First off, thank goodness for this forum and the knowledge here. While I have had trains for MANY years, command systems are new to me. Without the ability to ask questions and receive lots of help I would be totally lost. Yes I have Barry's books and USE them.
Background: REV H TIU, working on all channels. Programming track with 10 signal strength on fixed 2. MTH Z4000 power supply. PS3 engines program and run with no problems.
Issue: PS2 engines won't program. I have two new, never run Gensets 20-20006-1 and 20-20004-1 from the 2009 V2 catalog. Neither engine will do anything, lights, sound, etc nothing, nor run on conventional. I have tried to program and I get "Engine in Remote" status, but they are not.
I have tried to research a dead or low battery issue and all I seem to find is sound related issues. I have two PS2 engines in that were in the remote already when given to me (obviously a REV H is not new) that run just fine.
So: Is a dead or low battery an issue with PS2 engines programming or functioning? Is this a TIU issue? What battery do these have, the 8.4V or the 3V? I have some green 8.4V batterys, would have to source 3Vs.
BTW my track functions pretty good with signal strength from 5 (not to many places) to 7-9 (mostly). Curiously the signal strength will vary on the same section of rail, some brand new with a PS3 test loco that has not run before yesterday, so cleanliness should not be a problem. Guess I need to investigate and invest in some 18V lamps.
Sidebar: Is there a way to turn the smoke units off on PS3 (and PS2) engines without having to do it everytime they start up?
Thanks
Gray Lackey