Fried LokSound Decoder

[cnw780]

I was attempting to perform jdcolombo's speaker swap surgery on my IM SD40-2 and during testing I managed to short the speaker lead against the frame and now my $100 sound decoder is a $100 motor decoder 

So I was wondering what my options are.  Do I need to buy a new decoder or is this something that may be fixed by ESU, hopefully cheaper than a new decoder?  The warranty page at ESU seems to say I need to contact IM but that doesn't make sense to me because the decoder was fine until I messed with it.  I don't think IM would do much other than sell me a new decoder at cost.

Tim

[Cajonpassfan]

Yeahhhhh, I did the exactly same (stupid) thing😜 Dang!
Live and learn, I’d say. And my now-non sound decoder runs HOT, too...
Time to count my losses, I would think...$86 down the drain..😬
Otto K.

[reinhardtjh]

Try emailing Matt Herman at ESU USA and see what he says.

ESU LLC
1304 Jordan Ave
MONTOURSVILLE, PA 17754

Telephone: +1 (570) 980-1980
Fax: +1 (866) 591-6440
matthew.herman@loksound.com <-- email him
www.loksound.com

[jdcolombo]

Don't e-mail Matt (sorry, John).

Instead, fill out the warranty return info (on the ESU web site), and send the decoder in with that info and your purchase receipt (I'm assuming you bought this decoder recently).

The worst that happens is that they decide to charge you a $40 repair fee.  That's still a lot better than $95 for a new decoder.  But my experience has been that they won't.  If the decoder was purchased within the past two years and you have a receipt to verify it, they will simply replace it.  Free.

But it will take some time - probably 30-60 days.  If you are in a hurry, you can buy a new decoder, and then just keep your replacement as a backup.  I have 4 backup decoders: two LokSound Select micros and 2 5DCC micros.  Though it doesn't happen often, I've had decoders simply up and die on me (the last time that happened was about three years ago, when one of my RS-3's gave up the ghost).  But you can also kill a decoder as a result of a layout accident (e.g., a short that doesn't get quickly resolved by your command station).  THAT I've had happen, also - about two years ago.  I am a heavy believer in Plan B, and as a result, I keep backup decoders in case of failure.

BTW, I also have both battery and water-flow backup pumps for my basement sump, and I keep a paper copy of my passport stored away from my wallet when I travel internationally.  I have a can of "fix-a-flat" in my trunk, even though my car has run-flat tires.  If we take a driving trip of more than 200 miles, I print off a list of all the BMW dealerships along my route.  And I still have a paper Rand McNally Atlas in my car even though I have a Nav system, an iPhone and an iPad.

So I might be a little crazy about backups.



John C.

[tehachapifan]

Don't e-mail Matt (sorry, John).

....So I might be a little crazy about backups.



John C.

I like it! You never know when something is going to go bump in the night. I'm guessing at one point in your past you had a run in with Mr. Murphy or know someone who did. I was this way at work (perhaps to an extreme sometimes) but not as much at home for some reason.

[reinhardtjh]

Don't e-mail Matt (sorry, John).

No problem John.   The reason i said to email Matt is that my take on the problem is that the decoder was an "OEM" that came in the SD40-2 rather than purchased from a dealer. In that case he wouldn't have a receipt (except for the loco).  Maybe ESU would handle that the same way, but I wasn't sure.

And I could have misunderstood the original post, too.

[jdcolombo]

No problem John.   The reason i said to email Matt is that my take on the problem is that the decoder was an "OEM" that came in the SD40-2 rather than purchased from a dealer. In that case he wouldn't have a receipt (except for the loco).  Maybe ESU would handle that the same way, but I wasn't sure.

And I could have misunderstood the original post, too.

Ah.  Now that I read the post again, I think you're right.  But I think that since this is the 73199 board, ESU handles warranty claims for it, as well.  I'd remove it, send it back to ESU with a warranty claim form and the purchase receipt for the locomotive, and see what happens.

John C.

[cnw780]

Yes the OEM part of this was confusing me.  Especially because I found this at the bottom of ESU's warranty page

"Please never return an OEM decoder or even the whole locomotive to ESU, since we can´t accept any direct warranty claims for such decoders! All OEM decoders and locos will be sent back unrepaired."

I had sent them an email about this over a week ago but have not heard back.  I'm sure they have a back log due to the recent closures but I also worry that my message got eaten by a spam filter or something.  I will probably wait another week before trying again.

On the plus side I did notice a remarkable increase the the sound quality coming out of the new speaker just before the decoder died.

Tim

[jdcolombo]

You might also try e-mailing Intermountain.   They may have 73199 decoders that they use for warranty exchanges from their products if you have your original engine purchase receipt. 

And I'm glad to know you did get a glimpse of improved sound before the disaster.  If it makes you feel any better, I've blown up at least a half-dozen audio amplifiers in ESU decoders over the years.  I really wish they'd put in a protection circuit for the audio amp at least as good as the one they have for track shorts!

John C.

[peteski]

Doesn't taking the model apart and modifying it void the warranty?