Battery

hi, the batteries generally last around 7 to 10 years then they won't hold a charge, there not that expensive to replace! if when you power down the sounds should last around 7 seconds if not baterry need replaced or are not charging!

Alan

@jps32016 posted:

I was running a 15 year old 3v ps2 Hudson when it suddenly lurched to a halt and could not get it running again.  The headlight comes on but that it.  Didn't appear to be any internal damage but checked the 2.4 battery and it read about 1.3. Would that be so low nothing but the headlight would activate?  Pretty sure it's the original.  Beyond recharging?  Get A 2.4 volt BCR?

I would opt for the BCR .      Not sure why the Hudson stopped , but I wouldn't run it until you have that battery replaced  .

Well fudge.  I put in on the track to recharge for 7 hours and the battery now reads 2.58.  I assume that's full charge.  I don't remember if this was the original battery or a replacement.  But the engine is still lifeless except for the headlight.  Could a factory reset possibly revive it, or is the board in mth heaven...or the other place?

Replace it with a BCR. I have a bunch of second hand MTH loco's and they don't get power applied until the old battery is replaced.

Where the engine was running at the time and came to a stop. I’d check the tether connection and the solder joints on the pins the tether plugs into.

Just a thought...I replaced all batteries in engines after storage of at least 5 years.  Most batteries were at or near the 10 year mark in total age.  In one of my steamers, the battery was a AAA and the battery compartment was minute.  I couldn't find a replacement battery (MTH) so i researched and found a company that makes and sells "capacitors."  Problem solved...no more battery in that steamer

It was running smoothly along some Gargraves track.  Its been a very dependable engine.  So it may not power up even if the old battery shows a decent charge?   I've looked at the wiring and didn't see any issues initially. 

Could it have picked up some debris and jammed the gearing?

These trains are like your computer. When something goes wrong, Reboot.

Get a good battery in the engine. Delete from remote. re-add to remote. see if it works. I just went thru this and this worked for me.

Okay I'll give it a try.  It'll be a while before I can report back because my DCS railroad is half an hour away in a baggage car at a museum.  Will get the BCR.  I donated it in 2006 and have been working on it ever since, but it's only open May - Oct.  I do have a smaller pre-war tubular track layout at home that I run with my old remote commander.

jps32016 - Just for clarification, if the existing battery looks like a typical 9v battery you need a BCR, but if your tender presently has 2 batteries together inside plastic wrap then you need a BCR2.

He did specify a 3V PS/2 board set...

Yeah I should have said BCR 2.  I did get the 1's for my other ps2s.  Well worth the investment!

For PS-2 3V you need battery for conventional operations, but not DCS.  Also, 3V board are not as susceptible to a weak battery like earlier boards.  The fact that it will not even start up and you have a headlight on is a problem and sounds like a board issue not a battery issue.

If you have amp meter on transformer you can see if there is an issue but charging 7 hours on track if the audio amp or some other issue is wrong with the board, can toast a board that could have been repaired at the component level.  If the battery charged, the board was trying to work and had AC power, but no start up, sounds, etc... leads to a major board failure.  Get to a tech to test board.  Stop powering it until tested.

3V boards no longer available and the constant application of power can destroy a board that was repairable.  I am seeing more and more 3V boards that had a simple audio amp failure that left power on burned up the audio traces, damaged processor chip, and even damaged the Power Supply board.  G

I suspect you're right.  It suddenly shut down while running so that doesn't sound like battery.  Sadly I've lost a few older PS2s where something shorted out the board.  Seems like a derail that doesn't trip the breaker fast enough can be fatal, along with my own carelessness.  Fortunately this loco is an old Railking that will now become background scenery.  The others I salvaged for smoke units and motors for other uses, and one took out all the drive rods and wheels for my engine house junk yard.  Can boards simply wear out or get more vulnerable to the slightest twitch?

It is possible.  Sending the boards especially PS-2 3V for repair makes shipping reasonable and diagnostic and repair lets you know for sure.  Many can be repaired.  Unfortunately, the longer a failed board is left to run with shorted components the more heat and permanent damage can occur.  G

So battery was dead, tether bad intermittent.  Blown audio amp and a prior headlight fet.  Head light hot wired to track power, smoke fan motor low ohm and dragging down board.  And locked in neutral which did not clear because of battery.  G