MTH PS1 and Batteries - A Question

I would wait until you can replace the battery to use the engine. A new PS-1 battery will take about 12 to 14 hours to charge up with a wall type battery charger, I always wall charge a new battery. Don't try to track charge a new battery! 

I put a new battery in an MTH 4-6-2 steam engine's tender and it is slightly difficult to do as it is next to the frame of the tender and you need to loosen the circuit board to access the battery.

If you don't wait until you have a good battery in the engine you may be ordering a PS-1 reset chip, and that may or may not correct the problem.

Lee Fritz

I have a lot of PS-1 engines and once I got the three clanks of death on one engine I started changing out the batteries with BCR's. They are expensive but in the long run I think they save you the hassle of changing out a battery again. Once installed you turn on track power to about 11 volts for a minute and the BCR is charged and ready to go. And I am pretty sure they hold their charge for about three hours if not being used. I went this route because I don't like having to take the engines apart.................Paul

 I probably couldn't wait for a new battery and then have to wait again to charge it. I would go for option b ... A new good  9 volt alkaline (not one from the dollar store or your smoke detector)  and try the engine out.  You can't leave  the alkaline  in there though.

Since the manual for PS-1 locomotives says when the battery goes bad, to use an alkaline battery until your replacement ordered from MTH arrives, you'll be fine with option B.  I have personally done this myself.

By all means, don't try to run it with an old white or silver battery.  Whenever I open an engine with one of those, that's the first thing that hits the trash!