hello. i have two tracks which run only mth engines on it. i recently purchased the dcs system to run them and with 3 of my engines i have no problems at all. when i add the 4th engine and power down the engine will not run until i delete it and add it again to the dcs. when i add it again everything runs fine. but when i power everything down and come back the next day i get a message that says check track and the dcs remote says the engine is inactive. delete the engine and start all over and it runs fine. thanks for the help. bill

The Battery in this Engine needs Charging. With power from the Transformer, running it, enough Power is going to the Battery, and electronics to make it operate.

quote:

but when I power everything down and come back the next day i get a message that says check track and the dcs remote says the engine is inactive. delete the engine and start all over and it runs fine.

When you shut it down, the Power in the battery, runs down, and the Memory of the Engine is Lost.

Jazz is correct the battery isn't either fully charged or good enough to hold a charge. MTH batteries are relatively cheap, I'd just replace it with a new one instead of keep having problems.

Bill,

To test the battery:
With the engine sounds running, cut track power off with the transformer. Do not use the shut down DCS remote button for this test.
The sounds should keep running for at least 6 to 7 seconds. The board in the engine must get power from the battery for this length of time after track power is off to remember its ID.....Joe

thank all of you for your replies. that did the trick. never knew it had a battery. guess reading the manual would have helped. oh well. thanks again

Anytime the locomotive sits for a while, it is a good idea to throw a charge into the battery. Today we are lucky as almost all PS-2 Locomotives have a charging port. A few years ago, I built a battery tester to always keep an eye on the battery condition. The easy way for a quick check is to do what Joe Allen told you.

quote:

The sounds should keep running for at least 6 to 7 seconds. The board in the engine must get power from the battery for this length of time after track power is off to remember its ID.....Joe

Yep Joe's right on. I call this an established ID. Once the id is established the engine will actually run without a battery, and even start up each day with out a battery. Just stirring the pot a little Dave. I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of engines out there had weak or dead batteries but start up each day. You would only know it if you tried to change a few setting (such as ID, Factory reset ) and they didn't stick with the engine.

quote:

You would only know it if you tried to change a few setting

...or if you encountered a split-second short or loss of power. That would drop the engine into conventional mode, in neutral.

quote:

...or if you encountered a split-second short or loss of power. That would drop the engine into conventional mode, in neutral.

Absolutely, It's really hard to tell but I suspect the same thing happens with a battery, Place 2 pieces of electrical tape on the track where both rollers will be on the tape at the same time & try and run over the tape,. Seems proto-1 could but not proto-2. The engine stops dead immediately although the sounds continue on so I not sure the battery makes any difference.

The battery keeps the PS2 board powered over momentary power outages, such as both pickup rollers losing power at the same time, and allows the engine's momentum to coast it over such dead spots.

It does not provide power to the engine's motors.

quote:

The engine stops dead immediately although the sounds continue on so I not sure the battery makes any difference.

You're right Barry, The battery makes a difference, I put 2 pieces of tape, each about an inch long so both rollers are on the tape.

Depending on speed- With a battery and enough momentum the engine will carry on in command mode, although I had to get it going about 18 MPH to get over the inch of tape.

No matter what speed with out a battery the engine drops into neutral and conventional mode.

Yes folks just another bit of useless trivia.