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Troubleshooting after initial installation? Click here.

The ARSC should work a good long time for you. We've tested several with over 80,000 reversals without problem. If you run through the reverse section 10 times an hour during a 3 hour operating session, three times a week, this equates to 17 years of operation.

And, there's nothing you can do under normal operating conditions to damage it. Even wiring it wrong won't damage it, it just won't work. But, there is one natural phenomenon with DCC systems and the ARSC.

If you have two locos entering opposite polarities at the same time, the ARSC will try to flip both polarities at the same time, flipping back and forth very quickly. When this happens, the ARSC will buzz.

As long as neither loco crosses the second set of gaps while the other loco is still within the portal, there will be no harm, and everything will continue as normal. However, if one loco spans both gaps while the other loco is still within the other portal, this will cause a dead short (as it would with any reverse section controller).

If this happens, the DCC system's Short-Circuit Protection will shut track power off. If this happens at the exact time that the ARSC is using power to flip from one polarity to the other, it could cause the ARSC to stop in the middle of that switching, and render it brain-dead.

There is, however, a quick and easy way to wake it up. Flip it on the head with your finger - sort of like getting it's attention with a 2x4.

Unplug the ARSC from the harness. Hold the ARSC by the connector with the fingers on one hand, and flip the yellow relay on the other end of the ARSC with the middle finger of your other hand. Flip it as hard as you can without hurting yourself.

When you plug it back in, it should work fine. Note that the only time this should happen is when the ARSC is buzzing due to both portals being accessed at the same time, and track power is shut off in the middle of that event.