I recently purchased a New MTH F-3 Texas Special RTR set. Although the engine runs fine I get no sound. I do not use DCS, just a 750 MTH Transformer. Have tried changing the volume control on the engine and a 15 minute charge up as per instructions. Since this was cataloged in 2004 could it just need a new battery or does this “sound” like a repair job. Thanks for any help.
My guess is a new battery. I will email some of our MTH experts and see if they can help.
It could be the speaker. I’m trying to find my copy of Dick Teal’s book on Modern Toy Train Repair to see what else could be wrong. The usual cuplrits are battery and then the speaker. After that I believe it gets more complicated. You might have a problem with the audio amp on the PS2 circuit board or the volume potentiometer itself. The fact that the train runs normally indicates that the main PS-2 circuitry is fine and that the sound file itself is intact (the sound file is part of a database file that includes speed control, if it’s corrupted the engine will not work properly).
Thanks for the advice. I took out the battery, tried to get a replacement at Radio Shack but their connection was female vs male on the MTH battery. Decided I didn’t want to cut and splice especially when I tested the voltage in the MTH battery and it was 2.4V as it should be. Decided to put the original back in the Diesel and send it in for repair. To just confirm no sound before sending it in, I put it on the track and Schzaam !!!
Everything worked fine !!! Maybe MTH figures if it waits long enough (six days since I sent them an e-mail asking for help) many of their products will heal themselves!