Started up my PS2 Northern and it ran normally with all sounds for about 10 feet, then stopped. Even when I turned off the power, it had a high pitched sound which finally stopped. Now, when I try to find the engine with DCS, I get a "no engine to add" message and it just sits. I checked the battery and it has a full charge.

I can run other DCS engines on the same track with no issues so I know DCS is working.

Any thoughts?

Sounds like a electic issue.
Are hte pick up rollers ok?
Have you taken the shell off ever? maybe bad wire
Do you put smoke fluid in it? too much will spii into the engine and it can eat wiring insulation or short out an engine.
Heck check traction tires.

If its a steam engine I had one bind up at the drivers out of sync, sent to mth built wrong fixed under warranty

Try deleting and re-adding the engine under DCS without any other engines on the track. If it doesn't find the engine if you have the latest version of the software try to do a Recover Engine with no other engines on the track.

Pick up rollers OK. Did not put smoke fluid in it. Have not taken shell off engine. Looked in tender and did not see anything wrong. No burn spots on board or anything.

quote:

Originally posted by Strangline RR:
Sounds like a electic issue.
Are hte pick up rollers ok?
Have you taken the shell off ever? maybe bad wire
Do you put smoke fluid in it? too much will spii into the engine and it can eat wiring insulation or short out an engine.
Heck check traction tires.

The latest. I took all of the shells off and did not see any burned wires or boards, or wires that were binding. Put it back on the track, and DCS found the engine (it did assign it to engine #1), but it would not move. PSA sounds worked, and it was smoking, no whistle or bell though.

I could not get it to move. When I shut off the power, it got a high pitched whine in the tender that would not shut off until I unplugged the tender from the engine. I replaced the battery and got the same results. I am thinking must be a bad board.

JDA,

Since DCS can find the engine, try a Factory Reset, which will delete the engine, and then re-add it.

quote:

I could not get it to move. When I shut off the power, it got a high pitched whine in the tender that would not shut off until I unplugged the tender from the engine. I replaced the battery and got the same results. I am thinking must be a bad board.

Could be , however try reloading the sound file if the Factory reset doesn't help.

The only time you should hear that kind of noise from the tender where the boards are located is when you do an upgrade and you apply power to the boards the first time before loading a sound file. Try loading the sound file again, maybe the file got corrupted in loading. Also check the wires going to the motor and make sure there isn't a cold solder joint.

Update. Took all of the shells off and tried "reseating" everything. Do not think I really accomplished anything. But, now it is working (go figure). I still am getting a louder sound out of the tender than I used to hear. Do you think I should reload the sound file?

I did try to do a factory reset but that did not take. Does the engine have to be sitting still for the reset to work? Should it have been started up, or do I reset it before starting it up? Could not get it to happen. Do not understand that. However, the engine is still working and all of the features seem to work.

quote:

Do you think I should reload the sound file?

I wouldn't bother.

quote:

I did try to do a factory reset but that did not take. Does the engine have to be sitting still for the reset to work? Should it have been started up, or do I reset it before starting it up?

Actually, I've never done a Factory Reset with the engine moving, rather, I've always had them stationary. Makes no difference if the engine is started up or not, as long as it's getting power.

quote:

I did try to do a factory reset but that did not take. Does the engine have to be sitting still for the reset to work? Should it have been started up, or do I reset it before starting it up? Could not get it to happen. Do not understand that. However, the engine is still working and all of the features seem to work.

Yep the engine must be sitting still and it also needs a good battery to successfully do a factory reset.

You may want to re-check the battery by shutting off TRACK POWER , how long do the sounds continue?

Without a good battery the factory reset really doesn't do much, it may delete the engine from the remote but that's about it.

quote:

Actually, I've never done a Factory Reset with the engine moving, rather, I've always had them stationary. Makes no difference if the engine is started up or not, as long as it's getting power.

Maybe, I've never tried it with the engine moving either, A factory reset deletes the engine from the remote so now you have a case of an out of control engine. Maybe you can add it back again "on the move" and regain control but "why"

The sounds continue for quite a while after shut down. The sound does sound like a "swooshing" or "hissing" or a high pitched sound though.

quote:

Originally posted by Gregg:

quote:

I did try to do a factory reset but that did not take. Does the engine have to be sitting still for the reset to work? Should it have been started up, or do I reset it before starting it up? Could not get it to happen. Do not understand that. However, the engine is still working and all of the features seem to work.

Yep the engine must be sitting still and it also needs a good battery to successfully do a factory reset.

You may want to re-check the battery by shutting off TRACK POWER , how long do the sounds continue?

Without a good battery the factory reset really doesn't do much, it may delete the engine from the remote but that's about it.

quote:

The sounds continue for quite a while after shut down.

That proves nothing. You need to turn off track power, not press Shut Down.

When I turn off track power, no sounds. I was able to reset the engine and find it again. When I do a shutdown, the fan for the smoke runs. Even after the reset. But, the engine does function properly. Ocassionally, it will stop, then the sounds will come back on and it will operate again. I am puzzled.

Think it could be the battery?

quote:

Originally posted by Barry Broskowitz:

quote:

The sounds continue for quite a while after shut down.

That proves nothing. You need to turn off track power, not press Shut Down.

If the sounds shut off when you cut the power then it's either a bad battery or the charging circuit on the board is bad or a break in the charging circuit wire to the battery.

quote:

Think it could be the battery?

Yes, that's a good place to start, try another battery. As Paul mentioned it could be a dead battery ,charging circuit or break in a wire on the battery clip circuit . BTW the factory reset didn't take. You can't do a factory reset with a dead battery, the engine reverts back to it old ways even to it's established ID.

Final update. Recharged the batttery. Engine seems to work fine now. Still no sounds after shutdown though. It does go through the normal shutdown process.

quote:

Still no sounds after shutdown though.

Then the battery is not charged. How long and in what manner did you charge it? A completely dead battery can take 6-8 hours to charge.

I charged the battery in an external charger for 8 hours (which was the specified time for the charger I used). I could replace the battery with a BCR. Think that might be a better solution?
fo

quote:

Originally posted by Barry Broskowitz:

quote:

Still no sounds after shutdown though.

Then the battery is not charged. How long and in what manner did you charge it? A completely dead battery can take 6-8 hours to charge.

quote:

I charged the battery in an external charger for 8 hours (which was the specified time for the charger I used). I could replace the battery with a BCR. Think that might be a better solution?
fo

Well The BCR may very well be a better solution but not just yet, I'm not sure if the engine is running as it should.Only you can tell us how the engine is performing. It sounds like to me the engine sounds are immediately shutting down when TRACK POWER is shut off. TRack power...it's not the same as shutting the engine down with the remote. Yes a proto-2 engine in command will run without a battery in command mode so that may be throwing you off a bit, however you can't make any changes to the engine such as ID, volume, and have it stick.

Read VaGolfer's post again.

How do you test the battery circuit is the next question? I haven't tried this but if the battery was removed and the engine is powered up, I suspect you should get some type of DC voltage reading with your volt meter on the battery clip. Polarity is important measuring DC.

The point I'm trying to make is...If the battery circuit is faulty there's no point buying a BCR.

I changed the address and it "stuck" I also have a BCR lying around so I do not have to buy one.

If there is a way to test the charging circuit, I would like to do that if anyone can tell me how.

QUOTE]Originally posted by Gregg:

quote:

I charged the battery in an external charger for 8 hours (which was the specified time for the charger I used). I could replace the battery with a BCR. Think that might be a better solution?
fo

Well The BCR may very well be a better solution but not just yet, I'm not sure if the engine is running as it should.Only you can tell us how the engine is performing. It sounds like to me the engine sounds are immediately shutting down when TRACK POWER is shut off. TRack power...it's not the same as shutting the engine down with the remote. Yes a proto-2 engine in command will run without a battery in command mode so that may be throwing you off a bit, however you can't make any changes to the engine such as ID, volume, and have it stick.

Read VaGolfer's post again.

How do you test the battery circuit is the next question? I haven't tried this but if the battery was removed and the engine is powered up, I suspect you should get some type of DC voltage reading with your volt meter on the battery clip. Polarity is important measuring DC.

The point I'm trying to make is...If the battery circuit is faulty there's no point buying a BCR.[/QUOTE]

quote:

I changed the address and it "stuck" I also have a BCR lying around so I do not have to buy one.

Great! you're all set.

quote:

Originally posted by JDA:
..... I changed the address and it "stuck" I also have a BCR lying around so I do not have to buy one.
If there is a way to test the charging circuit, I would like to do that if anyone can tell me how.
How do you test the battery circuit is the next question? I haven't tried this but if the battery was removed and the engine is powered up, I suspect you should get some type of DC voltage reading with your volt meter on the battery clip. Polarity is important measuring DC.

The point I'm trying to make is...If the battery circuit is faulty there's no point buying a BCR.

JDA,

I don't know how to check the charging circuit aside from replacing the board which contains the circuit. But, through a "process of elimination" approach you can see if the battery is adequately holding a charge. MTH's web site Service link has video and text links for testing and troubleshooting batteries (go to "Service", then "Maintenance and Troubleshooting" then Routine Maintenance" and then "BATTERIES
"). Here are direct links to the video and text pages:

VIDEO
Wait for the second part of this video - CHECKING THE BATTERY (NOT INSTALLED) - which shows how to check the battery under load - which I think is the most reliable way to see if a battery holds a charge.

TEXT

Tom

Thank you for the information on the batteries.

Latest update. I replaced the battery with a BCR. Started engine up fine, it ran a few feet and stopped. Only sound was a hissing, scratching sound from the speaker. Then it was dead. A minute later, started back up and did the same thing.

What do you think is happening?

Check for a pinched wire or short, start with the wires from the pickup rollers.

quote:

Latest update. I replaced the battery with a BCR. Started engine up fine, it ran a few feet and stopped. Only sound was a hissing, scratching sound from the speaker. Then it was dead. A minute later, started back up and did the same thing.

What do you think is happening?

It's really hard to tell . when you say "a minute later, started up and did the same thing"
Does that mean the engine starts up on it's own or are you using the start up key?? Do you have to give the engine a nudge?

If you're using the start up key each time the engine maybe dropping into neutral in conventional mode at the slightest interruption of track power. That's when a good battery comes into play to prevent this, Also you may only have 1 center rail roller picking up power and the thing goes dead.

Here's an easy way to check out the center rollers... place a piece of electrical tape about 2 inches long on the center rail . Park one roller on the electrical tape, the other roller should power up the engine. now park the opposite roller on the tape a repeat the process. Are both rollers firing up the engine??

Good luck

The latest. Looked for a loose wire or shorted wire. Did not find one. Although, I can not see into the pick up rollers. Am not sure how to check that out for a short.

Put it back on the track, pressed start up, it started up, then died. Now I am getting an "engine not on track message". It does "click" when I apply power.

Did you check out each center rail roller with the electrical tape on the center rail?? That's a easy thing to do & will confirm whether both rollers are working, again did you have to give the engine a nudge to start it up after it stalls out??

Now the remote can't find the engine? You mentioned previously that the sounds cut out immediately when track power is removed. As you already know that's a battery related problem.

Delete the engine from the remote and add it back again if you can. If Dcs now finds the engine we're back to a battery related problem and perhaps other problems as well.(broken tether wire)

what happens in conventional mode, Will the engine leave neutral and move forward?

Checked out the rollers with the tape suggestion. Both rollers make contact individually. Deleted engine, then was able to add it back. Started it up, it moved slightly, stopped and then was dead. A high pitched whine came from the speaker for several seconds, then after I shut off all power, that continued for a few more seconds, then finally a "squeal" and then nothing. In conventional mode, engine will not move. No lights, nothing.

I think the board needs repair.

quote:

Originally posted by Gregg:
Did you check out each center rail roller with the electrical tape on the center rail?? That's a easy thing to do & will confirm whether both rollers are working, again did you have to give the engine a nudge to start it up after it stalls out??

Now the remote can't find the engine? You mentioned previously that the sounds cut out immediately when track power is removed. As you already know that's a battery related problem.

Delete the engine from the remote and add it back again if you can. If Dcs now finds the engine we're back to a battery related problem and perhaps other problems as well.(broken tether wire)

what happens in conventional mode, Will the engine leave neutral and move forward?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JDA,

Do you have a "wireless" tether? If so, make sure it is totally seated into the receptacle. If not, are you absolutely sure the plug of the wired harness is seated properly in the receptacle and pushed in completely? Check for bent or loose pins in the receptacle and in the mating plug.

I have a Pennsy G5 with the wireless tether that sometimes works itself loose. When it does, the engine just comes to a dead stop, with no sounds, no lights, no actions. If it's partially seated, some info will flow through the tether while other commands don't make it. That confuses DCS and depending on the commands, can also cause flaky things to happen.

Mike

It is a wired teather. I have checked the plug and am certain it is plugged in solidly. Looked at the pins and they appear to be fine.

The latest. I was able to reset the engine and add it back to DCS. It is now address #4. I tried to reload the sound file and got an error at sector 4. Attempted to try it again and got an "engine not on track" message so could not do that. I attempted it many times, and got the same message. I am stuck.

Battery is good. I did the light test.

JDA,

Loading a sound file is the most signal intensive of all DCS operations. Try directly connecting a short piece of track as the only thing on a TIU channel output and try loading the sound file again with the engine on that track.

If it still fails, try a different TIU channel. Just remember to keep the TIU powered via either Aux. Power or an input to Fixed Channel #1.

Can I use an old Lionel 1033 or ZW for power, or do I need to use a Z4000?

quote:

Can I use an old Lionel 1033 or ZW for power, or do I need to use a Z4000?

ZW for sure, 1033 probably. To transfer a sound file, anything that provides 18 volts AC at 2-3 amps is plenty.

The latest. Tried again. I tried to start it up with no luck. Then I deleted the engine from DCS but now can not add it back. Get the message "no engine to add". So, I think it is dead. Do not know what else to try.

I think it needs serious repair.

One last thing to try is Recover Engine: (Must be running DCS 4.10 in TIU and Remote)
• Place the engine on a short piece of track connected to Fixed #1 Out of TIU#1.
• Connect power to Fixed #1 In.
• Menu/System/Engine Setup/Recover Engine and follow prompts.

If engine is recovered, try to add it to the remote.

I am running 4.10. I tried to recover the engine using your suggestions. I got the message "no engine to recover". It apparently can not find it. I do know the battery is good (I used the light bulb test to check it and it stayed lit for 20 seconds).

quote:

Originally posted by Barry Broskowitz:
One last thing to try is Recover Engine: (Must be running DCS 4.10 in TIU and Remote)
• Place the engine on a short piece of track connected to Fixed #1 Out of TIU#1.
• Connect power to Fixed #1 In.
• Menu/System/Engine Setup/Recover Engine and follow prompts.

If engine is recovered, try to add it to the remote.

After much fiddling around and replacing the battery with a BCR (yes, a BCR), the engine came back to life. I reloaded the sound file and now it seems to be working. Not really sure what happened. Hope it stays "fixed".

Before someone asks, according to the "light test", the regular battery in the engine was fully charged. I held a bulb to the battery for 20 sdeconds and the light stayed on brightly. Still, sounds like may have been a bad battery. Had a spare BCR, did not have a new battery to try.