I did call the MTH service line and they said if I sent it in I had to pay both ways and they told me of the place (I will be calling) I plan to go.
OK. Tried the recover engine and it said "No engine recovered". Note: On test track hooked up to Fixed Channel #1. Works ok in convensional, a little jerky but seems do do everything it should. Any other ideas?
Dan
Interesting. When I had total 5-volt board failures, there was a dead short on the tracks in the board.
GRJ, don't know why you mentioned warranty repairs, this loco is 14 years old.
Drodder, did you try a new battery? Just for testing, pop in a 9-volt alkaline & see what happens.
Extended warranty? 
I just mixed this thread up with another.
Given that it's a 5V board however, my prognosis is not good for getting it to run from the symptoms. 
GRJ, have you had failed 5-volt boards than ran in conventional?
I do believe I have one in my "maybe I'll get this working" pile that runs in conventional and not command. It's not recognized at all in DCS.
RJR, Yes that is how I got it to run in convensional. Didn't seem to help the LOST engine problem in DCS.
So in my frustration of the 50+ dead 5V boards I started to disassemble a grouping of them. After using SM hot air @400C the two boards detach. I have been finding that the T04 size hex inverter on many boards is damaged between pins 1-3... See the picture. does anybody have a schematic trace on the 5V boards? I have out my micro probs and I am reverse engineering this. Any Help!
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I think you're tilting at windmills here. It's just not worth the effort to try to fix these. If it's not a minor issue, I just put them in the junk board box and move on.
I can't disagree with ya on this one. Too bad. Well I have plenty of cores!!!!
Why/how is it that you have 50+ dead PS2-5V boards? What are you trying to do?
In any event. You ask about pin 1-3 on the T04. I assume you ask about that apparently missing connection because you see pins 2-4-6 connected. For a T04, that implies pins 1-3-5 should be connected. But if you know enough to ask you should also know that only uA of current flow into pins 1 and 3. It is unlikely that trace/connection would fail. If you're saying it failed as a result of your heating the board to separate them, then why wouldn't you just attach a wire to reconnect.
I have several hundred of them Stan:-)
I'm a piker, I deep-sixed a bunch of these before my move, I have probably ten or twelve or so already accumulated in a box of dead boards since the move. I figure I can always get more if I want them, they seem to be dropping like flies!
I think they can smell the lack of Magic Smoke in a train room and try to fill the order.
But that's my point. Once you've accumulated a dozen or so dead boards for spare parts, it seems there's little value in saving more. That is, you guys would have fixed anything obvious. So to reach the point where the PS2-5V boards must be separated to continue, there must be some special circumstance. Of course if it's just to pass the time on a rainy afternoon then to each his own!
Stan, I separated one set a long time ago to see if I could revive it. After failing in the attempt, and seeing what a PITA it was to take them apart and get them back together, I realized they were not made to be repaired.
What possessed MTH to build them that way in the first place baffles me! It would have been just as easy to make that jumper set a connector where they could be easily separated. I view the 5V boards as disposable if it's not something simple like lighting or smoke parts, and of course that big 330uf capacitor, I have successfully replaced a few of those.
Better than collecting Cats Stan! I do purge after a while. I have a box of batteries, speaker, dead boards separated by type, harnesses etc. Plus Authorized techs have to return carcass. G
I recently had a PS2 engine failure. Sent it MTH and the diagnosis was there were some cold solder joints that failed. Engine was sent back lubed, greased, repaired, new wick and traction tires also replaced. Total was 89.75 including shipping both ways.
Also the repair person included his phone number and a 90 day warranty. One reason why I will always consider MTH first for engine purchases.
