Disney Castle Upper Color Lights
Hi, I'm really enjoying the lights so far. As I'm building I'm testing the lights to make sure each area is working before moving on. All's good until I got to the upper color changing lights. All 5 don't work. The upper white and lower white and color lights work. I've checked my connections between the Branch 17 In plug and the Trunk 8 Sens1 plug and didn't notice anything amiss. I've checked tightness on all of the color light plugs and also inspected the cable for any pinches. I'd like some advice on how to narrow down the source of the problem. Thanks.
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I'm 90% certain things changed from the current version and mine (old school generation 1 kit), but if memory serves, I had a similar problem - some of the lights are smarter than "add power, see pretty light" - such that you'd need to lay out all the lighting components as though they were installed, and it'll work...
I think I'd tried to also pre-test before installing the lower "fireworks" multi-colored lights, and that's where I hit a snag... the same dealy-o. When I tried to power them directly, nada, I think the multi-colors are (or at least were) three-wire, not a standard two-wire, so applying power alone won't do it, as the light needs juice from all three lines to 'signal' which of the internal colors are to be lit to produce color "X".
How are you plugging them in? And, photos? (I'm a visual sort of guy...)
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Ed Ehrgott Hi Ed, thanks for your post, and sorry about the trouble with the lights. Just a few basic things to ask (sorry, have to ask this every time):
- If the INPUT and OUTPUT plugs are reversed on the BRANCH17, lights will not work.
- Setting the upper and lower lights happens independently, using "short presses" and "long presses" on the "C" button on the remote. Sometimes it can take a bit of practice to get the "short" and "long" presses right.
Assuming you've tried these things, can you try plugging the spotlight in plug #5 into plug #1 instead, and vice versa? If there's something wrong with the light plugged in slot #1, it will impact the others down the chain.
If you still have issues, please send us a support e-mail (support(at)brickstuff.com). Thank you!
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Hi,
Thanks for the tips on the remote. I got the hang of the long click and the bottom lights work like a charm. I've verified the IN plug on Branch17 and all the connections look good. I tried all the lights in plug 1 and none worked. At this point I think the problem is with with the Branch17 board or the connector cable, although the SENS1 plug could be bad - but the rest of Branch 8 works. I also lightly jiggled all the pertinent parts to see if it's a short, but jiggling didn't do anything. I've attached photos of the boards and the connecting cable.
I have a new Branch 17 board that looks different than what's shown in the directions. There's no holes to attach to lego studs. I could keep building and see if that helps, I'll continue working on this level but I hesitate to jump to the next level until I know everything is working on the first one.
I'm sure we'll get this working!
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Ed Ehrgott Hi Ed, great troubleshooting work, and thanks especially for the photos. Can you try swapping the plugs in SENS1 and SENS2? The spotlights won't make sense in terms of what patterns they'll show, but this will give a sense of if the issue is with the connecting cable or the SENS1 plug on the main controller.
Also, the BRANCH17 you have without the LEGO stud holes is the same, functionally, as the older version with top-facing plugs. You can use them interchangeably.
Let me know what you find out, thank you!
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Hi, I swapped the cables between SENS1 & SENS2 and plugged one color light into Plug 1 on Branch17. No go. Just for kicks, swapped out another light in Plug 1 on Branch 17. Still no go. Looks like the problem is the cable or Branch 17?
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Ed Ehrgott Hi Ed, ok, thanks for doing the troubleshooting. Can you send us an e-mail through our support system and we can send you replacement cables? Thank you.
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It was a bad cable. Thanks for all your help and quickly sending replacement parts!
On to the middle level :)
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Ed Ehrgott Glad to hear that got it fixed. Onward and upward!
