Hi!

I hear in the community (Facebook, YouTube comments and my Märklin friends in Sweden) that many people have problems with having new (and old) locomotives signing in to the CS2.

I experienced this problem about two years ago, but it has escalated since and now it´s almost impossible to add new mfx locomotives to the Central Station 2. Two recent examples are my new BR44 (item 39881) which Märklin delivered October 2020. another is the new version of BR218 (item xx) delivered by Märklin in April 2020.

The Locomotives are never EVER found on the programming track (only usable these days to change CV-value settings, like motor max speed, acc or decc.) The Locomotives can be found on MAIN after several hours using the work-a-round (see below).
The locomotives cannot be added using the "Manually serach for mfx locomotive" or "Add DCC locomotive" either.

I´m running Central Station 2. Hardware version 5.1 Software version: 3.8.1 (11)

- Anyone else here on the forum who has this issue?
- Do you know of the solution to overcome this issue?

(I have been practising the two work-a-rounds over the past 2 years, but I would like a real solution instead)

Work-a-round 1: Restart the CS2 multiple times leaving it on for 3-4 hours and then re-start again. Leave it again for 2-3 hours and re-start again. Then the mfx locomotives signs in but always with the error message "The lcomototive was not read successfully". Then put it on programming track and click the wrench tool. Taddaaa! 8 hours later..

Work-a-round 2: Let the locomotive sign in to a MS2 instead on a separate track. Read locomotve info to a locomotive card, Plug the MS2 into the CS2 and read the card. This most often create address number conflicts with locomotives already present in the CS2 library, but lets´you run the locomotive.

This issue in combination with the super-annoying problem with random sounds starts playing in the locomotives, which cannot be switched off is really painful. I have my entire closet filled with locomotives which are waiting for reset and the work-a-round solution, but I don´t have time to spend the hours every week.

PLEEEAASE HELP!

Thank you for the quick answer! but.. I doubt that, since my friend is running in the latest CS2 software version and still experience the same issues. He updated it thinking it would be the solution, but it was not...

Do you disconnect your main track power when trying to register on the programming track?

My only other solution has been to disable the MFX protocol on the loco and then enable it again but that has been with ESU decoders and I used lokprogrammer.
That doesn't really apply here though since yours are new Marklin MFX decoders, rather in my case this has been when tinkering locos with lokprogrammer and the CS2 failed to register them again after I had deleted them from the CS2.