mvpfrank posted:Even though the sounds are working?
Yes. In PS2, the battery is not needed for sounds to operate when the track is powered.
When you press the Z-1000 DIRECTION button to place the engine into Forward, do the sounds cut-out immediately? The battery supplies power for sounds while the DIRECTION button is held down. If sounds immediately stop, this is a good indicator of an issue with the battery or battery circuit.
A functional battery is also needed to cycle the engine from Neutral to Forward when you press the DIRECTION button. If sounds immediately cut-out, you will be stuck in neutral.
An engine can be set to Forward-only by the so-called "Direction Lock" memory setting. This can be cleared by resetting the engine using a sequence of Bell and Whistle button presses on your Z-1000 controller. Unfortunately you will need a functional battery for the changed setting to take hold. So for your engines that are stuck in Forward, if the sounds continue (rather than cutting out) when pressing the DIRECTION button, the battery may be OK. In this case, try resetting the engine which will clear a locked-in-Forward setting. The timing of the buttons can be tricky so here's a short video which seems to have helped others. The controller in the video is not the Z-1000, but the operation is the same. Note that if stuck in Forward, the engine is rolling down the track as you try this reset; it's best to lower the track voltage so the engine is moving relatively slowly when sending the reset sequence.
As an aside, it's also possible to "Direction Lock" an engine in Neutral. So if sounds successfully play through DIRECTION button presses (but engine doesn't cycle thru Neutral-Forward-Neutral-Reverse) the engine could be locked into Neutral. Try the reset sequence listening for the double-toot confirmation sound from the engine.
