QSI Decoder headlight Issue

darkdaniel100

darkdaniel100

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Hey Folks..

I seem to have a strange issue with one of my QSI aristo decoders...

For some reason the decoder does not seem to control the Rear Headlamp (stays full brightness regardless as soon as decoder powers up).

I re-wired the loco to swap the front / rear headlight connectors on the QSI connector board and the issue persisted (this time front light stayed full brightness etc). I have tried a different decoder in the loco which solved the issue (proves it?s not a wiring problem on my side). I also put the iffy decoder in another loco and the same issue occurred with the headlight :(.

I have re-programed the decoder with a new default locomotive firmware. Following that I changed the CV values for the front/rear headlights to be off. The headlight still remained full brightness.

Anyone got any suggestions what to try next? (Lots of head scratching going on).
 
Sounds like a return for replacement to me.

You seem to have conclusively proved that there is a fault on the board.
 
I believe there were some issues with directional lighting control that were resolved by a firmware update, but I think Graham's correct and you may have a defective decoder. If it's still in warranty then return it.

If that's not an option, an alternative might be to buy a cheap small-scale decoder just to control the lights and use that alongside the QSI. I've wondered about doing something like that to control additional lighting functions in my QSI fitted locos (I don't think QSI have ever released the add-on lighting module that's mentioned in their instructions?) Make sure you get a decoder that can take the max DCC voltage you use!
 
There was a problem with this decoder when fitted into the Bachmann K27 but QSI issued a modified one specific to the loco which allegedly, solved the problem. I don't know if the same issue related to any other loco.
 
I just did a search for a problem I'm having with a QSI Magnum decoder and found your post.

I'm having EXACTLY the same problem so maybe there was a batch of bad decoders. Everything else is working great and I've gone through a couple of full resets and still have the same problem. I pulled another QSI decoder from an Aristo C-16 and that worked fine in the adapter card, so I'm pretty sure it is the decoder. I hope that QSI will exchange the decoder as it seems like a very basic function that should work.

I'll let you know what they say.

Peter.
 
You'll be very lucky to get an exchange, as the decoder is discontinued and folk are still patiently waiting for the new QSI Titan G hardware to appear (supposed to be very very soon now!)
 
QSI are coming in for quite a bit of stick. Apparently the Titan decoder has been promised "soon" for around 2yrs. I was told by their technical division it would be within "two weeks" - around three months ago!
The last I heard the beta versions had not come up to spec.
 
QSI told me to send my faulty decoder to them for repair / replacement which I have done ... Im not expecting anything back for awhile yet :/

*and to add - glad someone found my orginal post useful :)
 
I sent an note to QSI and have heard nothing back for three days.
So, I've ordered a TCS FL4 from Litchfield Station ($16) which is rated up to 24 volts at the track and can be reprogrammed to respond to F0. I'll need to decide whether to use advanced consisting or just set the two decoders to the same address and program them separately.
I'll update this thread if I ever get a response back from QSI.
Cheers, Peter.
 
Just recieved a response from QSI regarding my faulty decoder which I sent them.

"Your faulty decoder did arrive. As you may know, that decoder is undergoing an update and we will ship you a replacment when we recieve the new decoders. Their projected date was sometime in February."
 
Keep us posted. Maybe I will send the bad decoder back if they come up with a solution.

As it is, I've not heard back from QSI so have no idea where to return it to and if I need a authorization number to do so? I have to say their customer support seems weak. The yahoo QSI group seems to get little attention from QSI. I got an initial, erroneous response to my issue and nothing since despite my attempts to get some more attention. I guess I'm lucky there's a $16 solution and that all the other features are working well.

Peter.
 
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