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New in box MTH Premier Union Pacific USRA steam loco with Proto 2.0 20-3270-1 from 2007 Volume 1 catalog.

 

I received this engine the day after Christmas. My family wanted to join in on my hobby and worked out a deal on eBay. That said, upon opening the package – brand new box, never opened, with warranty card included, the engine did not work as anticipated. It was placed gently on the track, added into the DCS, started up immediately, and we waited about a minute or two before running the engine through its moves. All sounds seemed to work, but when we put the engine into motion, there was no movement. The bar, (no tether on this model), was pushed into the engine a bit more firmly and the engine did jump forward, but stopped abruptly and died. We were able to start up once more using the DCS, but the same thing happened. We did a factory reset, but the same problems arose. We also recharged the battery over night using an MTH charger. Once again, the same results. As stated, all sounds seemed to work well, even forward and reverse lighting. The cab light turns off when put into reverse and the front coupler does not disengage, but the coupler sound triggers. Other than that, all soft keys worked fine aside from interior light on/off. The engine is really great looking, and it being a gift, I would like to keep it if it’s an easy fix. Before I contact MTH to set up a meeting with an authorized MTH expert, I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on what I might be able to look for to resolve the problem. I don’t want to go too far with it, so I don’t jeopardize the warranty work. Thanks much and happy holidays to all. Lou

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The battery is probably shot if it has sat for 8 years without a charge.  

I would suggest applying to the power directly to the track, with no TIU in the circuit, then pressing whistle button once and then the bell button 5 times at half-second intervals.  This is called a conventional reset, and if successful should yield 2 toots.  Timing is very sensitive.

Make sure the tether is properly seated.

Robert,,

The battery may be shot, however, to be clear that is not the problem in this instance.

An engine under DCS can actually run and survive in the remote from power cycle to power cycle, even with no battery at all, as long as it doesn't have to have it's DCS ID# changed when it's added to the remote.

Further, this engine has a 2.4 volt battery, which if never previously charged has a very long shelf life as compared to the older 8.4 volt batteries.

Regardless, the battery isn't required for engine movement under DCS control.

Last edited by Barry Broskowitz

Never said the battery was the cause, Barry.   This year I bought 2 NIB 2007 vintage locos.  On one the battery was shot; on the other it wasn't.

 

You raise an interesting question.  When a loco is shut down, does it write all data to memory, or just what has been changed?  If the former, which seems more logical, then it is possible that a weak battery could cause garbling of memory.

Thank you one and all. I will check the drawbar on both ends and check to see that the harness inside the engine is plugged into the drawbar. I did check that all switches were in their correct positions before I started the engine. I kind of thought it would be out of warranty, but you never know? I won't let my gift givers know, should this cost me a bit in the end.

It's really great how quickly all you guys responded to my message. Should I ever get good at this stuff, I hope I can return the favor sometime in the future. Happy New Year, Lou

It was the drawbar. I followed Dave's original response/advice – took the engine apart and made sure that the harness was plugged tightly into the drawbar. The engine works terrific now. There were also a few slightly loose parts that needed tightening; maybe due to age and being juggled around during mailing? The battery is good, for now, so all systems are on go. Thanks to Dave, Barry, and all the rest of you guys.

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