ESU micro v5-- can't write new sound data

[peteski]

Two of my three recent failures had dealer installed sound files.

Then as I mentioned, maybe they did not follow proper decoder handling procedures.  In that case they would be at fault.  Were those decoders DOA, out of the box?

[Kentuckian]

Yes, I could never program the locomotive number because the DCC system kept shorting out and resetting. The decoders had a short in them. This experience prompted me to invest in my own programmer.

[peteski]

Yes, I could never program the locomotive number because the DCC system kept shorting out and resetting. The decoders had a short in them. This experience prompted me to invest in my own programmer.

That is odd.
 In my experience improper handling (and zapping electronics with static electricity) usually "bricks" the decoders (cause the microcontroller not to function). So you cannot read/write CVs or some other weird behavior.  Shorting the DCC system is not sometime I would expect.