Sorry to post my first message as a problem, but hopefully someone can assist me on a train I bought used to work. Long story short, bought a used MTH CSX Diesel train for my son for Xmas. This was on top of his first RTR MTH Blue Comet Set. Well, it seemed I bought it semi broke. Took it to shop and it was a minor repair. Well the issue is I have no manual except a similar model i found on MTH website.
This is the I think the original ProSound. The manual talks about Reset and Neutral. Well I am able to return the right sequence but unable to get the train to move at all. it sit there lights one and bell ringing on and off. For some reason it is locked and I can not figure out how to get this train to move.
I have a Z1000 Transformer and i believe it should be compatible. I want to give this train to my son working and not disappoint him again like I did for Xmas.
Thank you and sorry to post my first message as a problem and begging for help.
Boy there was some Heated discussion on this topic quite awhile back. SOME Proto Sound1(PS1) locomotives were/are susceptible to this problem, Check with your shop to see if they have an MTH PS1 descrambling chip.
With SOME PS1 locomotives if the battery gets weak, it will scramble the programming, and they will lock in Neutral. When this happened to one of mine, I had to send it to MTH for descrambling. Since then they have released a chip to restore the proper settings, I have never used, or bought one, but I hear that it is easy to use and costs about $20-30.
There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason (that I know of at least) to why some have problems, and others don’t. I have a PS1 2-6-0, and a PS2 2-8-0 Steamers that currently are out of service, when powered up the Lights and smoke units come on, but no sound or movement. I have a PS 2 F-3 with a mind of it’s own, it runs when it feels like it, and is VERY difficult to reverse, another PS-2 F-3 Runs Beautiful, and was the very first MTH locomotive I bought, I was/still am Very impressed with it.
MTH PS1/2 locomotives will recharge their batteries when run, so run them often. Best advice that I can give is to not let an MTH locomitve’s battery get weak, some will give you an industrial sized Migraine of a headache.
I have many more Lionels than MTH. I have many more problems with MTH, than Lionels. Your (and other’s) mileage may vary.
I would like to ask when you first turn power on with the locomotive in question do you keep voltage less than 8 volts ? these engines when they first get power go thru a 2-3 second state where the engine checks itself and then you can move the transformer handle to sequence the locomotive to run forward or backward. have you checked the battery to see if its fully charged? as stated in 1st post if battery is weak or close to being there and you turn it on it will scramble its brain. the way to tell if that has happened to yours when you first turn the power on to the ps-1 if you get three clangs and sound after that the brain needs the descrambler chip kit. you stated that this was in a shop for repair did they run the engine if so were you there to see it run? what did they fix? if that repair shop is close take the ps-1 back and ask the repair/shop owner to show you how to start these engines up and run them. hope this helps you some. as to battery charge you’ll have to see how often this engine is used as only time they recharge the battery is when there powered on the track. they make a device called a BCR it replaces the battery but you have to let the engine sit for about 1 minute before using the ps-1 as this device charges itself in that time frame and as long as power is on to that engine it will have all the backup power for the computer boards inside and thus eliminates the dead battery descramble chip ordeal, the downside is you have to wait that minute for it to get a full charge. how old is the engineer in charge of these engines if very young then I’d advise you to turn this loco on and off until you can teach him the correct procedure to use his new pride and joy! I hope you both have as much fun as the rest here do its a great escape from reality which as of late economic doom and gloom is a perfect state of mind to be in our worlds run semi flawlessly and far and wide to regions of the mind. let us know on your progress on this. h
If the engine doesn’t give the three clanks of death on start up , it isn’t “scrambled” and the force chip won’t really fix what’s wrong. The unit is probably stuck in neutral and the only way to unstick it is to reprogram the unit so it isn’t in neutral. If the shop is nearby AND they have a Z-4000 this can be done in a few minutes. The 4000 can read the unit’s “state” and can be programmed very quickly. You should replace the battery, probably with a BCR to avoid this issue in the future.
PS1 used a “STATE MACHINE” technology to program/access features. Unfortunately it needs a battery to keep track of the state. Worse, it requires about 3 seconds for the loco to come up and leaveprogram mode at start up. ANY voltage swings or DC offstes will be interpretted as programming commands and will probably leave the system in a confused state.
PS, you don’t need a 4000, but it’s a lot easier if you have access to one.
Try this —> place the engine on the track, crank the throttle up to 12-13 volts, and leave it like that for 15-20 minutes, just running (don’t touch any buttons). Then crack the throttle back and start your engine forward. Let us know what you got after this…
The local hobby shop I took it to said everything was fix. He said there was a loose wire, needed a new battery and some other minor things. He said it was working fine so I assume he has it moving. I will call the shop today to see if he really made the train move and ask about the chip
Thank you for the welcome. I will give a call to the hobby to verify that the train was tested to move and ask him how to make it start up. I was able to play around the sequence to unlock but was unable to kick it off. Thank you again. Will post some picture of the Blue Comet and the CSX once I get this all straigten out. Will need later to see how best build a table to place this train set on. Right now on the floor and my train engineer is only 5.
Sorry dumb question since I am very new at this model train stuff, how do I know if i am at 12 -13 volts?
And what do you mean by throttle back how far? Will have to try this out tonight to see if this works, I cant show my son the train yet that it is so called fixed.
The idea is to charge up the battery. So long as you don’t do anything with the transformer, after three seconds the engine comes out of resest and then it will operate in normal fashion.
Loco’s that leave reset SHOULD BE in neutral unless you have programmed them otherwise. If you cut back on the throttle to only a few volts OR throttle back and then hit the direction button, the DCRU/E-unit will trigger and the engine should be able to move out in forward.
The neutral lock feature is susally something like 51 or 52, the unlock is the other one. Feature 18 is rest to factory defaults. If you had an engine stuck in neutral that you didn’t do on purpose, AFTER you unlock it, do a reset 18 to clear any other bad programming information.
Are 18, 51, 52 DCS programming codes? I have had MTH PS 1&2 locomotives for a couple of years now, and I don’t understand what the 18, 51 and 52 mean. I run in conventional, and Kenny said that he has a Z-1000, but did not mention DCS, so I think that he is running conventional also.
Most transformers put out about 18-20 volts, so if you turn up your throttle to about 75% or above, you should be in the ball park, on the 12-13 volts. Then turn the throttle all the way off for a second or two, to cycle the reverse unit, to try to get the train to move (should start in forward)
There are several ways to build a train Table, a sheet of plywood framed with 1x4’s or 1x6’s is very popular, use cross stringers every 16-24 inches.
For a smaller table, You can use a hollow core door, the 36" ones with no knob holes, like what are used for Bi-Pass closet doors work Great. you can get screw on legs that use a mounting plate screwed into the door( use these plates at the corners where there is some solid wood to screw into) The legs come in a variety of lengths and styles. If you finish off the edges with trim molding, it can look very nice. There is a book called Easy Lionel Layouts You Can Build, by Peter H. Riddle, that describes using the door method for Small, Modular and Larger solid layouts. it includes some good info on wiring and other things, as well as many track plan ideas. You would likely be able to find this book on amazon.com I highly reccomend it, you would Probably find it useful and inspiring.
After your table is built, I would suggest, as your son is only 5, building a “Toy Train” style layout for now. Using the green indoor/outdoor carpet will be very durable, and I think looks very nice. Plasticville and K-Line make some very appropriate buildings for a layout like this, and are reasonably priced.
Here are some pics of a Halloween themed layout I built on a door for my Girlfriend and Her Kids. The Ranch style house, Station and Church are all Plasticville. The Log Cabin in the back left corner, is ceramic, and I found that at Goodwill for $3.00, you never know where you might find things that you can use.
Hi, I did the Reset 18 and heard all the appropiate sounds but is said to hold the Whistle button until I hear 2 bells I think, but only heard one. Just called the hobby shop and the tech is only on Saturday. Will try some more things tonight. Will keep you posted. Thank you,
I am not running DCS so I guess I am running conventional as Doug mention. The battery is new since the tech fix that part, but if you tell me otherwise I still need to charge it I will try again tonight.
Those are some nice layout. I am not the most handiest person around, I will take a look on the effort that needs to be done and buy that book you suggested.
I know this will become a very expensive hobby for my son and me
18, 51,52 are “feature” codes for PS-1. They refelect the number of times you would have to pump the throttle handle to succesfully program the engine. The PS-1 programming procedure is outlined in the back of the instruction manual. Main PS-1 features are the same accross the product line.
call back and ask the hobby shop owner if he has a store layout and a z-4000 transformer he uses to power it, if so ask him if he could show you how to do the resets or better yet see if he’ll reset engine for you and then show you how to get it going. can’t hurt to ask him.
in regards to engineers age and train table use some 1x4 around all sides of table so engines stay off the floor we kids love to run’em fast and hard don’cha know
Expensive, I can’t imagine where you might get that Idea, [:-^] Just a Friendly warning, though the O-Gauge virus is Extremely contagious, it is rarely Fatal (unless your Wife catches you buying trains). The size of O-Gauge Trains can be very addictive.
My previous pics were of what is refered to as a “Toy Train” style layout, you can also build what is known as a “High Rail” layout, where the buildings and scenery are more detailed and realistic, and can rival anything done in HO or other scales.
It really is more time (and money) consuming than difficult. Take your time and ENJOY doing it, you might very well surprize yourself at just what you might end up with. It really is a matter of taking your time, trying different techniques to see what works best for YOU, and remembering that if you don’t like the way something came out, don’t be afraid to try something different, nothing has to be permenant. Also if something starts to get Frustrating (it happens to ALL of Us) just walk away from it, take a break, sometimes when you are doing something else, the solution to your problem will just pop into your head, when you didn’t even realize you were thinking about it.
Do put the extra effort into your track work and wiring, these WILL come back to haunt you if you cut corners. Start off with a smaller layout (4x8, 5x9) before you tackle a basement filling empire, develop those wiring, track laying and scenery skills, and have a little FUN, that basement will still be there when you are ready to build that Dream Layout.
Update to my problem. I took the train back to the shop this past Saturday and he showed me on his Z-4000 transformer and all was well. He went over the procedure with me on how to do this on my Z-1000. Well tried it last night and still can not get this train to move foward. I am a point of frustration now.
Do I invest in a better tranformer or do I keep trying or do I just sell this train. It seem so simple for him on his transformer but why is it so difficult for me. Am I just able to do this, how will my 5 yr old son do this if I can even do this ?
After talking to the person at the hobby shop he explained that this train take more power to run and the new model take less. So in theory I can’t run both trains on the same track. I would have to run 2 tracks, which i not a big deal, but still makes me wonder if I should invest in the Z-4000 transformer. It is not cheap either as most people will probably know.
Kenny, I;m a little confused right along with ya. If it worked for the Z4000, my guess is it should have worked with the Z1000 (unless your Z1000 is loaded down with a lot of accessories…)
Did you charge up the battery on the track like suggested? Is it possible you left the engine in a cold auto too long on the way home?
And, yes, if it came between purchasing a new engine or a Z4000, the Z4000 would win hands down…one time purchase that can’t go wrong, my friend.
Are you sure the battery isn’t dead? If he reset the loco, it should stay reset. The 4000 is much easier to reprogram these engines than any other type of transfomer. Of course you shouldn’t need to do a lot of reprogramming is the batteries in the loco are OK.
