PS2 engine having a nervous breakdown

I'm running these engines in conventional mode only.

Do you have the DCS system or do you have access to one?  The engine may just need a Factory Reset and I think that's the only way to do it (to use the DCS system).

Get the factory reset done.  Maybe a forum person is in your area if your LHS can't do it for you.  G

I do have a great train shop in my area (kinda sorta) though I was kind of hoping it wouldn't come to that.  

G,

Just out of curiosity (and for future reference), how would a dreail cause this behavior and how would a reset fix it?

S

When the Protosound loses AC power it will attempt to shutdown and do a memory transfer.  If that is disrupted from the short, I believe you can get corrupted data causing funky behavior.

I don't know if the factory reset will fix it, but it will restore the board to the factory default values which is always a good starting point.  G

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Thanks George, good to know. Will carefully review safety practices on my layout.

Given that I recently had to not only factory reset but also do a conventional reset to get a replacement board in a trolley working correctly, it may take both.  I believe you can also lock a PS/2 in forward only in conventional mode and a factory reset won't clear it.  It's a mystery...

Actually Gregg, in the case of the trolley, you'd be wrong.  I finally called MTH and confirmed that for reasons they weren't fully certain of, a conventional reset was required to get station stops to work properly. I had done repeated factory and feature resets to no avail.

At the ASC classes, I remember there was a setting that they said could not be reset from the DCS, I thought it was the direction lock, maybe it's something different.  I haven't run across it yet, so I'm not sure of the specifics.

Edited to put in the right name.

You got the wrong GGG, Gregg made the comment.   G

In the case of a trolley I  could be wrong.? yep, however a regular propto-2 is different.

Right you are George, I edited the original post to reflect the proper name.

John,

 I thought it was the direction lock, maybe it's something different

I believe that you are correct.

My understanding is that a DCS Feature Rest (and perhaps a DCS Factory Reset, as well) cannot remove a conventionally-set direction lock.

I guess the ASC school wasn't totally wasted on me Barry, I did remember something! I believe you told me, and it was also mentioned in the ASC class, that the only difference between the feature and factory reset was the engine ID is also reset.  That would seem to suggest that a factory reset wouldn't clear the direction lock either.

It is interesting that there are several items that a DCS factory reset won't clear, I wonder why they did that?  Sure drove me nuts with the trolley, and since it didn't have any running issues in conventional, I didn't think of trying a conventional reset.  Live and learn...

Why don't you try it?  ... unless you're talking  about trolleys.

I do think I am in Gregg's camp on this.  I will rerun the test, but I have never had an engine locked out after a conventional reset.  Now, maybe if you lock it with DCS, you can't clear it with a conventional reset.  Don't know.

I do know that for some of the latest PS-3 MTH has recommended a factory and a conventional reset prior to sending back to the customer.

I always start my testing in conventional, and after a feature reset I can successfully run the motor both directions and operate all the conventional features (Bell, whistle, both couplers, smoke).  It restores sound and lights that may not function at first.

The trolley is an interesting twist. G

I just ran the following test:

I locked a PS-2 3V board in Fwd conventionally.  I shut it down and started up again in conventional and it remained locked.

I started it up in DCS and DCS over rode the Conventional Lock.  Engine would cycle directions in DCS.  I shut it down.

I started it up in conventional and the Lock in FWD remained.

I shut it down and started in DCS again and did a "Feature Reset".  SHutdown  engine.

Started up in conventional and the Lock was no longer there.  Engine changed directions in conventional

So I started it up in DCS and locked it in FWD/FWD.  Shut down, restarted and it remained Locked.

I than shifted to conventional and the engine responded normally with NO lock in conventional.  I did a Conventional Feature reset.  Shutdown and started up in DCS.

The Lock in DCS was still present.  Conventional Reset did not clear the DCS Direction Lock.  Did a DCS Feature Reset and the DCS Direction Lock Cleared.

I did not test Factory reset since the feature reset was able to clear the direction lock

I have successfully restored lost features via a conventional reset, but it looks like the Conventional Reset will not override a DCS direction lock.  BUT a DCS feature reset will override the Conventional Direction Lock.   G

Thanks for the test.  I'll have to ask Jeff at MTH what was the issue that you had to use a conventional reset for.  That is, other than the trolley.

I had a PS3 engine locked in neutral and had to do a conventional reset to unlock it. It was locked do to an unknown reason.

Thanks, Forest, that may have been what they were talking about at MTH.  I know it was mentioned that some conditions could only be cleared by a conventional reset.

I have a PS-3 on the bench.  Once the new board comes in I plan to run the test on it.  There have been a bulletin or 2 about PS-3 resets.  G

I'm waiting on a new boiler board, but it appears it'll be a long wait.  MTH offered to cancel the order if I didn't want to wait, I don't quite understand that logic!

Ability to get it else where if the customer is in a rush. Or if a small $ item, not getting caught with high shipping if it comes in when nothing else is in the que.

Did you ask about the Relay version, if it will fit in the engine.   G