos that are causing burn outs fitted with ringfield motors? Many of these need the left hand brush to be isolated from the the main body of the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Which colour wire failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-1322233 Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 No, Just the R7337 power bank install, then put on the track yes, HM7000 8 pin decoders, the wires / leads (whatever you want to call them) soldered onto to the pins as straight out of box all locomotives where non ring field ( Hornby class 50, HST from 2010 and a class 33 Heljan black wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Black wire is one of the track feeds. This is where a decoder test rig is invaluable. It will prove if the decoder is OK and that the loco is likely at fault. I would suggest there is a problem with the loco which will require you to logically diagnose with a multimeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 The best option then is to use a multimeter and with track powered off, check for a sort circuit between from the running rails to each wire. Also, check around the 8 pin socket to see if you have pushed a pin through any wires insulation underneath it, or to the loco chassis itself. Similarly, have a look around and under the Class 50's PCB to check for shorts. Whatever you do, unless you find and clear the fault don't put it back onto a powered track, a new decoder will just pop straight away Failing that its a send off for repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-1322233 Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Thanks …. Need to buy a multimeter I guess! You say that a new decoder would pop straight away if put onto the powered tack a with a fault, I have 4 locomotives that are running very happily on the track, I would have thought they would have blown if that was the case? thanks for all the advice everyone very much appreciated 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Gilbo means clearing a fault in the loco, not the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 52 minutes ago, Steve-1322233 said: .....thanks for all the advice everyone very much appreciated 👍 Your welcome. Yes, as @Fishmanoz said, I refer to the loco. You can pick up a multimeter cheap on that auction site, but if you're not familiar with this level of fault finding and repair, it may be less stressful for you to send the loco in for repair . Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-1322233 Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 So, I have had a friend with a multimeter check things out …. Advised no shorts etc and all ok so I took the plunge and installed 21 pin decoder in a HST just bought and inching to use. With much trepidation I installed and hey presto all was wonderful for the weekend, today I realised that I had hadn’t installed a power back that I had, plugged in and the decoder blew again. Thinking about it when I tried to install others that blew had THE SAME powerbank in ……. I am assuming this is the problem, you knowledgeable people out there could the powerbank do this ? see photo of the area the decoder blew cheers all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 (edited) Definitely something to discuss with Hornby (hm.customercare@hornby.com) - possibly if the loco’s PCB or decoder or power bank are miswired, faulty or incorrectly oriented - so that power is getting to the wrong pins, that might cause the issue. Edited February 26 by LTSR_NSE grr… autoINcorrect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daedalus Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Isn't it the speaker that is connected in his photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 1 hour ago, Daedalus said: Isn't it the speaker that is connected in his photo? Opps, your spot on it is, apologies! I'll get my post deleted, I cannot do it myself All done. R- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 3 hours ago, gilbo2 said: All done. R- Thank you. Just to clarify, the comment by Daedalus refers to my deleted photo, not the original one by Steve. (An example where we still need to be able to edit our own posts beyond 15 minutes to tidy things up at times) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB51 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Noted gilbo2. We are in discussion. R- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-1322233 Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 Blast ….. thought we had cracked it then! Got to lay on a bus replacement service until then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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