So I've got a '97 Pennsy Torpedo with PS1 and recently I've had an issue with the chuff sounds acting strangely.
During the Christmas season it would behave just fine, but I've been running it with our 2 y.o. on our carpet central and sometimes I start it up and the chuffs are there. Other times not. Even when the chuffs are present if we change direction they'll be absent.
Could it be a battery problem?
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Put in a new battery and do a feature 18 reset and you will get it back. New battery and not a recharged white battery.
Marty, I did try the feature 18 reset, I presume it didn't hold due to weak battery.
I presume any NiMH will do?
You need a 7-cell NiMh battery, there are 6 cell versions that are not suitable. It should be rated at 8.4V nominal voltage.
What speed are you running at? My Dreyfuss Hudson of same vintage will not chuff if it's going really slow, which is easy to do when pulling 7 cars around a O36 end of my loop on the floor.
The PS/1 electronics appears to use back-EMF to sense motor speed. On the bench, I can hold the flywheel to slow it and change the chuff rate through a wide range.
John, would this Energizer do?
sinclair, I've throttled it up pretty high running on O72 plus only about 5-7 cars. So it's moving a good bit.
When it would chuff it'd be right at the start, so much slower than when it would be underway during additional passes.
Should work, it does specify 8.4 volts as it's nominal voltage.
The chuff changing as you roll sounds odd if the speed isn't changing. I wonder if something else is in play here.
Agreed. Though it was only one or two times it had worked.
The battery is original so its a decent place to start.
The battery is always a good place to start on any ProtoSound 1 or 2 engines. 
The chugging sound in ProtoSounds is voltage controlled. Once you get the battery and do a Feature 18 reset you need to do a 27 reset. Go feature 27, hit the whistle button. This puts it in the feature, set the lowest voltage you want the chuffing to start press the whistle button then go to the highest voltage you want chuffing, careful because of flying engines, hit the whistle button. Turn off the throttle, wait 10 seconds and power back up, the chuffing should start when the engine starts moving and get faster as the speed changes.
Gene Anstine
That doesn't explain why the chuff rate changes when I slow the motor down without changing the transformer setting. The transformer voltage changes very little with the different loading, but the chuff rate changes a bunch.
My reference might not have been clear. The engine in question would chuff at slow speed, but eventually would just cut off. I was a bit hasty in replying to sinclair. I was merely suggesting it had no problem chuffing at slow speed.
I perceive it to be a battery issue, just wanted to see if there was anything else I wasn't anticipating.
Read my first respons. New battery and reset 18. Do not use the older white battery. NEW BATTERY.
I read you loud and clear Marty. Just clarifying to other posters.
The chugging sound in ProtoSounds is voltage controlled. Once you get the battery and do a Feature 18 reset you need to do a 27 reset. Go feature 27, hit the whistle button. This puts it in the feature, set the lowest voltage you want the chuffing to start press the whistle button then go to the highest voltage you want chuffing, careful because of flying engines, hit the whistle button. Turn off the throttle, wait 10 seconds and power back up, the chuffing should start when the engine starts moving and get faster as the speed changes.
Gene Anstine
This was a feature on later PS-1 steamers, but not on the early ones, and the OP said it was from '97. I thought about that too, but I looked up and read the manual. A new battery and feature 18 reset is the best to start.
Do all sounds cut out at high speeds?
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