Protosound 1 Problem Solved!

Did you read through the MTH troubleshooting doc?

Take a look at this thread.

I also purchased an PS1 engine that was "new" and sitting around for a while.  I inserted a BCR and gave it the required charge.  The engine wouldn't move.  I then did a code 18 reset with a Z4000 and it worked fine.  The smoking of the board may be indicative of a larger problem.

Good luck.

I assume you are aware that after charging the BCR at 10 volts for one minute, you need to turn the voltage down to less than 10 volts before hitting the direction button to take the diesel out of reset. Original Protosounds is configured that way.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to work. It makes all of the noises as if the code 18 reset worked, but it still doesn’t move.  I tried the unlock reset as well.

Would I be able to take a chip from a different PS1 engine to see if it would work or are the chips very specific to each engine and wouldn’t work? Also, would I run the risk of scrambling a chip in a perfectly running PS1 engine?

Thanks again

Chris

Hopefully you can return it to the dealer or if you bought it in ebay contact the seller and you may get something back to repair it if it was listed as new.

The two or three clanks of death indicates you should use the reset chip first.  You probably scrambled the board worse with doing all those other things first. 

Dennis

Dennis posted:

The two or three clanks of death indicates you should use the reset chip first.  You probably scrambled the board worse with doing all those other things first. 

Dennis

It’s three clanks of death. Not two. Two clanks merely indicates it is in reset.

The Make PS chip is to be used ONLY for the 3 clanks of death.   At some point I would think someone may have tried it with the old/bad battery in it.    Dennis, it seems he does not have the three clanks of death.  

All the guys on this post gave good information to follow.  Punch in the item number of the engine on the MTH site as the operating instructions are available to read.  If the engine was new old stock, you may already have the book.

Chris, you stated the engine had a corroded battery in it.  Can you give us a bit more information on the battery you took out?  I do not know about that engine being rare, I see many of them in my area.  When you first bring power up, are you still getting the two dings that tell you that you are in reset?  I am concerned about the smoke you mentioned.  

Thanks again

Does it make sense to try to order a new chip or is it most likely the board? 

Will a chip from another PS1 diesel work or could this ruin a perfectly good chip from another engine?

Is there a different chip to fix the 2 clank issue.

Sorry for all of these questions.

Chris

Marty

The battery was the original white MTH battery 

Thanks

Yes - I’m still getting the two dings.

It only smokes with a regular 9v 

I pulled a fully charged BCR from another engine and it didn’t smoke 

Two clanks is not an issue.  No two clank issue exist with the MTH boards.  Two clanks  tells you the engine is in reset mode.    Please confirm the following.  Follow the red and black wires from the battery clip to where they plug into the board.  If those are in place, remove the battery clip and do a continuity test from the bottom of the plug on the PS-1 board to each position on the battery clip.   I am suspect on your battery clip as you stated the engine would not charge the BCR.  Was this a new BCR or one of those old pink units?  Was this a private party or dealer sale.  Like I stated, this is not a rare engine at all.  

Can you expand a bit on the smoke?

It was a new BCR. It was smoking from the end of the board closer to the front of the engine, but I wasn’t paying much attention as I rushed to power down the track. There was quite a bit of smoke for a short period of time.

I won’t be home from work until 9, but I will try those steps

Thanks again for all of your help!

Ok.   I should be on later this evening and I will keep an eye out for you response.

It was a seller who claims to be a former MTH dealer on an auction site. He says that he has a shop in the greater York area that sells trains and RC cars.  It was clearly listed as new but sold as is.  I gambled and lost on this one.

Thanks again Marty 

The battery clip was corroded so I replaced it with a new one matching the colors of the wire - I wonder if the polarity is reversed 

The BCR is a capacitor that replaces the battery. It comes with leads and terminals same as the battery. I have them in PS2 loco's and think they are great.

Whoops, sorry.  I didn't know the difference of two clanks or three clanks.  

Dennis

I couldn’t find my continuity tester so I will pick one up tomorrow.  The red and black wires are connected to the board.

When I turned it on for 60 seconds at 10v to see if the BCR was getting a charge I noticed a slight burning smell but no smoke.

Did you establish if the BCR got charged?    Do the meter check before going in another direction.  That was my first thought when you stated earlier your BCR did not charge.  

The BCR did not get charged 

If your wires check out to the battery, board problem.

Check the polarity on your old battery harness at the plug and compare it to the new one.  The polarity of PS1 and early PS2 5v harness are different.  The red and black wires should fit in the plug with the same orientation.  PS1 is the white plug.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP EVERYONE!

After checking the continuity and determining that it was fine, I reversed the polarity of the battery and the BCR charged and the engine works perfectly.

The power and members of this forum are awesome.

Thanks again

Chris

Jon, you threw out what was needed.  Well done.  When you stated it would not charge the BCR, we had a starting point.