Confused and frustrated. PS2/3 issues.

 It requires a remote delete engine and add MTH engine to find it again.  Tried recover engine, no good.  The unit has had a new battery (9V) installed and factory reset via remote.  One quick note:  This unit will not move when used on a conventional type track.  Sounds, horn and whistle work but no movement.

This one is sure has the weak battery syndrome.(doesn't remember ID and won't move in conventional) I know you mentioned it had a new battery But there must be a broken wire or faulty charging circuit. 

I don't have any proto-3 so I can't help with them.

Thank you Gregg.  I will look at that when I get home in the morning.  Makes sense when you look at it that way. 

I have reset the TIU, Remote and even went and re-flashed them with the most recent 4.3 build available.  The read-me says that after the reprogramming, all prior knowledge of the setup will be lost.  Process was successful, but the TIU and remote retained previously loaded units...

This one is only partially correct.. Yes the remote and tiu factory  reset  will lose all previous programming. It deletes all engines  switches  accessories, the whole works   but leaves TIU #1 added to the remote by default, Everything else is gone.

The "read" doesn't delete anything. It looks for engines and TIU. If the engines are not found it puts them in the inactive list. 

Ok.  Not sure I was specific.  I reflashed them as a pair on the pc away from the track and the engine knowledge was still there upon power-up.  Did I do something wrong or incomplete from the autoloader program?

 Sorry But you lost me.   I'm not familiar with the autoloader.   I am  (was?) familiar with the dcs loader  , same thing ? I'm guessing you made a copy of the remote and saved it to the computer?

Reflashing the remote and tiu with the operating system will not erase information stored in the remote (switches, engines, etc).  If you want to start with a clean slate, you should reset the remote and tiu before reloading the operating system.

Gregg, I didn't make a copy.  Yes, the DCS loader was what I referred to.  Sorry.

mrmacher:  Thank you.  That explains why they were still present.  I'm satisfied with the code reload so for now I'll leave them alone.

Does anyone have any idea why the two PS3.0 GP-9's would decide to auto start and move uncommanded?  Thanks go all who have given help.  I appreciate it.

They may be missing the watch dog signal but why moving is unknown unless locked in forward.

Do a conventional rest or unlock with the bell/whistle button following the instruction manual.  G

GGG:  Thanks.  I'll try that in the morning.

It looks like my problem is solved.  One member suggested that I disconnect the aux power supply and power up the TIU from the ZW.  By not using the power supply, the ZW starts the TIU sequence and the watchdog signal gets onto the track as the power increases.  The watchdog was being sent before voltage on the tracks...  My wife did the troubleshooting while I was at work and the problem has been fixed.  No more phantom starts.  I'll look into the #612 battery issue later.  THANK YOU to everyone who provided advice and suggestions.

Admin:  This thread can be closed as necessary. 

captnemo, the watchdog is not sent when thew TIU is powered up.  It is sent independently on each channel when power is first applied to that channel.

If you have multiple locos with same ID number, that's operator error.

Reprogramming the remote & TIU does not erase data.  Only a reset does that.

If a loco loses its identity when powered down, the battery is at fault.  What type of battery are you using?  Rechargeable "9-volt" batteries are usually 7.2 volts, which is not adequate.  The MTH batteries are actually 8.4 volts, and these are available from a number of other companies, but are hard to find.

Mark,

   RJR is absolutely correct, each engine must have a different ID, it's not a watch dog problem, he is also correct about the Batteries.  In your P2 engines you might want to consider installing a BCR.   Looks like a little operator error.

PCRR/Dave

RJR:  Thank you for the clarifications.  Yes, the battery is a MTH direct replacement.  You are correct at the 8.4 volts.  It is new, but since it seems to be losing the data, then there is some other problem related to the battery.  The locos are not on the same channel.  I have renumbered and renamed them specifically for that purpose and separated them by at least 2 numbers.  Thanks again for your help.

The GP-9's were renumbered from the day I got them.  This wasn't the problem.  The unexpected startup and motion was.  I don't understand everything that's going on here, but removing the aux power supply until after track power is applied has stopped that from happening.

There have been some quirks with PS-3 engines (no batteries) starting up depending on how power is supplied.

Even if they start up, they should not move and you just address them with remote and shutdown or control it.

For PS-2 engines with batteries.  Either the 8.4V or the 2.4V versions, the battery must be charged and operable for the engine to retain memory when shutdown.  Otherwise any changes made while powered up won't stick, and it reverts back to the original data when restarted.

The easy test is to start up a PS-2 engine in conventional and after started up, turn track power off.  If the engine plays shutdown sounds the battery is good.

The only way PS-2 engines can move in conventional is with a good battery installed, otherwise it doesn't change direction when track power is interrupted and the startup sequence starts again.

They can run under DCS without battery, but retaining settings is the issue.

As far as motion and resets for PS-3.  Many times you have to do a conventional reset for a locked engine (locked in fwd, neutral, or rev).  DCS Factory reset doesn't reset the conventional state.

Unlocking engines is voltage dependent also, so it is best done with voltage around 10V.  Normally a conventional reset 1W and 5B acknowledged with two toots must be done from neutral, though some have said they can unlock a moving engine this way.  I have not been able to, so I just use the unlock sequence. 

Sounds like you made good progress, or should I say your wife did.  Normally these post are not deleted, because others find the information helpful too.

G

Just for the record to avoid any confusion among readers, the fact that locos may be on different channels or even different tiu's, does not permit having multiple locos on same layout.

Lost me Robert.

Gregg, the poster said, "The locos are not on the same channel" in a discussion of ID numbers  It is possible that someone will understand this as meaning that locos not on the same channel can have the same numbers.   Just wanted to clarify for any person not having a full understanding of DCS.  That's all.  If something can be misconstrued, at some point it will.

Thanks Robert, Got it now.   Good point.

Thank you everyone for the wisdom and insight.  My work schedule hasn't allowed me any time downstairs today so I'll have to wait again...  The PS2 battery issue sounds like either a charging issue or connector problem.  You have described my symptoms perfectly.  Again, thanks everyone.  I appreciate it greatly.  -Mark