# 3 Truck Shay Problem



## chaingun (Jan 4, 2008)

I just unpacked my new B-man 3 truck Shay. I lubed it up according to the DVD instructions. Put it on the test stand it ran fine. Came back in about an hour and tried it again on the stand and all it will do is light the flickering fire box light and the dome light flashes - no head light. Any body got a guess on this one? Tried it on the track also. No joy.
Thanks, Ted


----------



## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

I do not have this model, but I have other Bachman locomotives. Is it possible a switch has moved isolating the motor? My k-27 did this once. 

Alan


----------



## chaingun (Jan 4, 2008)

Looked it over and can only find 2 switches. They are located on the front of the boiler. One is for smoke and the other is a selector for NMRA STD. or Large Scale. Selecting NMRA Standard or Large Scale makes no difference. I think I will have to box this back up and send it back to B-man. I wonder how long it will be before I see it again? 
Thanks for the input. 
Ted


----------



## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Ummm.....let me see if I remember this correctly.....the 3-truck suffered from lousy cold-soldered connections that keep breaking right at the board. The "quasinami" sound system (in models so equipped) had problems as well....I'm sure I'm leaving a bunch of things out....oh well, that should be good for starters... I'd check the soldered connections for a break.


----------



## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

I just completed converting a 3 truck to Airwire/P5 and when i got into the coal tender to take out the the board I found that the comment about the wires breaking at the board was dead on. The broke off faster than I could identify and tag them. Recommend stripping out all the Bachmann wiring and start over. They also used masking tape to "insulate" the wire joins on the rear light.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Flashing lights usually mean track voltage is too high, 21 volts is about where it shuts off and blinks. The quasinami freaks out at this voltage and above. 

Does the "dome light" flash at all voltages? 

Regards, Greg


----------



## chaingun (Jan 4, 2008)

I'll start checking the wiring. 
Greg, Yes the cab light blinks as soon as there is power to it. I don't think I over volted it but I have done stranger things. Is there some way to reset the quasinami? 

Thanks, Ted


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, that sucks, was hoping it was as simple as overvoltage. 

I think resetting the Quasinami requires a DCC system.... That would be my next step. 

The good news is (I hope) that the blinking is coming from the DCC decoder, which is "alive enough" to blink the light. 

I have not looked if there is a way to do a decoder reset from DC... Do you have a manual for the decoder? 

Regards, Greg


----------



## chaingun (Jan 4, 2008)

Greg 
I checked the user guide on the CD and it lists fault codes. The problem is it says head & tail lights will blink X number of times to indicate the fault code. All I have is the cab light blinking and I can detect no pattern. 
This one looks like a big maybe - so I am still checking for a lose or shorted wire. 
Error 11 - Motor Connection Fault 
This error indicates a faulty motor connection has been detected and 
typically occurs when the motor lead is shorted to a track pickup wire. 
The motor will not respond until the error is corrected. 
Thanks, Ted


----------

