Csx Heavy Haul: Power Line Scenario - Spotter Button Not Working

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by arthasmenethil, May 29, 2019.

  1. arthasmenethil

    arthasmenethil New Member

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    I'm not sure if this is related to the recent physics patch/update but early in the CSXHH scenario "Power Line" you are tasked with moving a SD40-2 loco that is out of gas onto the turntable and then onto your consist.

    I've restarted this scenario now 3 times as well as multiple save reloads and still cannot get the SD40 to move on battery power. I've followed all instructions in game (not that they give you much at this stage) -- yes, the handbrake is off. All brakes are off -- all brake gauges are at 0. Press the spotter buttons and the ammeter properly registers ~150amps of tractive effort in either forward or reverse but the loco won't move. I've tried every permutation on the pedestal imaginable now pressing buttons, moving the reverser out of neutral, cycling dynamic brakes on and off just in case -- no luck. Almost ready to just disconnect another loco and drag it instead of playing with the spotter buttons because the scenario is broken otherwise.

    Not sure if this is a physics related change or not. I haven't tested it in free roam but I was able to move slightly on a powered loco. I know these buttons have worked in the past but wanted to replay the scenario after the update.

    Anyone else have this issue?
     
  2. Mobius12

    Mobius12 New Member

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    It definitely has to do with the update it is the same with the GP38 in that scenario won't move either however the GP40 which did not receive an update does work as per normal. Must have been overlooked.
     
  3. arthasmenethil

    arthasmenethil New Member

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    This would totally explain why I had a small fit during one of the times I reloaded the scenario and saw the spotter button working in the lead loco -- the lead is a GP40...

    Hopefully this can get patched soon because it basically breaks that scenario. I have to figure out how I can pull the dead locos into and out of the turntable without messing up the order of the consist since I can't use the battery power. On second thought, maybe I'll just hold off playing it since that sounds like a generally miserable work-around to do.
     
  4. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    You can start it up and drive it to the turntable.
     
  5. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure that this scenario ran as it should in the original issue version of CSX, but I haven't tried it again since the update. Perhaps Anthony will describe how he did it?
     
  6. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    I haven’t played it since the update.
     
  7. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    I thought I'd found the solution to picking up the second engine:
    1. drive to designated stopping point near turntable and uncouple from 1st engine picked up.
    2. use switches and turntable to pick up 2nd engine.
    3. use switches and turntable to couple 2nd engine to 1st engine. At this point, you will be instructed to set up 2nd engine, but do not do that now.
    4. uncouple from 2nd & 1st engine; use switches & turntable to re-couple to 1st engine in order driven engine + 1st engine + 2nd engine. Set up 2nd engine.
    From this point, I followed instructions to pick up all other engines, set them up, move cars, etc.
    Still following instructions, I returned to driven engine, sat in the chair, released the brakes, and set the throttle to 1 ---------- nothing: my rack of engines would not move.

    Maybe I'll try this again, but certainly not today.
     
  8. arthasmenethil

    arthasmenethil New Member

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    I was able to finally complete this scenario with the following workarounds (there are multiple bugs beyond what I originally posted).

    Assuming you have picked up and configured the second loco as instructed (I'll come back to that in a second) here is how to proceed with the "dead loco" at the turntable. This took me a lot of trial and error and it involves bypassing the use of the spotter buttons (unintended for the scenario).

    1) Get out of 2 loco consist, move turntable to appropriate position to align with dead loco per objective.
    2) Walk over to the dead loco and disengage the handbrake on the outside.
    3) Sit in engineer seat of dead loco (when I did this, I strangely received a prompt asking if I wanted to leave service mode and take over this one instead -- I said yes, expecting the scenario to break).
    4) Leave independent brake and airbrake engaged at handle-off/100%. Keep reverser in neutral.
    5) On the pedestal, flip the 3 switches for engine run to "ON", generator field to "ON", control and fuel pump to "ON"
    6) Inside the breakers/fuses panel behind the pedestal, ensure radio/EOTD is turned "ON" for now, and flip the fuel pump breaker to "ON" **THIS IS CRITICAL AND TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT -- essentially all fuses/breakers should be on EXCEPT warning device. Close fuse cabinet.
    7) Above fuse/breaker cabinet, make sure the electrical switch on the right side is set to engine "START/STOP/ISOLATE"
    8) Now press "Z" or whichever key you have mapped to "Engine start" which I held down for 3 seconds. If your sound is on, you should hear the loco diesel engine start up over next 10 seconds. The SD40 has auto-start feature. If for some reason the engine doesn't start, consider pressing your engine start button again, OR manually starting the engine in the engine room (prime handle for 5 seconds, then flip to engine start).
    9) Now that the engine is running, switch the electrical switch from start/stop/isolate to "RUN"
    10) Charge the brake pressure to >80psi -- I don't remember the exact sequence of what I did by flipping the auto and independent brake handles but if memory serves I released the auto brake while keeping independent in full application, then (with reverser in neutral) kept the throttle up to 2-3 until I saw the PSI go up. Then I set the auto brake to handle off, and the independent brake to "BAIL OFF" and did the same until the pressures equalized and then I turned the throttle off.
    11) Next, with the automatic brake in handle-off position, ensure the brake control switch below is set to "CUT OUT" and ensure the independent brake is released. Flip the switch from cut out to "freight." Then flip the MU control to "Lead/Dead" at the bottom of the pedestal if it's not there already.
    12) Finally release all brakes, reverser to forward and throttle up and the loco should start moving to turn-table.

    Once you join the previously dead loco to the consist the game will tell you to do a few things to get it ready to trail. Do what it tells you but ensure you do the following additional things (even if it sounds redundant after the game's objectives are satisfied). THIS INCLUDES GOING INTO THE SECOND LOCO that you picked up in the first objective of this scenario and doing these steps (I alluded to this at the beginning of my post).

    13) Set radio/EOTD switch to off in the breaker panel (if applicable). Only the lead loco should have radio/EOTD breaker set to "ON" FYI.
    14) Change the headlight switch to whichever position the 3rd loco coupled (controlled at long head or short head) based on how you did the turn table, I did it facing front at the short head, but you could have reversed it into the consist.
    15) On pedestal, set the 3 switches of engine run to "OFF", generator field to "OFF", control and fuel pump to "OFF"
    16) Ensure MU switch is still LEAD/DEAD (the game might have told you to set it as trail 6/26 -- switch it back for a moment).
    17) Set auto brake to handle-off and ensure brake switch still reads as freight.
    18) Set independent brake to full application.
    19) Change brake switch from "freight" to "CUT OUT"
    20) Completely release independent brake into bail-off then released.
    21) Change MU switch from LEAD/DEAD to "Trail 6/26" as the game wants

    These additional steps fix a constant glitch whereby you have a constant hiss of the brakes on the trailing locomotives because they don't set properly as you couple more and more locos together and it eventually gets to a point where you are constantly leaking brake pressure when applying brakes as the lead loco.

    Additionally I encountered several additional problems:
    * Each time I coupled a new loco, I generally had to repeat steps 16-21 on each additional trailing loco added in order for the brakes to work properly otherwise I'd continually lose brake cylinder pressure after making brake applications (and you'd hear a hissing sound from the culprit loco)
    * Several if not all additional locos I coupled to the consist had their electrical switch set to "START/STOP/ISOLATE" and should be in the "RUN" position (otherwise you have insufficient power to move the entire consist effectively -- I used all loco engines powered on in order to generate the proper tractive effort for the corresponding throttle) this seemed like a new-physics related problem.
    * On one occasion (I believe when I coupled to the two locos that carried the coal train), upon coupling, ALL locos in my consist suddenly powered off. I had to manually go into each loco, and do steps #5-9 for all of them then step 15, then ensure the brakes weren't hissing and if they were, do steps 16-21 to "reset" the brakes.

    All in all, this scenario was a huge, buggy, pain in the ass and took 2 hours to do. On the bright side, as a layman, I am fairly confident I could properly start an SD40 or GP40-2 from cold shutdown and properly set it as a trailing loco once coupled LOL!

    Good luck with it. Devs I hope you read this and take a look.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2019
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  9. oliverwest523

    oliverwest523 New Member

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    Same issue, Spotter buttons not working, please fix all locomotives AC4400CW SD40-2 GP38-2 and GP40-2
     
  10. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    Although I know that I've successfully completed this activity, I regret having to admit that I don't recall how.
     

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