MTH PS2 3 volt battery

Hi would suggest you do not power it up or you might blow the amp ic, you most probably need a new speaker 4 ohm 50 mm depending which engine you have! take the engine apart and inspect the speaker magnet if you see flaking the speaker is definitely bad and if the coil wire inside the speaker grounds out to the metal frame you  will damage the audio amp IC.

Alan

If it won't respond to your remote commander, it may have been unboxed at one time and added to a DCS remote, which changed it's factory address of #1 to something else. If so, it will need a factory reset performed with a TIU and a remote which does not have an engine address of #1 in it.

Weak battery on PS-2 3V usually results in half volume.  Apply power and let it start up.  Turn power off and see if it plays shutdown sounds fully.  If it does battery is ok, but depending on when it was replaced if ever, it may need a new one at some point.

What Dave said for your Remote CDR.

If sounds are garbled, then the speaker does need to be looked at.  The older 5V 16 ohm star speakers where the ones that degraded, but some of the STAR 4 ohms also had some problems.  G

@Alan Mancus posted:

Hi would suggest you do not power it up or you might blow the amp ic, you most probably need a new speaker 4 ohm 50 mm depending which engine you have! take the engine apart and inspect the speaker magnet if you see flaking the speaker is definitely bad and if the coil wire inside the speaker grounds out to the metal frame you  will damage the audio amp IC.

Ala

Ok, I have already powered it up and the voices announcments sound just ok, the horn sounds a little rough, but since i have not heard this engine when it was new, i dont have a reference. I will however check the speaker for flaking.

@GGG posted:

Weak battery on PS-2 3V usually results in half volume.  Apply power and let it start up.  Turn power off and see if it plays shutdown sounds fully.  If it does battery is ok, but depending on when it was replaced if ever, it may need a new one at some point.

What Dave said for your Remote CDR.

If sounds are garbled, then the speaker does need to be looked at.  The older 5V 16 ohm star speakers where the ones that degraded, but some of the STAR 4 ohms also had some problems.  G

HI, thanks for the info.  IF i need to replace the speaker what do you suggest, are the speakers for this application all 5V 16Ohms, what about the wattage??

Thanks,

Actually, if this is a 3V board, the speaker is a 4 ohm speaker, NOT a 16 ohm speaker.

I'd be looking for a 4 ohm speaker from 3 to 5 watts in the size necessary, most engines have a 2" speaker.

Ok, have another question which may be obvious, but not to me.

I read the instructions for charging the PS2 3 volt battery using a transformer, and it says to charge the battery with the engine in neutral.... does that mean with the engine powered on and at idle on the track, or with the engine sitting on the track with just power to the track??? 

Thanks.

Simply put your train on the track, open the throttle to about 10 volts, and let it charge for 10 hours. As a precaution, put something nonconductive on the track on both sides of the engine, in case you have a power interruption and the train takes off. This will act as a barrier to conductivity and stop the train.

You can also use the MTH battery charger, this has the advantage of not running the electronics for all that time, not to mention adding running outs to the chronometer.  No risk of a power interrupt having the engine run away either.

Gentlemen, thanks, but being from Kentucky maybe i did not phase the question correctly.  I have two options.

1. Put the engine on the track, and turn on track power, but not turn on the engine.  Will this charge the battery, or

2.  Do i have to power up the engine with engine running and in neutral to charge the battery.

You have me confused, blue dragon. Once power is applied to the track on which the engine sits, you don’t have the option of not turning it on. It is on, and in neutral. It will then trickle charge in approximately 10 hours. As GRJ said above, the battery charger is a great convenience.

You can also install a BCR2, and never worry about the battery again.

You do not have to startup the engine if that's what you're asking.  It can be dark & silent and still charge.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You do not have to startup the engine if that's what you're asking.  It can be dark & silent and still charge.

On the track? Or with separate charger?

It will obviously be dark with the separate charger, the charger ONLY charges the battery!

It will charge on the track with track power without starting the engine.  As long as there's power to the track, the battery charges.

When I put a PS2 on the track, and power the track, the engine starts. How does the engine not start on a powered track?

Mark,  when i put my PS2 on the track and power the track, the engine doe not start until i push the Startup button on the MTH DCS Remote.  No separate charger is involved.  Thanks,

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You do not have to startup the engine if that's what you're asking.  It can be dark & silent and still charge.

gunrunnerjohn,  thanks.

Ok apples, and oranges. I was thinking conventional; not DCS.

Well, with conventional, you will have the engine start, no way around it.  You can turn off the smoke and sound so it's just sitting there with the lights on.

Again, think about the battery charger...