royal hudson

Neal,

 

If the battery is too weak, a PS2 engine won't get out of neutral in conventional mode.

 

Test the battery by starting the engine and then turning off track power. If sounds do not persist for 6-7 seconds, charge the battery until they do. If the battery is still weak after charging overnight, replace it.

Thanks Barry, My friend rang me back and we did the test as you advised with the pump sounds running, they powered it down and the sounds stopped at the same time, so problem resolved in as much we now know the cause of the problem and the resolution. I guess there are two ways of charging the battery, one to leave on track and two to remove battery and charge outside the engine, is there any preference? Just out of interest, I am sitting in a hotel restaurant on the South coast of England on a business trip with my iPad and phone when my friend calls me who lives in Crewe 250 miles away with his friend who has the engine. They call me and I don't know the answer as I am a AF person, but by shere coincidence I was on the OGR site when he called, so I said I will post the query and see how long it takes for a response. It took exactly 10 minutes which is a brilliant turn around. This is what makes forums like this really worth their weight in gold and the use of modern technology. You can be any where in the world and the answer is only a few taps away on the keyboard. Regards, Neil

Niel;

Different folks have different answers on charging on or off track.

I just leave everything on the track for several years now. They all charge while any one of them is running.

I am aware that it runs the PS2 boards and they like everything else, will get worn out eventually. It also makes the on board chronometer run, I don't care as I have no plans to sell any of my equipment. Some folks want low miles and chrono time to buy a PS2 engine.

Have your friend look at the bottom of the engine, if it has a charging port, they can get a charger from MTH which will not power the boards up and thus cannot make them die.

Then it's a decision for them.

Also, charging off track there is no danger of a brief interruption of power putting the engine in forward and running it off the rails at speed. You can charge at about 12VAC on the rails and thus they won't run too fast if that happens. (Assuming no really tight curves)

The simple and quick solution(provided the battery is OK) is to just let it sit on the powered track for 15-20 minutes(charging the battery). That should get enough charge to get it moving.   As soon as it will come out of neutral and begin running, it will continue to charge while he is running it.  

 

He needs to be aware that it takes 6-7 hours to completely charge a discharged battery. 

 

Your friends needs to understand the(in conventional mode) the battery is needed to power the electronics during direction charges. That's why it will not "shift" out of neutral. 

 

If you apply just enough voltage to the track(10-12volts) to get the lights up bright, it is doubtful that the engine will take off at any high speed if a short interruption of power occurs, as it takes about this voltage to get one moving at a fairly slow speed.  

Be aware that the RK Royal Hudson was a very early 2001 5 volt PS-2 engine and it does not have a charging port unless one has been added.

Your choices are on the track charging per above or remove the battery and charge it.

Being as how it is 11 years old the battery may be shot and not take a charge.

 

Rod

Try resetting it

 Rod,

 

Since the Royal Hudson has been available starting in 2000 and going through several model years; such as 2007, 2009, etc.  It's available in both Railking versions, as well as Premier.

 

The later versions would have a charging port.  

 

Since we have no idea which model number he has, we cannot even say what type battery he needs(if it needs to be replaced).

  

Great thinking mike

Still having trouble with that thumb wheel?

Mike;

Good points to be sure.

My comments were based on the fact that the battery is dead; it sounds like it could easily be an original RK issue. I perhaps should have worded it as such.

 

Rod

To all: Thanks for the updates and tips on the engine and battery. I have a few bits to add now I had another call to my friend who is looking at it for his friend. The engine is a 30-1169-1 model and looking at the MTH website I see this as a 2001 model as stated in the blurb. Speaking to my friend this evening, he has the loco powered up for 30 mins and the sound only continues for about 2 seconds after the power is shut own. If they use a Lionel transformer to get it going, nothing happens. If they use an AF 8B transformer set at 3/4 setting and 'blip' the reset button they can get it to move. I am going to make a guess that the battery is past is prime and needs changing. They are going to try charging for the rest of the night and see what is what tomorrow. Is it safe to say that if the battery is 12 years old it is probably gone? The owner purchased the engine 4 years ago and ran it a few times to begin with and has only just now decided to run it again. Hope this is of help to anyone for further assistance. Regards, Neil

Neil;

Sounds like new battery time to me.

An 11 year old battery is not likely to take a charge and hold it.

 

Well Mike?

 

Rod

Neil;

You could probably substitute a 9 volt alkaline battery temporarily, just to try the engine out and make sure it works OK. This will only work for 5 volt PS-2 engines that use the original 8.4 volt nicad.

I would not leave it in there too long, because the charging circuit will be trying to charge it, and there is a chance the battery could blow up and make a big mess.

Years ago I used alkalines in a few PS-1 engines, with no ill effects, but you never know.

 

Rod