Troubleshooting

In this section, you will find some tips on troubleshooting the various issues encountered with EX‑CommandStation.

If you have just assembled your EX‑CommandStation and it is not working as expected, we recommend you start with the Diagnosing Basic Problems page.

Troubleshooting tips 

Cannot drive a locomotive 

Symptoms

Common Causes

Locomotive doesn’t respond to throttle settings

Track power has not been turned on - Issue <1> in the serial console, or use the Power button in Engine Driver or JMRI or the power slider in EX‑WebThrottle.
Locomotive is on the PROGRAMMING track - Issue <1 JOIN> in the serial console, or use the Request Loco ID button in Engine Driver.
Power has not been supplied to the motor board - Check to ensure power supply is connected securely with the correct voltage, polarity, and current rating and is plugged in at the wall, and turned on.
Ensure the motor shield is securely seated onto the Arduino.

Cannot connect to the EX-CommandStation over WiFi 

Symptoms

Common Causes

CommandStation does not appear in the available WiThrottle server list in Engine Driver or wiThrottle apps.

Manually entering the expected IP address and port does not successfully connect

CommandStation is configured for Access Point mode, but Engine Driver or wiThrottle device is connected to a different WiFi network - Connect the device to the CommandStation’s WiFi network
CommandStation is configured for Station Mode and connects to the WiFi network, but Engine Driver or wiThrottle device is connected to a different WiFi network - Connect the device to the correct WiFi network
WiFi shield is connected incorrectly to the CommandStation - The Rx pin of the WiFi shield must connect to the Tx pin on the CommandStation, and Tx to the Rx pin
ESP8266 has the wrong AT version. See the ESP8266 (WiFi Boards) - AT Version Issues and Solutions page for details on how to check and correct if needed.
The WiFi network name appears as “DCCEX-SAYS-BROKEN-FIRMWARE” or “UPDATE_ESP_FIRMWARE”. See the ESP8266 (WiFi Boards) - AT Version Issues and Solutions page for details on how to check and correct if needed.

If you are using the EX-MotorShield8874 - This paragraph is for the EX-MotorShield8874. If you have a different motor shield, see the next paragraph! You can connect your 12-18V DC (based on the scale of your locomotives) power supply directly to the barrel jack (power input) of the shield. Do not connect power to the Arduino and the motor shield at the same time! You should see the power indicator LED illuminate and power should flow down to the Arduino and illuminate its power LED indicator. If you don’t see the power light on the Arduino, check that the shield is seated and making a good connection into the Arduino’s sockets (called headers).

The EX-MotorShield8874 power supply should have at least a 2A rating. Ensure it is plugged into the wall.

If you are using the Arduino Motor Shield, Deek-Robot, or other compatible shield - Make sure you have bent out the Vin pin (or cut the trace underneath the motor shield). You will need TWO power supplies, a 7-9V DC power supply to the Arduino and a 12-18V DC (based on the scale of your locomotives) power supply for the Motor Controller.

Ensure the 7-9V DC power supply for the Arduino has at least 1 Amp. Anything less than 7 Volts and 1A will cause unreliable operation. Ensure that the Motor Shield power supply is rated for at least 2 Amps.

For all type of motor drivers, do you see a green led marked `on` on the Arduino board glowing to indicate the Arduino has power? If not, there is a power issue.

Testing 

We are going to use the Arduino IDE for this section. If you are unfamiliar with the Arduino IDE or do not yet have it installed, see the section about how to use the Arduino IDE to install the EX‑CommandStation here: Using the Arduino IDE, or just download the Legacy IDE 1.8.19 version here: Arduino IDE . Scroll down to find the 1.8.19 version.

Remove the Motor Shield —we are going to test just the Arduino first.
Download and install the most current version of EX-CommandStation
Open the Serial Monitor Window in the Arduino IDE and establish communication with the Arduino. You will need to set the serial data rate to 115200 baud and make sure you have set Both CR & NL from the dropdown so that commands are accepted. If you see gibberish (garbage characters), this is usually an indication that the baud rate is incorrect. You should see “DCC-EX” and the software version as well as other log lines that mention WiFi. If you don’t see anything in the log, it could be that the software did not upload correctly, there is less than 7 Volts DC to the Arduino, or there is an issue with the connection between your computer and the Arduino. Check your serial port and try a different USB cable.

Testing the Arduino and EX-CommandStation code 

Validating the Arduino and EX‑CommandStation code is functional is a pretty straight forward exercise.

From the serial monitor window, type <D RESET> to restart the EX‑CommandStation and monitor the startup logs. Once it has started, ensure the version you expect is displayed, and that the motor driver you have configured is also displayed. Look for a line similar to <iDCC-EX V-4.2.3 rc1 / STM32 / STANDARD_MOTOR_SHIELD G-PORTX-HAL-20220828> which translates to <Version / Microcontroller / Motor shield definition>. If these differ from what you expect, the software hasn’t loaded correctly, or your “config.h” file may not have been updated prior to uploading the software.
If there are obvious issues noted from these startup logs, review “config.h”, make sure you have downloaded the correct version of EX‑CommandStation, and upload the software again.

Testing the Motor Shield 

If first two tests pass, then the Arduino is functioning correctly and it’s time to test the Motor Shield.

Power down the Arduino
Install the Motor Shield, then connect power to your Arduino and the Motor Shield, though do not connect to the tracks. Verify that you have the correct supply going to the correct board
Verify that all the pins are properly seating in the headers and that they are aligned correctly and not shifted and off by one or more pins. Sight down the inside of the headers between the boards and make sure no pins are bent inward where you could easily miss them
Verify that all of the mappings are correct for your motor shield. For an Arduino Motor Shield, you should not have changed any pin settings in the config.h file
Open (or re-open) the Arduino Serial window
Send a <1> command.
All 4 lights next to the outputs of the Motor Shield should be on.

If neither of the LEDs attached to one of the output channels comes on when you send a <1> command, this indicates you are not correctly mapping either the SIGNAL_ENABLE_PIN_MAIN or SIGNAL_ENABLE_PIN_PROG pins from the Arduino (depending on which output channel does not appear to be working). Make sure you did not change any of the default settings in the config.h file.

If only one of the LEDs attached to the one of the output channels comes on when you send a <1> command, but the other does not, this suggests that either the DCC signal is not getting through to the Motor Shield, in which case it is a mapping/wiring/jumper/connection problem, OR that the signal is getting through but the H-bridge on the Motor Shield itself is not functioning (and the Motor Shield may need to be replaced).

Once you have sent the power on command (<1>), you should read 5V DC on each of an Arduino’s enable pins (power_pin in the motor board definition) with a multimeter. For the STANDARD_MOTOR_SHIELD, these are pins 3 for main and 11 for prog.

Whether you have sent the power on command or not, the DCC signal is always present at the signal pins (signal_pin in the motor board definition). For the STANDARD_MOTOR_SHIELD, these are pins 12 for main and 13 for prog.

If you are using a 3.3V board for your CS, like a Nucleo or ESPDuino32, then these voltages will be 3.3V and 1.65V DC.

There is more information about the pins and how they are used on the Motor Driver Configuration page.

If you still need help, please find us on The DCC-EX Discord or send an email to support@dcc-ex.com

Testing the DCC signal 

Now the fun part – we are going to test the generation of the DCC signal itself.

The easiest way to do this is using a Multi-meter that can read AC voltage. You can measure that 12V DC is going INTO the Motor Shield, but you have to use the AC setting to measure the bipolar square wave signal at the output. With one lead of either probe connected to one track and the other probe connected to the other track, you should read an AC voltage in the range of 15-24V depending on your input voltage and a few other factors. An N-Scale track with 12V DC input to the motor shield is usually around 14VAC. If you read zero volts or a very small AC voltage (1V or less) then either you are still using the DC setting on your meter, or there is something wrong with your wiring, motor shield, or config.h settings.

Loco Programming Issues (-1 or JMRI 308 error)

With all of the decoder manufacturers creating hardware and the difficulties in properly interpreting the NMRA standard, we have found that quite a few decoders are wildly outside the specification. That presents a few challenges. If you can’t read CVs or program your loco or you see “Error 308” in your JMRI log, it could be one of the following:

Current sense issue - From the Arduino Serial monitor with 115200 baud set and Both CR & NL selected in the dropdown, put a loco on the MAIN track. Enter the <1> command to turn on power. Then enter the <C> command and check the response. You should see a valid number for current.
Check the analog input pins to make sure there are no bent pins. If you wired your own motor board, make sure you have current sense capability on that board, that you have wires going to the correct analog pin on the Arduino, and that if pin A0, for example, is your current sense for the MAIN track, that your motorboard definition matches that pin.
Out of spec. decoder (most likely) - You will need to run a test and then modify a setting or two. Please go to the Diagnostic <D ACK>. Send us your log.

If you continue to have issues reading decoders on the programming track with multiple different decoders, it’s worthwhile reviewing the Motor Driver Configuration page, especially all information relating to current sensing. If current sensing is not configured and functioning correctly, you will not be able to read any decoders via the programming track.