DCS Remote Battery Indicator

eaaiiiOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I have a PS2 MTH ES44AC that is just under a couple years old. It does not show any symptoms of having a bad battery, but when I used the DCS Remote went to "Advanced" and "Information" it said the battery is "Low." When I Charged up the battery using the 12-hour portable charger, I was getting the same reading using the remote. Makes me wonder whether the DCS is more accurate or whether I probably have a bad battery. Anyone have similar experiences or suggestions? As part of my troubleshooting I checked the batteries of my other two engines and their batteries are fine (according to the DCS remote anyway). Obviously, my next inclination is to change the battery. However, I'm going to kick myself if I insert a new battery and get the same reading from my DCS remote.

2/5/1312:58 PM

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Barry BroskowitzOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER

The DCS Remote's messages regarding the battery in the engine actually pertain to the engine's battery charging circuit.

A message of "low" would indicate that the circuit was only providing a trickle-charge to top off the battery, which was close to fully charged.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/60-1279

2/5/131:33 PM

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eaaiiiOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Barry,

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Instead of buying a battery, I'll buy the book

2/5/131:56 PM

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Barry BroskowitzOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER

Instead of buying a battery, I'll buy the book

IMHO, a good investment!

2/5/131:59 PM

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KeystoneOGR Forum Member

I would verify which version of DCS you are running. If you are currently running one of the earlier DCS versions that were released before MTH changed over from the 8.4 volt engine battery (and 5 volt PS2 board) AND you are running a newer PS2 engine with the AA type battery (and 3 volt PS2 board) your DCS will always indicate a low engine battery. The earlier DCS versions do not recognize the difference between a 8.5 and 3 volt battery and view a fully charged PS2 3 volt battery as approximately only half charged or in need of charging.

If your DCS is an earlier version, a DCS software upgrade will correct the problem.

2/5/132:29 PM

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Pine Creek RailroadOGR Forum Member

eaaiii,

Keystone makes a good point and further if you do have a bad battery in your engine, I suggest replacing it with a BCR, which will last for darn near ever. I run the BCR's in just about all my engines, the new P3 engines actually have similar engineering in the engine, no battery required.

PCRR/Dave

2/5/132:41 PM

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Barry BroskowitzOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER

Keystone & Dave,

Did you guys not read my earlier post? The message tells how hard the engine's battery circuit is working, not the voltage of the battery. The version of DCS is not an issue.

2/5/135:38 PM

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RJROGR Forum Member

Oh let's not have another forum dispute over BCR vs battery. There are enough threads on that subject.

If it works, don't sweat it.

2/5/136:09 PM

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Pine Creek RailroadOGR Forum Member

RJR,

The people I had disputes with are all burried in Viet Nam, having good conversations about O Guage trains, does not fall into a dispute catagory.

PCRR/Dave

2/6/133:22 PM