MTH PS2 8.7V System

3V & 5V , ….that’s it, …sadly, the 5Vers have a chronic, and yet can be fatal condition where the capacitors on the board swell, pop and basically successfully commits suicide…

Pat

8.4V Battery

The 5 volt system uses a 8.4 v battery. there are only 2 types of PS2 systems, 5v and 3v.

@harmonyards posted:

3V & 5V , ….that’s it, …sadly, the 5Vers have a chronic, and yet can be fatal condition where the capacitors on the board swell, pop and basically successfully commits suicide…

Pat

After learning of this a while back and taking inventory, I have one and only one 5V PS2 loco. Is there any way to prevent this? ie changing capacitors etc, or do you have to do a full PS3 upgrade?? Second question: once they do commit suicide, is it a total loss of electronics or can it be fixed?? Thanks!

Mike

@LT1Poncho posted:

After learning of this a while back and taking inventory, I have one and only one 5V PS2 loco. Probably a smart move to not buy more unless you get an exceptional "deal" on it and you have no other choice in model or road name.

Is there any way to prevent this? ie changing capacitors etc, While you can replace the capacitors, this does not guarantee the board will not fail later. I recently performed a complete capacitor replacement on a New Haven FA-2 set for a customer, only to have it come back a month later completely dead and not repairable.

or do you have to do a full PS3 upgrade??PS3/2 stacker upgrade is pretty much the simplest path- reusing the existing wiring harness.

Second question: once they do commit suicide, is it a total loss of electronics or can it be fixed?? Thanks! No, they are generally not repairable once a PS2 5V board fails, being how they are assembled, even attempted repairs are extremely difficult and time consuming and that's if you can even get the parts.

Mike

If you want to read about attempts https://ogrforum.com/...d-2-5v-board-repairs