Update regarding MTH MT-2120LP Jersey Central FM Train Master which was stuck in neutral

I tried locating an instruction manual on line to Proto one engines and found one to a F3 Proto one unit. I tried the reset 18 to reset to factory default settings. At first nothing changed and I tried the same procedure again and played with the throttle and all of a sudden, the engine takes off running. Now it seems to function with forward,neutral,reverse and all sounds ect. I am still going to test things out for awhile to see if any problems develop. I am greatly encouraged that things seem to be working again.

As I said the engine seems to be working, but at times gets stuck in the neutral state as before and then I have to play with the throttle a few times to get it to work again. Any suggestions as to what I can do to solve this issue?

Jonny all PS1 have same reset codes

Hi Jeff, Thanks for the info on that, I thought that might be the case. I am able to get this engine working so far, but I don't think that what is happening is good. I am concerned that I might not get it to run after awhile. I have two other Proto one engines and I know one of them was always a little quirky on start up and you had to "work" the throttle at times to get it running. I might just have to return this engine and look out for another Jersey Central blue/orange train Master. Too bad because it looks and sounds great once I get it going.

Post your inquiry over on the MTH DCS forum, and you'll get some good advice.

Try to remember that when you first power up your Proto One engine you have to keep the voltage under 10 volts when you first want it to go forward. That is how you get it out of reset which is the default setting it is in when you first power it up.

Carl C posted:

Try to remember that when you first power up your Proto One engine you have to keep the voltage under 10 volts when you first want it to go forward. That is how you get it out of reset which is the default setting it is in when you first power it up.

Carl, I tried all different throttle settings on start up and it behaves the same way. What finally gets it moving is turning the throttle up all the way to full power quickly and off several times in a row and then it abruptly starts moving. When first starting up you hear normal engine startup and engine idle, then when you hit the direction button you hear two bell rings and it goes into what I call a quiet idle and does not move with no head lamps working.

I"m curious. What transformer are you using?   If you have a multi meter, check the output of the transformer to see if your really under ten bolts?  You might have a scrambled chip in the engine and it needs the unscrambler chip installed to set it straight.  Its just a thought that it might be scrambled. Your actions to make the engine respond make no sense to me at all.

I would try a postwar transformer, put the loco on the track, and power up the transformer just enough to have the sounds start up. Then turn the power off and back on, giving it about half a second off. The loco should turn on the headlight, and start moving forward. Usually you need the unscrambling chip if you get the three clanks of doom, plus a new battery. When you try the loco, do the sounds keep going when you turn the power off and on, if not, then you need a new rechargeable battery.

Carl C posted:

I"m curious. What transformer are you using?   If you have a multi meter, check the output of the transformer to see if your really under ten bolts?  You might have a scrambled chip in the engine and it needs the unscrambler chip installed to set it straight.  Its just a thought that it might be scrambled. Your actions to make the engine respond make no sense to me at all.

Carl, I am using a MTH Z-1000 with this engine. I will check the voltage output in the morning to see what the voltage is.

Luke, Jonny said he put a bcr in the engine first thing. Wondering if the BCR might be bad?

Train Doctor posted:

I would try a postwar transformer, put the loco on the track, and power up the transformer just enough to have the sounds start up. Then turn the power off and back on, giving it about half a second off. The loco should turn on the headlight, and start moving forward. Usually you need the unscrambling chip if you get the three clanks of doom, plus a new battery. When you try the loco, do the sounds keep going when you turn the power off and on, if not, then you need a new rechargeable battery.

Luke, I have a postwar Lionel ZW on my other track which I can switch this engine over to to see if things work differently.

The battery that came with this engine was black in color and looks like a rechargable 9 volt, which I never tried using. I put in a BCR I had on hand with this engines first use.

Carl C posted:

Luke, Jonny said he put a bcr in the engine first thing. Wondering if the BCR might be bad?

I never thought of the BCR possibly being bad. I have heard that you can temporarily use a regular 9 volt just to test things out. Is that a bad idea?

That MTH Z-1000 transformer may be causing the problem. Some of them do not work well with ProtoSounds / Proto-1 systems. Put that locomotive on the track powered by the postwar ZW. Turn on 10 volts for 1 minute. Sounds may come on gradually as the BCR charges. After 1 minute, move the throttle off and on and see what happens. If sounds stop as current is turned off, even momentarily, something is wrong with the board(s).

ProtoSounds / Proto-1 / QSI systems are designed for pure / full sine wave AC from Lionel postwar transformers. Some newer transformers produce "chopped" sine wave AC, and that causes problems.

Jonny, yes you can use a regular 9 volt battery to test your loco. And I would do it on the track with the old ZW.  Just don't leave it in the engine. I would also try it first with the BCR on the track with the ZW too. If it works with the ZW  and the BCR you have found your problem and don't need to do anything but repower the other track with a pure sine wave transformer.

Sounds great guys, I'll give that a try with the ZW in the morning and let you know how that works out. Thanks so much for all your help!

Well, I have wonderful news on that engine! I just tried my old ZW with the engine and after one minute warmup she went off with no problems. Thank you so much everyone who helped me out with this problem! Who knew that the transformer would be the answer. Now the only thing I will have to do is purchase a bell button to add to my ZW. 

You can also make your own whistle/bell box, this one does both.

John,

  You have my interest on one of those bell buttons. Do you offer any of those for sale?

Thanks

Jon

Nope, I just built one for bench use when I need it with an old PW transformer.   As you can see, it's just a couple of pushbuttons and a handful of diodes.