Looking for help From fellow MTH Techs- Steam PS3 upgrade trouble

Sounds like the tach reader needs to be closer to the flywheel. Did you use the correct tach tape?

Can't help much with the PS3 problem but in the future you can check the motor and drive train by simply disconnecting board from the motor and apply DC directly to the motor. That will rule out any mechanical issues.

Pete

- I tried two different tach readers .. i guess today with a fresh mind I will re evaluate the tach... I hope its that simple

-I isolated the motor and there seemed to be slight drag at slow speeds, but the operation was smooth..I believe mechanically things are sound.,

Always run the train with original components first to rule out any previous mechanical issues.  If it runs smooth on a 9V battery the mechanics are probably fine.

There is not other harness and that is not the issue.  Now, if the diodes are shorting to chassis ground due to clearance issues, that can be a problem, but you should see a higher than normal current draw on the Z-4000.

The more likely issue is matching sound files, tach tape size to that specific model.  If the gap was to wide the engine would not run slow at all and tend to run fast even if skipping some chuffs.  So depending one what you mean by jerky can matter.  Normally you have to custom fit the tach for proper gap depending on the flywheel size.  Many different size flywheels were used on PS-1.  IF the gap is correct and proper tape on the unit, it should run approximate scale speed.  May be jerky up to 5SMPH depending on the gear ratio.  Should smooth out after that.  If your saying it is jerky at 20 smph like it is stopping and going that does sound like tach reader gap, or some other intermittent issue with wire conductivity.  G

George, the running gears seem to run smooth when I hook it up to the DC  from the commander. There is a little bit of noise but the wheels turn free and i  do not feel any mechanical binding.

I measured the tach tape to the flywheel, could the flywheel be different in size for the PS3 version of this engine? 

I will check the diodes and see if they are touching the frame. ..

thanks as always george..

Yes, on flywheel size but that is not the issue if the tape is sized to the flywheel.  You have the same segment count regardless of FW size.  This issue may be gear ration between PS-1 and the PS-2 sound file.  That can cause issues.  A video of the actual jerky motion would help. G

George

I will take a video tomorrow.. I had to put it aside and clear my head

I will try to load the ps2 upgrade file to it.. to see if there is any change.. I have the ps3 file loaded onto the board right now. 

but before I go any further I am going to try a new tach reader to see if there is some issue with it,

Ill get in touch with you tomorrow

thanks

Bill

PROBLEM SOLVED......HOOORAY!

George.

I did two things.

1. soaked the worm gear and cleaned off all old grease...

2. replaced the tach reader holder with another... and behold... the engine responded as it should... upon further inspection the tach reader holder where the reader slides in was not flat.. and as a result the reader sat on a slight angle to the flywheel.  I guess enough to cause the issue.

thank you for the advice as always ...

BBS, could you or some of your MTH tech buds answer a few questions for me regarding MTH PS1 upgrades.  I'm switching over to MTH soon and would like to purchase a PS1 or PS2 steam engine and upgrade it to PS3.  Is this something that's fairly easy to do?  I'm pretty handy with tools and have a basic understanding of model trains.  Additionally:

• Is there a big difference in sound quality from PS1, PS2 to PS3?
• Are 90's and early 2000's MTH smoke units as good as the newer ones?  Are they cross compatible?
• Are there motor upgrades available?  IE: bigger, faster more torque units available to upgrade existing motors?

Thanks in advance,

TrainGuyMcGee posted:

BBS, could you or some of your MTH tech buds answer a few questions for me regarding MTH PS1 upgrades.  I'm switching over to MTH soon and would like to purchase a PS1 or PS2 steam engine and upgrade it to PS3.  Is this something that's fairly easy to do?  I'm pretty handy with tools and have a basic understanding of model trains.  Additionally:

• Is there a big difference in sound quality from PS1, PS2 to PS3?
• Are 90's and early 2000's MTH smoke units as good as the newer ones?  Are they cross compatible?
• Are there motor upgrades available?  IE: bigger, faster more torque units available to upgrade existing motors?

 

The PS/3 upgrade is fairly easy to install.  The smoke units all have the same capability as far as being used with the PS/2 or PS/3 upgrade, the design hasn't changed.  The PS/1 smoke unit has logic to run from track power, but you remove all that to do the upgrade.

For the upgrade, PS/2 and PS/3 will have the same sound files.  There are no easy motor upgrades, but for the most part I have not seen the need to replace a motor in one of these.