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6 replies

Brand New Premier GS4 Issues

A Austin_SOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Hi OGRR,

I'm looking for some advice on an engine I'm having issues with. A few months ago, I bought a brand new Premier Southern Pacific GS4 with Protosound 3.0 here on the forums. The engine has worked great up until a few weeks ago when I took it to a friend's layout. The engine will power on and is recognized by DCS just fine, all sounds work but the lights won't work and the engine won't move in either direction *unless* someone places their finger on the bottom of the drawbar and gently (barely any force at all) presses upwards towards the tender. The engine will then operate perfectly fine. If you let go of the drawbar, the engine typically can run for about 5-10 seconds before stuttering, making odd steam noises and flickering the lights. Sparks are noticeable on the pickup rollers during this, then the engine will stop completely. Sounds continue to work.

I have made sure the drawbar connects securely to the tender and the connection isn't loose. This engine barely has any runtime and has mostly been a shelf queen since I bought it while I've been building my layout. Could this be a faulty drawbar? Are there any connections in the tender, or even underneath the engine, that I can check? I can try and record a video which may help explain the problem a bit better.

Thanks for the help,

Austin

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H harmonyardsOGR Forum Member

Common faults for PS3 engines with wireless drawbars,…

1. bad drawbars

2. the wire harness that plugs into the wireless draw bar on the locomotive can come half way or even all the way dislodged……some times the factory can have wire ties ( zip ties ) too dang tight and the harness can’t pivot like the drawbar needs to…..thus it comes unplugged, or partially unplugged…

3. messed up pins on the wireless draw bar, …not common, but I’ve seen it happen…usually by forceful pushing, …..

4. Loose plug side on the tender connector …..I’ve only seen this once, and it was because the screws were really loose….( the little tiny 2mm jobbers )

Pat

Jim SandmanJim SandmanOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
@harmonyards posted:

Common faults for PS3 engines with wireless drawbars,…

1. bad drawbars

2. the wire harness that plugs into the wireless draw bar on the locomotive can come half way or even all the way dislodged……some times the factory can have wire ties ( zip ties ) too dang tight and the harness can’t pivot like the drawbar needs to…..thus it comes unplugged, or partially unplugged…

3. messed up pins on the wireless draw bar, …not common, but I’ve seen it happen…usually by forceful pushing, …..

4. Loose plug side on the tender connector …..I’ve only seen this once, and it was because the screws were really loose….( the little tiny 2mm jobbers )

Pat

5.  Cracked plastic surrounding the pins on the connector.

L Lou1985OGR Forum Member
@harmonyards posted:

Common faults for PS3 engines with wireless drawbars,…

1. bad drawbars

2. the wire harness that plugs into the wireless draw bar on the locomotive can come half way or even all the way dislodged……some times the factory can have wire ties ( zip ties ) too dang tight and the harness can’t pivot like the drawbar needs to…..thus it comes unplugged, or partially unplugged…

3. messed up pins on the wireless draw bar, …not common, but I’ve seen it happen…usually by forceful pushing, …..

4. Loose plug side on the tender connector …..I’ve only seen this once, and it was because the screws were really loose….( the little tiny 2mm jobbers )

Pat

Pat nailed it. Check all those things and you should solve your issue. If the drawbar keeps popping out of the tender you can use a little plastic drawbar keeper MTH sells or a small piece of rubber to hold the drawbar in place.

A Austin_SOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I did another quick run with the same issues. Push up gently on the drawbar on the tender side, engine runs fine. I took the tender shell off and noticed the drawbar pin is very loose. It appears I cannot tighten the screw, I wonder if this has anything to do with it? I inspected all other connections and everything is tight, including where the drawbar connects to the tender side. I think if that drawbar pin was tighter I may have solved my problem.

My restoration edition Big Boy will arrive next week and I can inspect the drawbar on that model to see if the tender pin is just as loose.



@Jim Sandman posted:

5.  Cracked plastic surrounding the pins on the connector.

Good to see you here Jim. If all else fails, I might just have to leave her with you for a bit to figure things out.

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