E186 tail lights

[brian.marshall92]

I have noticed that the tail lights on the E186 Traxx are still on when pulling a train.  And there seems to be no option for turning these off when I try all the positions on the switch on the rear wall of the cab.  Is it possible to switch the tail lights off and if so how?  Many thanks.

[jmluengor]

Have you tried setting the switch to position 3 (Normal Driving I)? I tested the lights on the Traxx and I don't see the error you mentioned. Good luck!

[brian.marshall92]

Many thanks for this quick response.  It has not solved the issue.  I was driving the last scenario under the Tunel route where you drive the light engine 186 into the yard, couple up, change ends, do the brake test etc.  Everything works except the tail lights stay on.  Other scenarios when the loco is already coupled to the train are fine, so it seems to be an issue when starting with a light engine.  Having looked into this a bit more, the left hand screen, option 8 on the bottom row, brings up the settings menu.  The very top item is to switch on or off the tail lights.  But it does not seem to be functional.  So I am not sure if this just does not work, or if it is something to do with this scenario.  I hope that is helpful information, and thanks again for your help.

[brian.marshall92]

It is actually the front lights in the settings menu but I was hoping it might switch off the tail lights if I went back into the back cab!  I am sure in the real locomotive there will be a switch or a screen menu item to switch on/off the tail lights.  Something for the developers to work on as well as the much needed train length button.

[mateusz424]

Perhaps before you change cabins (move to the other one), try to deactivate the cabin you're leaving. The battery switch only one position back - deactivates the cabin without cutting off the battery power. Without this the locomotive might go crazy, because it doesn't know which cabin it's being controlled from 😉

I assume you know that in Poland, driving within a station (picking up wagons and coupling) is considered shunting, and that's when you need to turn on the locomotive's Tb1 light signal. When you're already on a train (with carriages), you need to turn on the locomotive's Pc1 light signal. And when a locomotive is traveling alone to a station, it has the Pc1 signal on at the front and the Pc5 signal on at the rear.

http://archeo.kolej.pl/rbach/e1/poc.htm

Edited Tuesday at 05:12 PM by mateusz424

[mateusz424]

I guess you mean the "Kraków - Tunel" scenery and the "[TLK] Katowice - Kraków" scenario.
This is the light switch with signal icons:

When you get start the machine - set the light switch to position 11:

This is the Tb1 shunting signal:

Front

B
Back

Use this signal when shunting in the station (until you couple up the carriages). Before you change cabin (move to the second cabin) - use the battery switch to deactivate the cabin you are leaving:

During the second cabin change, after connecting the carriages - in the cabin you are leaving, in addition to deactivating the cabin, also set the light switch to position 0.
Finally, after entering the cab from which you will be driving the train, remember to reactivate the cab using the battery switch and set the light switch to position 0.
You're ready to drive. The Pc1 signal (three white) at the front of the locomotive:

 

And there are no tail lights at the back of the locomotive:

Edited Tuesday at 09:17 PM by mateusz424

[brian.marshall92]

Thanks that is a very helpful explanation and screen shots.  I did know about the battery switch position and I did leave the battery on.  But I did not know about the shunting light positions, so I will give that a try and see if that switches the tail lights off once I have a train connected behind the locomotive.

[jmluengor]

A superb explanation, mateusz424. Those who know, know.

[mateusz424]

3 godziny temu, brian.marshall92 napisał(a):

Thanks that is a very helpful explanation and screen shots.  I did know about the battery switch position and I did leave the battery on. (...)

No problem, enjoy! 🙂
And just to make sure we're talking about the same thing: It's not about leaving the battery on. The point is that the battery switch is also the cabin activation switch. It has three positions:

1 - everything off.

2 - battery power on, cabin inactive.

3 - battery power on, cabin active.

Only one cabin can be active at a time - the one you're controlling/driving the locomotive from.
In the other, second cabin the battery switch must then be in position 2 (if you've already changed cabins), or in position 1 (if you've just started the loco from cool and dark state). 😉

Regarding the lights, the Tb1 (shunting) signal indicates (at the front and rear of the locomotive) which side of the cabin the driver is on (usually the right side). Note that when you change cabins and deactivate the current cabin and activate the new one, the lights will automatically come on - on the opposite side.
Coupling carriages is shunting, so the Tb1 signal may be necessary for the locomotive's automation system to detect the coupling and turn off the locomotive's tail lights when you return the light switch to the 0 position.

Edited Tuesday at 09:15 PM by mateusz424

[brian.marshall92]

I really appreciate your help Mateusz and the effort you have put into this.  I have done everything you said and the tail lights are still on after coupling up etc.  I am attaching a photo so you can see.  It is only a minor annoyance and I would not normally drive this scenario with the 186.  When I drive it with the ET22 or ET25 it is all fine, but those locos have separate switches (ET22) or touchscreen menus (ET25) to control the tail lights.  Thanks again.