Should be a great power source? I had to ask as many still swear by the CW80. Something at the club must be driving this problem. Maybe even just weaker signal or the way the power is applied. My engine seems to get confused at power up lately.
I do have picky engines that will act up. Most I fixed yet about two remain unsolved (out of 100). One of those was a PS2 board that received many shorts and survives to this day but acts up when it feels like it. That RK is now a third one that just started this issue. The grandkids wrecked their RTR play set engine and I bought another one as a back up. The women in the family said no way, and it sat here in the box for a few years. I finally opened it up this year and to my surprise, the front truck's axles were frozen. The smoke unit's fan went quick too. It gets moisture here when spring comes. I always run the dehumidifier too late. The plywood table top actually grows and can tear apart track joints. So I have found that engines that I run the heck out of, last without issues for many years. Engines that are stored away, give me issues.
The fix can be from something as simple as lubricating the rollers, tying the outside rails, etc. I would put the engine on it's side and make sure the power points are conducting. You may have to pull the shells and check right to the board(s). Does the tether act up on this one? I believe there was a post about adding a fixed ground if you only run a 3/2 engine in 3 rail mode.
Even though an engine can just be sitting on rails, I have seen it get scrambled as if the power is intermittent. If I run it regularly, it's fine. When it sits too long I have more problems. I tend to believe there's power transfer issues when axles get little use, grounds are sketchy, or even smoke units act up drawing excessive power.
Sorry for all the extra words I've been busy thinking over this issue and keep adding too much here.
