Unusual Problems with a MTH Proto 2 Engine with New TIU's and Wi-Fi

It should not be.  Does the BCR work, in that, if you shut off track power the engine plays shutdown sounds?  You can always try a battery, even a new alkaline as a test.  What signal strength does this engine return on the track?  G

The BCR seems to shut the engine down normally with the expected sounds.  I did not check the signal strength, but will do that soon.  I have not cleaned the track or the engine wheels and rollers recently either.

There is something about this engine that makes it operate differently?  All my other engines run normally on the track where it won't.  I have had no trouble adding engines on my tablet except for this one.  I might add that this engine was purchased used at a train show so I have no personal history about it.

Thanks, Art.

Art, what is the engine MTH product number? I've seen some GP's behave poorly because of the wiring harness being near the coil.

BOBBYD - The engine number is 20-2235-1 Illinois Central E-8's.

GGG - Yes, the engine does shut down sounds when the power is shut off.

I just checked the signal strength with a reliable engine and I got 10's on 90% of the track where it was losing the signal with the problem engine.  

Art

What does this engine show for signal strength?

Are your outside rails tied together? Can you lay the engine on it's side and test for continuity with all the power pick-up points?

Sometimes one truck's wire breaks and causes engines grief.

Interesting.

I think that engine only has one pickup on each truck plus it has plastic non flanged wheels on the truck near fuel tanks with one set of powered wheels with rubber traction tire and the other powered wheels without traction tire, so you are only getting ground from one axle on each truck. Are the pickup rollers and the powered wheel set without traction tires reasonable clean?

Art

I have a few Steam Engines with BCR's but unfortunately no diseals with BCR's if you want to do some further testing.  I have no problems adding mine to my tablet so might be the engine.

Ken

Chugman posted:

BOBBYD - The engine number is 20-2235-1 Illinois Central E-8's.

GGG - Yes, the engine does shut down sounds when the power is shut off.

I just checked the signal strength with a reliable engine and I got 10's on 90% of the track where it was losing the signal with the problem engine.  

Art

 

Art,

IIRC this engine has the inner two wheel sets on each truck plastic/flangeless and an axle with rubber tires leaving you with just 4 wheels for contact. What is the signal strength with this engine? The others could be getting 11's, if this one is getting low numbers that's what we need to resolve. What is your trackage like in the problem area? Straight track? Switches?

Clean the engine wheels, clean the pickup rollers and lubricate.  Test the Signal strength with this engine.  SS is engine dependent.  Not just layout and TIU.

When this engine enters this bad section does it loose power?  Just loosing signal strength does not cause it to stop, it would  just continue moving on the last command.  If it stops and lights go out, it has lost power.  So either center rail or ground.  Testing continuity through wires that pick up track power is also necessary.  Broken wire can cause this.  Corroded pins inside pickup roller can be issue too even if roller looks good.

By the way, all MTH diesels just have 4 wheels picking up ground.  Works fine, just like other manufacturers.  G

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I will follow up with them and let you know what I find out.

Art

Chugman posted:

This is the only engine I have with a BCR installed, could this be the source of the problem? 

GGG posted:

It should not be.  Does the BCR work, in that, if you shut off track power the engine plays shutdown sounds?  You can always try a battery, even a new alkaline as a test.  What signal strength does this engine return on the track?  G

Just another thought. I have had some engines not like certain BCR units. I can only guess on the reasons. If you have a good extra MTH battery pack, try putting it in there for another test.

 I have seen where the BCR unit took excessive amounts of time to charge up. I can only guess the charging circuit didn't get along with it for some reason? Maybe it sensed that it was fully charged and it wasn't?

I think many users expect all axles to be carrying power. GGG is right that they all don't.

Art, if you only have one of your outside rails grounded, you will only have one wheel per truck making ground contact. Any dirt build up on them will make matters worse. You can also try using a jumper wire with alligator clips, to connect the two outside rails in this TIU block where your having trouble, to test it with the trouble engine.

Dave Zucal posted:

Art, if you only have one of your outside rails grounded, you will only have one wheel per truck making ground contact. Any dirt build up on them will make matters worse. You can also try using a jumper wire with alligator clips, to connect the two outside rails in this TIU block where your having trouble, to test it with the trouble engine.

Good point!

Had that issue on a layout using one outer rail for common and the other isolated outer rail for signaling. Some powered units became unreliable as they lost common so we rewired and jumped all outer rails. Had they not come with the dreaded rubber tires everything probably would have worked.