I have a PS2 Premier Dreyfuss Hudson (#20-3045). When it runs, the sounds cut in and out. Otherwise, it runs fine. It does have a BCR in it. I checked the tether and it seems OK. Track is clean. Other engines run fine on the same track with no sound issues. I did look at the speaker and it looks OK, no signs of a bad speaker (I have seen some so pretty certain I would recognize a bad speaker). Appreciate any thoughts on what else I should check.
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how long due thew sounds play when you power down in conventional ?if the sound stops immediately your battery is weak or defective. start there if battery checks OK try a conventional reset.if you use DCS you can reset from the remote,the sounds should play 3 to 6 seconds approximately,if sounds cut off immediately battery is dead!
what is the item engine number?
also unplug all the connectors on the PS 2 board and re-seat them,could even be loose connector or wire?
Alan
P.S. since you have a bcr do you wait about a minute when you first power up, it takes time to charge the bcr super- capacitor.
i have in my ps 2 engine and if i don't wait long enough my sounds don't work right either. you can try a dcs reset if your using dcs with tiu !
good luck
Alan
you have a ps2 with 8.4 volt battery in the tender,if your bcr doesn't hold a charge could effect your sound!
http://mthtrains.com/sites/def...loded/20st11553e.pdf
check out the PDF file, shows all your engine parts and battery,i would try a 9 volt alkaline battery first for a quick check ,if sounds return to normal, bcr or charging circuit is your problem!
good luck
Alan
I had a tether that looked OK but the solder joints were bad. I had to re-melt some and then I got good continuity.
Try laying the engine on something soft on it's side. Attach wires to the engine directly and see if the sounds cut in and out. Then you could go from there. Wiggling the tether and even removing the shells to test the wiring, etc.
I had the same situation as Joe in my Premier Dreyfuss. It became apparent when I did a PS32 board upgrade to PS3.
I touched up a solder joint on the tether board in the engine to resolve the problem.
Speaker can be failing despite not corroding, so a visual check won't always work.
The Yel and Wht wire on the end of the PCB that the tether plugs into are also a high probability.
After that your looking at hardware or corrupt sound file, but the higher issue is hardware fault on the PS-2 5V board. G
Does it seem to occur more at curves?
If so, it's the tether. Don't replace the tether before trying Barry's & Joe's diagnosis & solution.
Still sounds like the speaker to me, if you have an extra, give it a test in place of the current to see if that eliminates or confirms the issue..........
Mark
Tried the reset, that did not work. Now I am going to look at connections and try soldering suggestion. Do not have an extra speaker but will see what I can do in that area.
Can I connect a tender that does have good sounds from another engine to the locomotive to see if it is the speaker?
Thank. will not do. That is why I asked before I did it.
I bought the engine new in 2002 and has run great till recently. The sounds cutting out for fractions of a second do not seam to be related to curves, and I also notice with the smoke unit on, the light start to dim on chugs.
Wish I knew if it is a bad board or something simpler.
I have not taken it apart yet. If it were not for the lit drivers, I would have no problem upgrading this to a ps 2 3v or PS3 myself. I am just not sure how to deal with powering the 7 lights the engines has with a standard upgrade kit.
Mike
most tech's I talk to just tap the power for the lights from the headlight so that when the engine is on with the headlight on your other lights will be lit also.
or you can get power from the center roller and the chassis ground, then anytime your track is powered up your lights will all be light , it's clearly your choice either way they will work for you!
good luck which ever way you choose!
Alan
Alan, Are you certain the headlight circuit can handle that many bulbs?
I bought the engine new in 2002 and has run great till recently. The sounds cutting out for fractions of a second do not seam to be related to curves, and I also notice with the smoke unit on, the light start to dim on chugs.
Wish I knew if it is a bad board or something simpler.
I have not taken it apart yet. If it were not for the lit drivers, I would have no problem upgrading this to a ps 2 3v or PS3 myself. I am just not sure how to deal with powering the 7 lights the engines has with a standard upgrade kit.
Mike
The PS-2 5V dreyfuss has the board in the engine so the mars and ditch light connections are used to run the driver lights. 2 to a circuit. RJR is correct your at the limit with 3 bulbs on a circuit.
Using headlight to dual run the markers with a limiting resistor is ok.
Mike, I would change out the smoke fan motor, it may be going bad. That might resolve the dimming of lights on chuff.
It could be an audio amp going bad. That is repairable.
I would check speaker, wiring on PCB as mentioned, than reload the sound file. If still cutting out, I would test out of engine, and replace audio amp. If the 5V fails, the best solution is a PS-2 3V put into the engine. That is an easier fit then the PS-32, though I squeezed one in. G
Attachments
Mike,
If it were not for the lit drivers, I would have no problem upgrading this to a ps 2 3v or PS3 myself. I am just not sure how to deal with powering the 7 lights the engines has with a standard upgrade kit.
Ste you referring to the Premier Dreyfuss?
If so, I recently converted mine to PS3 using a PS32 board. All the lights, including the driver illumination, are handled exactly the same as with the 5 volt PS2 board. The board is in the boiler.
No rewiring is necessary.
Further, it was while doing the conversion that the sounds cut out. I touched up the tether's solder connection for the speaker, in the engine, to correct it.
With the board in the loco, I'd do nothing until I checked out the contacts on the tether socket.
Mike,
The drivers use a combination of the ditch lights, marker lights and beacon settings.
Regardless, if you swap a PS32 board for the 5 volt PS2 board, the board swap is plug-and-play.
Mike, It is plug and play. The 8 pin connector, which has your tender and engine marker lights also has 5 additional outputs. 2 ditch, 2 mars and a beacon.
Each output can control 2 bulbs normally. Except the beacon which is always a flashing LED when used.
So you have 3 double bulb connectors for your driver lights. 3 of the 4 Ditch/Mars are set for constant on by the sound file and run those lights.
In your case your not doing a traditional upgrade, you just installing a PS-32 board with 5V connectors and removing the battery and wiring, and replace the speaker with a 4 ohm. G
Still sounds like the speaker to me, if you have an extra, give it a test in place of the current to see if that eliminates or confirms the issue..........
Mark
JDA,
I agree with RJR on this one, check out the contacts in the Tether socket before you
do anything else, many times this is the problem area.
PCRR/Dave
I have no sounds at all now. I have looked at the tether connections in the tender. I would like to verify the wires are there the way they should be. On the Board where the tether is connected, from left to right my wire colors are: white, yellow, red, orange, black, green, blue, gray, brown, purple. Is this correct?
Should I just order a new tether and connector board along with a speaker?
With the board in the loco, I'd do nothing until I checked out the contacts on the tether socket.
JDA. I've been/am there. Replaced a tether and it did nothing. Per Barry's recommendation, you have to get into the loco and check the wires on the tether socket. Somewhere Barry has posted details of these connections and resoldering them. This is apparently the most common cause, but not easy to access.. If the sounds used to work correctly, then the wiring connections in the tender must all be correct---relocating them is looking for trouble.
If you want to spend all that money, you may hit pay dirt, or you may not. I suppose you could order a new loco harness with socket, but I bet it's not cheap.
Think I will just turn it over to a professional to repair. Any suggestions. There is no one in my local area.
I send mine to GGG.
There are many good ones here.
E-mail is in my profile. G
Update. I fired up the engine this morning and everything worked--for about a minute!! Sounds all there, whistle worked, bell worked, chuffs, PSA. Ran the engine about 8 feet, sounds died. Tried factory reset and no change. No sounds at all now. I am really confused.
I GUESS it could be a component that fails when it heats up. I only know of 2 persons to whom I would send a board for repair. One is MTH in Columbia; the other is GGG, based on his reputation.
Given that it is apparently an old 5-volt system, I'd probably gut the loco and put in one of the 3-volt upgrade kits I have on the shelf or a new PS3 kit. If I didn't consider myself capable of doing the switch, I'd have GGG replace the board with a PS3/2 board. That is a job that several techs who post would be qualified to do, but not all.
I GUESS it could be a component that fails when it heats up. I only know of 2 persons to whom I would send a board for repair. One is MTH in Columbia; the other is GGG, based on his reputation.
Given that it is apparently an old 5-volt system, I'd probably gut the loco and put in one of the 3-volt upgrade kits I have on the shelf or a new PS3 kit. If I didn't consider myself capable of doing the switch, I'd have GGG replace the board with a PS3/2 board. That is a job that several techs who post would be qualified to do, but not all.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I will have someone who knows what they are doing repair it.
Try a know good battery before shipping for repairs.
Got it fixed by a professional. Was a minor wiring problem, but too complex for me.
Between Barry comments on here and some coaching from G (thanks for the help) , I was able to upgrade my Dreyfus to a PS2 3V board, Very tight fit. I replaced the harness sockets with the 5 volt ones from my old board.