MTH Erie Triplex EXPLODES!!!

It almost sounds like a capacitor or maybe a diode blew. Did you open up the tender? Whatever it is it can probably be fixed.

Elliot...I didn't open the tender since I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway.  Living where I do, the cost of just getting the locomotive to someone that may fix it and back to me will be a better part of a $50.00 bill.  Also, I believe this particular unit has a 5 volt system so that may be a problem.  I just don't know if I want to mess with the aggravation of parts and repairs....

I am wondering if this loco could be converted to something other than DCS?  Honestly, I like the sound so I need to think about the alternatives....

Alan

Alan, if it does turn out to be a capacitor, like Dave said, it may be possible to just replace it and not the whole board. The only problem with that is it could happen again. There could be a second, weak of failed, component that caused it in the first place.

If you do feel like taking the shell off, you can look for anything "crispy", sometimes it's that obvious. 

I don't think a $50 repair is much at all,Why have it sit if it can be repaired. That engine cost alot more than $50. If it were mine and I could have t repaired thats what I would do.I would find out what the cost was and then decide if I wanted to spend what it woud cost. Get it repaired and just look at as if you bought a few new pices of rolling stock.

Getting your favorite steamer repaired or replacing it with something similar for upwards of a thousand dollars. Seems like a no brainer.

I agree with the others: I would get it fixed. It might be a pain in the butt now to send it out but that would be better than leaving it on a shelf just to gather dust and not be enjoyed.    IMO

Definitely get it fixed.   Assuming its out of warranty, if it cost $2-300 to repair compare that the the retail value of $1,300. I'd contact the MTH service.  If not satisfied there contact Wayne Renga of J&W electronics, I and several others have found his MTH service and his business ethics excellent.  Too nice of an engine for  a shelf queen!!!

Alan, I am so sorry to hear this. I hope you do decide to fix it and it can be repaired at a reasonable price.

I would get it repaired.  Interesting thread...The fact that it seems more and more acceptable to consider these toys disposable due to parts or cost involved.  I guess the same applies to ANYTHING that has electronics..TVs, DVD players...when products continue to advance in technology...folks tend to want the latest and greatest.  Factor in the number of actual authorized repair stations decreasing as well....and its a no brainer for some. However, I believe in traditions.  Its the memories of the holidays and trains and all the good things that come along that I cherish.  It's magical how that works...Thats why I struggle between the MTH traditional tinplate and the PS2/PS3. Down the road I want these trains to mean more than features and technology...I want my children one day to feel the "magic"again and share it with their families ... the smell of ozone..the sound of the motor...Bing Crosby music in the background....  If it means something to you and brings you back to a great place...get it repaired!  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Off to make the stuffing...Mom's old recipe of course....

Sunrise

Send it out to Chuck Sartor.  He does great work, has opened a new buiness (nee' Mizell Trains) and I believe that both of you would appreciate the outcome.

As has already been posted, capacitors can pop. I had one pop in my garage door opener. There was a loud pop, like a firecracker, and smoke.

I also had a Lionel locomotive with electronic e-unit on my bench with a popped capacitor. As I recall there wasn't much left of the capacitor, but I must have had the casing, because I was able to buy a replacement at Radio Shack, and install it.

It would be a shame to replace an entire board if it just needs a new capacitor. But if you are paying someone else to do the work, there might not be much difference in price.

I agree with all the others:  certainly worth having repaired. I can also recommend Wayne Renga of J&W.  He has upgraded several of my engines from PS to PS2.

.....

Dennis

Alan have you met Lee?

Alan, so sorry to hear about your situation. You have had your share of bad luck with trains lately. Hopefully you can find someone to repair it for you.

In spite of this, we hope that you and LaKeeta have a Happy Thanksgiving !

Happy Thanksgiving Alan to you and Lakeeta: When I purchased my Erie Triplex new, I had it immediately converted to TMCC. Never had a problem since.

That happened to me with the MTH flanger. I didn't even know the flanger had electronics. POW ! What a loud noise it made.

Scrappy

Another one bites the dust

I was thinking the same thing. But this is not a new engine with little run time on it. 

Marty E.....now that one is funny.  Nope, I haven't met him but do read his posts so perhaps I have contracted his disease through osmosis!

Everyone...thanks so much for your responses.  Roger..you are correct, lately I have had a few of these electronic disasters.

I guess my feeling right now is I just don't want to mess with the DCS electronics.  I spent years accumulating PS-2 locomotives with the intention of running them on the new layout.  I am starting to do so and now I find that the failure rate has been rather high....this situation is just one of about a half dozen this year. 

Not too long ago my Electroliner went kapluooie and I had several offers of assistance here on the forum.  My friend Ben at NJHR is still waiting for me to send it to him.  York and then the recent disaster along the East coast has delayed me shipping it off.  Now, I am rethinking and wondering if I should consider converting my sick locomotives over to TMCC.  So far I have not had the same number of problems with that operating system.  AND...I am beginning to think I need to learn how to do this myself since I am kind of isolated in this part of the country.  Right now, I believe my skills would only be "plug and play"....just being able to replace boards if I can get them from someone somehow.  Later, perhaps I can practice on bad boards replacing individual parts...??  Perhaps I should consider ERR...or...???

Anyway, I sure would appreciate additional feedback and your thoughts...

Thanks,

Alan

Sometimes capacitors blow for a reason. All components related to the circuit should be checked. Simply changing the blown capacitor may or may not not work.  5 volt boards for the most part are not repairable. Best thing is to upgrade to the newer board design if you want to stay with PS2/3 etc.

Dale H

Good morning Alan, sorry to hear this is happening to you. I can't really add any help because I don't know much about MTH engines. Like you mentioned above, send it to Ben he's the man for this. Also Happy Thanksgiving to you and Lakeeta.

Thanks, Alex & Dina

First off, capacitors have been known to simply die, it happens.  Of course, we're all speculating here as no physical inspection has been done to determine what actually happened.  Regardless of other actions, you're not going to get anywhere with a fix until an inspection is done of the insides of the tender.

If you open it up and take some pictures from various angles, I'm sure some of us may be able to give you an idea of what might have gone wrong.

On my garage door opener, I am reasonably certain that it blew because I operated the unit too many times in a very short period while tweaking the travel adjustment. The instructions warned that the unit was only designed for intermittent use.

On the Lionel engine, I replaced the capacitor, and the problem did not reoccur. I don't recall what the owner said happened to cause the first one to go. Maybe a derailment?

Capacitor 'Plague'

It looks like from the late 1990's that there was a quality control issue with capacitors, that after a few years they break down and can/do fail, at the extreme they explode.

I have changed out capacitors on PC power units and monitors with success. I guess that we are seeing those caps now failing in our trains made from that time frame. If they don't explode and you are having a problem with an engine you can do a visual inspection on them to see if they are gone, the thing to look for is the top, in most cases if it has gone the metal will be bulging and possibly leaking. The top should be flat. If you are going to replace them it will pay to spend a bit more on a quality caps as the cheap ones will go the same way as the originals

This link explains it more in detail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

I would repair it and/or have it repaired since you have had successful use of it for so long. Stuff happens. Obviously it worked well for along time so kepp it going. Converting can be fun but conversions can also produce their own issues.

Oh Gosh, Alan, you have no idea what you have started!!!!  Read the posts about my MTH 999.    And then . . . duck!!!!!  :-)

Sorry about you loco and my best regards for the Holiday

Lee

Had a Premier MTH GM&O Heavy Pacific go BANG in the tender a few years ago; dead.

Smoke city. Looked like a campfire had been built on top of the board. Got a new

PS2 board from Ready-to-Roll in Miami; plugged it in.

Fixed. Free? No; but neither was the loco.

Just why would anyone not want to get a nice, expensive, favorite loco fixed? They

are just machines, not holy relics handed down from Above.

If you don't want MTH innards in it any more, ERR is available.

"Capacitor 'Plague'

It looks like from the late 1990's that there was a quality control issue with capacitors, that after a few years they break down and can/do fail, at the extreme they explode."

Correct! The problem affects almost all electronics from that period, including computer motherboards. If you do decide to open things up for a look, check all the capacitors for swelling. The end usually starts bulging. If yhou find others, you should consider replacing them as well.

Chris

LVHR

MADE IN CHINA?

Actually, I believe the company that stole the formula was based in Taiwan.

I know this is basic information to most of you guys, but I think we should mention that if a electrolytic capacitors are changed we should make sure you use the same size as the one removed and install it with the same polarity. In other words, install the + side in the same direction as the original.

But the tender can come off with just four screws on it's bottom, one in each corner.

If you could take some pictures as suggested above and post them here I'm sure someone will be able to at lest tell you what direction to go in.

I just can't get behind making this a shelf queen.

Good luck. 

You guys are right....it is a beautiful locomotive and I probably would not be happy looking at it on the shelf all of the time.  I will take the tender off and post some pictures.  I will note that I have added pictures in the title of the thread when I do so.  I purchased this locomotive from a forum member that also does MTH service.  I remember during our conversations that perhaps the locomotive had been apart for some service...?  When I received it, the rear marker lights didn't work.  I discovered the reason a few weeks ago....two of the sockets on the female plug looked like they had gotten hot and melted some plastic so that there was no contact with the male pins when the two were inserted together.  I cleaned out the plastic in question and the lights then worked.  Anyway, I will do the inspection and pictures tomorrow...

Thanks,

Alan

I can understand, but as many will understand from other posts, I can get behind just putting it on display.  

The only MTH loco I ever sent back for repair was a Railking Big Boy and it went back three times and each time when returned it ran only about an hour or two before failing again - it seemed that every repair ended up causing some other problem - it was just so complex and hard to repair, evidently.  I ended up giving it away (fully disclosing it was a habitual problem).  The triplex is a super loco, but it has so much more complexity than that Big Boy . . . . . I can fully understand an attitude of "let's not tempt fate and just put it on display."

I got a book Greenberg's guide to MTH electric trains.. form what I'd read all MTH are made from a company in korea name Samhongsa..you take that blown out capacitors to radio shack and they can hook you up with the wright one for it..

As a worst case scenario you can spend $2 and get a rectifier at Radio Shack. The engine would only go forward without sounds but it's better than a shelf queen.

I've done this on a couple lower dollar engines and it works fine. You can control the speed pretty good this way too.

In your case however maybe you could just mail the tender to have it repaired? That would be a lot less is shipping costs.

Personally, I think it's a bad idea to just send the tender.  You're trying to save a few bucks and seriously compromising the ability to do the repair.

i disgree gunner..bet 10 to 1 they will replace the bottom board..in that case call mth to get a price on a new bottom board and just replace it your self..save you on shipping cost bothways and 40+dollars hourly rates too.there ver easy to change out too...Or post to ask if anyone got a bottom board they want to sell..you;ll fine one on here for sure..these guys are great around here to help a fellow train guys out..

You want to just send the the tender to save a few bucks on shipping? They should test run it to make sure the engine works after the repair. A $1000 engine and you want to save a few bucks on shipping, amazing!!!!!

I've done this on three older PS1 engines and its not a bad solution because it is very easy to do, and very robust: not likely to ever given problems again.  For a few dollars more you can buy a small DPDT switch and fit it to the back of the tender so you can select F or R.