MTH Odometer - means what?

I see various engines for sale with Odometer readings listed, but exactly what does that mean? Hours, miles traveled, etc?

The Odometer reading on the MTH Engines are the Amount of Scale Miles that have been traveled on the track by the Engine.

The Chronometer Reading on the MTH Engines Shows the Amount of Time that the engine has been Powered On it is listed in Hours/Minutes/and Seconds

If I were to buy and engine with 1500 on the Odo versus 150, what would that mean exactly?

This would mean the Same as if you bought a car.  The Engine with One Thousand Five Hundred Miles on it means that the engine has traveled around the Track for 1500 Scale Miles While the Engine that has One Hundred Fifty Miles on the Odometer means that it has Traveled 150 Scale Miles on the Track.

Also, what number would be considered really high mileage? At what point would the loco need a "total overhaul?"

This is a question left to the Technician Guru's.  However I have engines that are some odd 20 to 30 years old that run like a top with the occasional Hiccup.  Unless there is something very seriously wrong Mechanically I have never had to do a total Overhaul on a Locomotive.  Mostly things that go wrong with an MTH Proto Sound Locomotive have to do with the Electronics or Electrical parts giving 0ut due to age or Miss Handling. Electronics and Smoke Units are my Bane.  Mechanically I maintain my Engines Three times a year and this is because I run them seasonally at Christmas.  I Bring then out of the box and check them in May or June then pull them out again in late October when I start setting up the Layout and then again I Clean and Lubricate them in January when I put them away.  This allows me to try to spot problems before I run out of time in December when they run almost constantly for the season.  I Follow the Manufacturers maintainance Schedule after so many Hours I Clean and Lubricate them I clean the grease out of the gear boxes once a year and regrease them. This allows me to keep these things in top condition.

I Hope that this has answered your Questions

We had a Premiere SD90 purchased from a forum member that had 10,000+ (don't remember the actual mileage) and I was somewhat concerned but he priced it low enough that I took a chance. Kept it for 2 - 3 years and it never missed a beat before trading it away.. Was an early 5v board too.

As Bobbie mentioned, the electronics can be frail but the mechanics are solid.

In reality they mean nothing. You can't depend on them to be accurate. you can use them as a guide but that is it.

Like Bobbie said, with proper maintenance, the mileage readings don't mean much.  I've seen low mileage engines that are pretty beat, and high mileage ones that look new.  It's all in how well they've been cared for.

"In reality they mean nothing.  You can't depend on them to be accurate, you can use them as a guide but that is it."

Absolutely true!  One of my engines with about 700 miles on it had a reading of 3600 or so--some anomaly occurred.  Some of my other engines add to odometer just fine every session . . . but at the beginning of the next session, they're back to where they were at the beginning of the previous session.

I'd suspect battery issues if the readings go wacky.  Also, a derailment with a sudden shutdown might affect the reading.

Thanks all for your replies. I guess when it comes right down to it, It's "caveat emptor." and good observation.

Thanks again.

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I reused boards from a 2-8-0 into a RDG Crusader.  It says it has over 4,000 miles but of course it doesn't.  So you can only use mileage and hours as a guide, but it's better than nothing. 

Can anyone reset boards to 0?  I guess the train police would come after you if you did. 

We can not. I know MTH can. Not sure about regular techs.

It is a nice feature.

I don't know that MTH can, with out flashing the boards. Can't do it with dealer program.  That data is transferred and remains current when sound file is changed.  G

I couldn't see any way in the Dealer loader, so I guess the answer is really no.

My no wasn't good enough  Now that you confirmed it, it is definitely no.  Actually, if you watch the notes go by when loading(they go by fast), you will see that the loader program transfers that data automatically.

I was told early on that the data could be reset, but MTH removed that feature.  Makes sense.  G

Now it's NO NO!

It would be useful to reset that, but I can see why MTH would not like that to be available, even in the dealer loader.

I am glad it can not be reset.  Many people sell locomotives and state they are new.  This can be checked.  

If a board is running good, do not beat yourself up if it has high mileage.  With proper (basic) care and attention to the battery they will go for a long time.

While I can see the concern of people's potential dishonesty, I can't agree with the notion that it should never be able to be reset by an authorized repair station or MTH.

This is a feature that MTH proudly lists with all others.  To have it end up in a state that is clearly defective and to be told "Sorry, just live with it" is not right in my book.  What a tangled web this feature has weaved!

I see it no differently than if a lighting feature stopped behaving and we were told that it wasn't a very important lighting feature, so we should just suck it up and live with it.

In the early days (probably around 2003 or 2004), I had a red-bird R21 subway set with this problem.  I forget the exact numbers, but it had something like 29,000 miles recorded over a time frame (that was roughly correct) of about 6 hours or so.  I remember doing the math and figuring the engine would have had to travel a real world (not scale) 100 miles per hour for the reading to be true.  That obviously is not physically possible.  (this is from memory and I didn't re-do the math just now, so please don't poke holes in the numbers to the decimal place - I'm trying to just be descriptive)

This was back when MTH did repairs in the tent at York.  I brought this engine and explained the problem and asked for it to be reset.  At first the tech either didn't understand the problem (I had to explain the math) or was hesitant because of the perceived opening up to dishonesty if they did it.  When I re-explained the issue after picking it up and they had not done anything about it, they did reset it for me.

That said, even if MTH would do this today, I certainly would not expose an engine to shipping risks just to fix this problem.  I've had several other engines over the years where I've seen similar behavior.

One thing I did note in at least one case (not all) was that the flaky behavior was affected by the voltage on the track.  I was using a variable transformer and normally didn't run the trains at a full 18 V.  On one engine when I noted this problem and was cursing to myself about another one experiencing this anomaly, for some reason I ended up tweaking the voltage and noted the anomaly cleared (numbers returned to normal). 

So perhaps part of the issue is this electronic feature might be "happier" with a full 18V on the track.  I'll leave it to the people with more experience actually fixing engines to contemplate if that makes sense or not.

-Dave

Clearly, the folks at the MTH factory can reset this if they so desire.  However, I'm with Marty, I'm personally glad that it's difficult to do. 

Dave, MTH never boasted they could reset mileage.  The boards can receive a feature reset and a factory reset.  Back in the early days we did a lot of maintenance resets.  None of those resets would bring a board back to zero miles.  If you had a set of R-21 Red Bird subway cars, you had the only set.  The Red Bird set was R-17  30-2392-1.  If you had any Red Birds (or any subway) at the tent for repair, they came back to you with a new board if your board read zero miles.  That board would have been a 5 volt board and the fix was to R & R.  Nobody watched the tech guys work as the drop off line was busy and the line had to keep moving.  You did not see what the tech did.  You saw the results of the finished product a while after dropping it off.

No MTH tech would ever tell you to live with a feature not working.  It is not done that way.  If it is defective, it gets fixed. 

Those of us who have the Dealer loader can do many things that are available at the tech level.  Resetting any MTH board to zero miles is something we do not do.

Any MTH board questions can be accurately answered by my board guru---GGG.

Marty,

I see how my quote on the feature could be mis-read.  I did not mean to say that resetting the mileage was an advertised feature, it obviously is not.  I was stating that the accurate collection and retention of chronometer and odometer information is an advertised feature, which it clearly is.  That is why I compared it to some other feature not working.  In no way am I suggesting an operator should have the ability to reset miles, but I also believe there is no justification for insisting that authorized service (MTH or dealer) will not should not have the ability to reset it when the odometer is clearly faulty, as in the example I provided.

As to my using the term "Red Bird", you may have me on a prototypical technicality.  I was referring to the first proto-2 subway set, 30-2198-1, which (correctly or not) many people were referring to as a Red Bird set when it came out.  They are more maroon than red, I guess.  At that time there were only 4 subway sets released by MTH (original silver (w/ blue stripe)D set, silver (w/o stripe) E set, and 1st Chicago set, all Proto-1 or Horn Only, I believe), and the extent the subway line of products was going to take-off in popularity was not yet known.  So, much later on when a more formal (and I guess correct in color shade) red bird R-17 set came out, I guess you are right the R-21 should not be referred to as Red Birds.  My bad.

You are of course correct that I did not watch the tech when my subway was reset(or had it's board(s) replaced).  I was basing my assumption that they reset it on the posts by Jim C and GGG that mentioned MTH could do it if they flashed the board (I'm assuming here that that can be done to old 5 volt boards, if not then they were definitely replaced).  If flashing the board is not capability MTH would have brought with them to the meet when they did repairs, then you very well may be correct that they replaced my boards.

I was not referring to MTH technicians telling me to "live with it", my only initial issue was that the engine was originally returned without the problem addressed(I considered myself lucky to catch it since I asked to check it out before leaving).  Once I explained it again, possibly to several people on the second go around, they did either reset it or replace the board for me.

My referral to the "live with it" comment was my summary of what I was interpreting from other posts such as yours indicating you were glad it could not be reset. 

Again, I have no problem with it not being easy to reset, and maybe the limitation on the dealer loader program is good too, needing to go to MTH for this problem is probably OK.  I could see the risk of the possibility of a dishonest dealer somewhere resetting miles on used trains as well, so maybe that is a good limitation.  I just hate shipping anything for repair if not absolutely necessary, as I see shipping as a damage risk, that's why I was suggesting authorized service stations should be able allowed/enabled to deal with the problem.

-Dave

{edits post Gunrunner's post, which made me realize my wording was not perfect.  I fully understand that you guys have stated the current iteration of the dealer software doesn't have the capability.  I'm not suggesting it does.}

Well, I checked the dealer loader program, I sure don't see any capability to reset the mileage.

I'm sure that "back at the ranch" it could be reset if they felt the need.

If the mileage can be reset by anyone including MTH then the odometer setting is rather meaningless. If someone sells an engine and tells you it has low mileage and fails to disclose that the odometer has been reset then you have fraudulent concealment issue.

The point is that if the rubber tires are worn down and the engine is scuffed up then despite a low odometer reading you know you have a very used engine.

Otherwise even if the odometer reading is very high but the engine is well-maintained does it really matter?

Until MTH comes out with some wear/odometer chart  no one really knows what any reading means; the hours meter is also misleading. If I want to charge up my battery and keep the engine on a live track overnight does that mean that the engine has 24 hrs of wear?