LOST SOUND ON PS2 ENGINE

I neglected to mention that the engine had not been run for some time and the battery may have been low.  I recharged it overnight and the sound issue was not resolved when I retested it.

First stop is to check the speaker, those can fail.  If it's not the speaker, look around for any pinched wires or a short of one speaker lead to the frame.  Any pinched wires or shorts can take out the audio amp on the processor board.

Gunner John,

Thanks for the guidance and info.

The speaker looks fine as does the wiring- no obvious signs of a shorted or pinched wire.  I unplugged the plug that connects the speaker wires to the wires that go to the board and reconnected them.  I did not switch out the speaker because there are zero signs of corrosion or wear.  I am comfortable tinkering, but do not have any real experience with electronics repair.  I would hate like heck to have to pay for a new board if this can be fixed without having to replace it...

Mike

Pull the connector that runs to the speaker to isolate it.  Then take a couple of clip leads and a 9V battery.  Just briefly touch them to the speaker terminals and see if you get clicking and/or static from the speaker indicating it's alive. 

Do NOT do this with the speaker still connected to the PS/2 board!

Gunner John,

Will do.  Thanks!

Mike

Gunner John,

I tested the speaker with the 9 volt battery and it did make static sounds.  Does this mean the issue is the board?  Thanks again. 

Mike

It's likely, probably time to have someone test the board.  I can recommend GGG here on the forum.

Gunner John-

Thanks again.  I would like to bring the engine somewhere local if you think that might be an option.  I am North of Boston but want to try to avoid the default "replace the board solution" if the sound amp or another component can be repaired or replaced. 

Mike

Marty Fitzhenry is near you, just outside of Boston.  He can certainly tell you what you need, and he usually sends his boards to GGG if they need component repairs.  He's also a straight shooter and won't sell you a board if you don't need one.

Perfect.

Again Gunner John, Thank You!

Since everything works except sound the "old Battery test"... sounds should continue on for at least 6 or 7 seconds after track power is removed is not applicable,   , Sometime a weak battery or dead battery is worst than no battery at all.

 Another battery test might be... See if you can change the engine's ID number and have it stick with the engine after a  track power down and start up again...

Do you another  battery to try a feature reset again? I've seen this before and the battery was the culprit...

Have you tried a reset?  Cycle the volume pot if operating in conventional.  Do a feature reset with DCS.  G

Greg & GGG,

I have tried both a full reset and a feature reset more than once.  I actually bought a couple of BCR2s yesterday.  Can I get the battery pack out with out removing the board from on top of it?

As I mentioned above, I am okay at tinkering, but have limited experience and expertise with electronics repair.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Mike D.

Sometime you can get  the battery   by removing the fuel tank. It could be right in the fuel tank.

 4 screws... I don't know about this one though.

The battery for this one sits on the chassis and is underneath the Ps2 board.  There is a retainer clip that holds it in place and it doesn't appear to me that you can get the battery out with out removing the board although I would love to be wrong on this.....

If you try changing the engine's ID number with the edit engine address  command and it sticks it's not a battery problem . Much easier than taking the engine apart.

 Menu/System / engine set up/ Edit engine/ Edit engine address. change it and then shut off track power for a minute or so.... If the new address is found it's not the battery

Thanks Greg.  I will try that.   I much prefer an easy fix- especially if it works.

Mike

Mike D. posted:

Thanks Greg.  I will try that.   I much prefer an easy fix- especially if it works.

Mike

 

It's a long shot but worth trying...I might even try a track signal test to see if you can get a squawk  or anything out of  the  speaker.

PS2 without a battery will run fine in command mode, so if the battery is suspect, just remove it for a test.

Will if no sound either bad speaker or audio amp.  G

George,

if no sound either bad speaker or audio amp.

I'd add to that "or wires between board and speaker disconnected/broken".

I'd also hope that is, indeed, the problem.