I have an MTH FEF Proto-sound 2 Union Pacific northern #20-3044-1, 2000 catalog. The engine is used and was purchased on eBay. When it arrived, it seemed to run fine for about an hour’s worth of testing. On further testing, using a remote control unit and 750 brick, the engine stopped abruptly at the end of the passenger sound sequence. I restarted and the engine started in neutral, but when I pressed the whistle button, the engine cut off completely and within a few seconds restarted on it’s own. And, once again, when forward or reverse is pressed, the engine conks out. Also, when hitting the whistle button, the engine conks out in the same manner. The bell button works fine.
Upon opening the tender, I discovered a 2.4v battery jerry-rigged in to position, not the 8.4v that the 2000 S2 is supposed to have installed. However, as stated, the engine did run great for over an hours worth of testing, e.g., forward, reverse, bell, whistle, station sound sequences, etc.
The battery, whether correct or not, seemed fine and the engine tether seems good. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, before I send the engine to an authorized MTH service technician.
