PS1 & No Good Deed goes Unpunished

It will not move without the battery. The reprogramming kit will only fix the 3 clangs of death. There can be other issue of being deselected which needs other chips to reprogram to get it running. Are you sure it has the 3 clanks of death? 2 dings and maybe the battery got ran down and needs charging. No telling what they done to it. The charging circuit could have also quit.

Early first PS1 engines could run without a battery, but not later ones made in 99.

Personally, I use BCR's in all my PS1 engines but it will not fix this issue unless it is a battery problem.

Thanks, wasn't sure if it was like some other stuff I have. Barry, can you provide more info?

Actually, two clangs means the locomotive is in reset (the state the locomotive is in when you first apply power). That’s normal for the startup phase, not a signal of something bad.

If it doesn’t come out of reset, that’s a problem. It could be caused by an under-charged battery, but it could also be caused by the operator not following the proper procedures after startup or a chopped-wave transformer.

Remember, with original Protosounds locomotives, you must have the throttle set at less than 10 volts to take it out of reset. Then, while the engine is moving, you can turn up the throttle and cycle it normally through forward, neutral and reverse.

Also, your choice of transformer could be the problem. Some (though not all) original Protosounds locomotives will not leave reset under power from Lionel’s newer power sources, including the ubiquitous CW80 transformer. The MTH Z-4000 transformer is the only MTH power source with a pure-wave output, as is Atlas’ Pure Power transformers.

Three clangs means the chip is scrambled and needs to be fixed. That’s the “three clangs of death” you hear about on this forum.

So find out which condition is present on the set and you’ll know how to proceed with your advice. 

Lastly, only very early original Protosounds locos can run without the battery. Any models made from 1996 onward required the battery as part of the circuit.

TRAINMSTR:  Where are they located? Maybe someone on this Forum is close by that can offer some assistence. My self I am in the State College, PA area and would be glad to help if I can.

They are located in the "Brooklyn" area of Baltimore.

Guess you should have sent post war trains to run on that Fastrack; then "millennial's" 5 and 6 year olds could have done less damage...

Mark in Oregon

I think you must first confirm (possibly over the phone) what sound is actually being made by the RDC when first powered up.  IIRC the RDC's were not in the relatively small group of models that MTH identified as at risk for the chip scramble if its battery lost too much charge or went dead before being replaced.  Most were Premier models, but there may have been a couple of Railking engines too.

If it's just a double bell, air release, and 2 clinks/clanks you might be just stuck in neutral, which is likely from a poorly/low charged battery.  If you can't wait to fully track charge or not able to remove battery and separately charge in a charger, sometimes the neutral lockout can be coaxed open by very very, very slowly increasing the throttle until you get the engine sounds.

MTH has a pdf of some PS1 tips.

would be glad to help you sent you an email!