I recently purchased a new Railking UP Gas Diesel Set with Protosound. The dealer told me to charge up the battery before using. I did that in a separate charger and the battery showed a charge of 9 volts. I installed a regular 9-v battery to test out the engine and it worked fine, went forward and reverse, etc. I reinstalled the original battery and the engine starts up and makes the two dings. But I can’t get it to go forward or reverse. I have tried to reset several times, tried to undo the lockouts, etc. I finally called MTH sevice. The tech told me the battery was probably too low and messed up the computer programming and this is not covered in the warranty. They will repair for a cost. I now have a $300 paperweight. Have any advice on trying anything else. This is not my first Railking engine so I am familiar with the features setting. Thanks for any help.
Hi Johnup,
It sounds like you have a Proto Sounds 1 (PS-1) Locomotive, if it is, the battery may have been weak enough to cause problems with the control chip. SOME PS-1 Locomotives are susceptible to this problem. There is supposed to be a reprogramming chip available to fix this, but I have not personally used it. I have heard that it is about $25-30.00, and not terribly difficult to use. Check with your Local Hobby Shop (LHS) and see if they have a descrambler either for sale, or in their shop to fix this, if the shop you bought it from has a descram chip in their own repair bench, they may do it for free.
If it is a Proto Sound 2 (PS-2) Locomotive, try replacing the battery with a NEW alkaline 9V battery, these will work, they just wont recharge from track power like the original MTH battery will. In MY EXPERIENCE PS-2 Locomotives won’t be damaged by a weak battery the way a PS-1 Locomotive will, but they may not come out of neutral with a weak battery, replacing the battery will usually return them to service.
Frustrating, I Know, Been there Done that, Good Luck,
Doug
Hello Johnup:
[#welcome] Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear about your new MTH set. I would suggest you bring the engine back to your dealer and see if they can reset the engine without sending it back to MTH.
Unfortunately, the owner’s manual states in a couple of places that you should categorically not use an alkaline battery for the engine which is probably why MTH service told you it was not a warranted defect. Good luck with the repair, once you have it running I think you will be pleased.
Regards,
John
There are a lot of Proto 1 gasoline turbines out there. Miss Edna still has one. First I would replace the battery with a good one. If that does not clear the problem, then there is a unscrambler chip. A local MTH repair store should do it for you [if they are worth a hoot]. Give us your location and someone in your area might just give you a reliable shop to visit. Keep us posted.
Thanks for your sage advice. I do have PS-1 and it sounds like from your suggestion and others that I need to get a reprogramming chip to solve the problem. I did try a fresh MTH battery and there was no change in performance. I am in the Fresno, CA area, so if anyone can recommend a shop that can provide the chip, otherwise I will get it from MTH.
I have an MTH “Big Blow” gas turbine-electric that I fixed by gutting it and putting in a rectifier and electromechanical e-unit. This will probably work for a “Gas Diesel” or a “gasoline turbine” too…
Hello Johnup:
I assumed that you had a PS2 eninge. You do need the reset chip. Good luck.
Regards,
John