MTH PS Issue - Help Needed!

Does the engine make any odd sounds when you put power to it? Looking for the "three clanks" sound. That is the only thing the force chip will fix, I believe. 

The engine should continue to run for a brief period after removing power if the battery is charged. 

Here is a thread that may help. Your issues sound similar to what is discussed here...

https://ogrforum.com/...97#77311805218038497

There are better and more experienced guys here than I,  that will help. Give them time to chime in....

Tom

You need to do a Reset 18 to reset all the features, if it is truly in neutral.  It should be in the manual.  If it is scrambled you need to take it to an Authorized Service Center to have the full reset done, the Z4000 won't do it.

You don't need to have the MTH command (DCS) because your engine is conventional with sounds.

Yes it is normal for your engine sounds to run on after power is off.  This indicates you have a strong charge on your battery too.

Dennis

The locomotive will not leave Reset when you push the direction button unless track power is below 10 volts.  If it is really in neutral, you can't get to Reset 18.  To get it out of neutral hold down the horn button and then turn track power off then back on, then it'll go into forward.

Have you downloaded the manual for it from MTH's site and read it cover to cover?  PS-1 locomotives are unique in how they run, but I love them.

On power up.. Do you get 2 dings or just engine sounds?  

Don't forget the always famous 'Golden Rule!'  As in:  DO NOT GO OVER 10 VOLTS FOR 3 SECONDS BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT STEP.

I have a few of these complicated devils and I have found that decreasing below 10 volts slowly and slowly increasing voltage they came out of nuetral. I almost lost my mind trying to figure this out.

Thanks all for chiming in.  I'll try to answer some of the questions you all posted to help with the diagnosis:

Krieglock - engine doesn't make any odd sounds when powering up, just engine starting sequence.  Lights come on as expected, no flashing etc..

Sinclair - I just tried what you mentioned above - no luck.  It did do some interesting things ex: horn changed to bell and vice versa but still in neutral

Gregg - no dings, just engine startup sequence then engine in idle after that

RRADDICT2 - just tried that as well.  No luck

I'm going to download the manual and see if there's something there that will help.  I need to read through a PS1 manual anyway as I'm new to these engines and love them.  They do apparently have some quirks though.

Ok, so I went to the MTH website and believe I found the manual, however, I can't seem to open it up or download it.  Is there a trick to this?  I'm pretty PC savvy and am stumped here.  The snip below is from the MTH website.

If the icons on the page are not highlighted they can not be uploaded.

So I found the instructions in the Z4K manual that tell how to use the reset features.  I tried to get it to reset (#18).  So I believe I did right, but didn't get the clanks and dings that confirm it took.  Any ideas on what to try next?

Ps.. Thanks Ameen for the link.

Marty Larkins posted:

Don't forget the always famous 'Golden Rule!'  As in:  DO NOT GO OVER 10 VOLTS FOR 3 SECONDS BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT STEP.

RRaddict2 posted:

I have a few of these complicated devils and I have found that decreasing below 10 volts slowly and slowly increasing voltage they came out of nuetral. I almost lost my mind trying to figure this out.

I really like MTH engines and I struggle to state this.....

I don't have an answer on how I get a particular old PS1 engine out of neutral. Some others are easy. We have one that is really difficult. I play with it for about five minutes and I get it to run. I shut it down and restart it and off it goes when I want. The very next session I struggle again to get it out of neutral.

 I did find that when the grandson brought that same engine to my house, my Z4000 got it to run on the first try. So I surmised it was something about his Z pack that the engine doesn't like? Then the next time he brought it, we struggled again to get it out of neutral. So then I'd guess it's the battery. I'd rule that out as I've tried to charge it in several different ways and attempts.

 I can only surmise that it is a combination that everything has to be just right!

power handling and battery....? It tells us when it's going to come out of neutral.

I still don't know how to insert a link to a thread but the title of the post is "options for a PS1 loco reset chip fails to reset ???? fixed".  There is a lot of good info in the post and it would be worthwhile to read through it.  Remember to keep the initial application of voltage below 10 volts.  You should hear two bells and the engine start-up sequence.  The PS1 board does a self check during this time which takes about 3 seconds.  Don't interrupt power for at least three seconds.  After that you can decrease voltage slowly to zero then increase to get the engine moving.  If you read the thread I mentioned you will find that there are some questions relative to using MTH Z750 and Z1000 transformers with these PS1 engines.  That may explain why you had a different reaction when using the Z4000.  

Phranzdan

Thanks PHRANZDAN.  I just read through that thread and you were right, lots of good information.  It's interesting that some Z4K's "bleed" energy.  I never noticed, but my Z4K never goes to 0.0.  Mine always sits at 0.1 on both terminals and there's nothing even plugged into the other terminal.  That may be my problem.  Someone on that other thread said that voltage must be at 0.0 for the reset to take place. 

I just set up some fastrack and plugged in a Lionel 80 Watt transformer and sure enough, after tinkering with it for a few minutes, I got it to go backwards!  So good news is that apparently, my boards not scrambled.  Bad news may be that there's something up with my Z4K as I still can't get it out of neutral on my main track...... 

Well, I didn't notice this before but there are 2 switches underneath the train.  One of them I believe is for the sound (on/off), the other, well I'm not sure but it's not even wired up.  All the other wiring appears to be in good order. 

I also noticed there's a green wire and possibly a black wire under the boards that don't appear to be connected either.  That's probably the issue.  Now I have to figure out where they're supposed to go.  I need to find a wiring diagram for this train.  Any ideas on where to start?

Here you go https://mthtrains.com/sites/de...ction/20dl19892i.pdf  GP-9 manual.  Turn that switch off, that is your reverse lockout switch.

Gene Anstine

I think this might help....   Your engine is locked in a directional state as in forward/ neutral or reverse because you get no dings on start up.

The 2 dings indicate the engine is in reset mode  and ready for programming  and upon lowering the voltage cycles the engine to forward.

Lot of times a engine refuses to leave reset for whatever reason. (low battery)

Here's what   I might try with your engine ... Put about 10 volts to the track,,, Press the horn button and turn off power while holding the horn button down, 

Release the horn button

Leave the power off for about 2 seconds, you should hear a  short  blast  and your engine is now unlocked

On power up you should now get the 2 dings indicating reset mentioned above,

One more thing...Feature 40 must be enabled before the unlocking can take place.

1 ding disabled 2 dings Enabled.

It's been my experience that   feature 18 does not over ride a directional lock .

And you never get it right the first time trying,  

.

I have been dealing with this issue on a PS-1 SD40-2 from Weaver.  I've tried everything and no go.  Because I don't get the three clangs on start-up, I don't believe the chip reset will help.  I'm to the point of contemplating a PS-3 upgrade.

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