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I was running a 15 year old 3v ps2 Hudson when it suddenly lurched to a halt and could not get it running again.  The headlight comes on but that it.  Didn't appear to be any internal damage but checked the 2.4 battery and it read about 1.3. Would that be so low nothing but the headlight would activate?  Pretty sure it's the original.  Beyond recharging?  Get A 2.4 volt BCR?

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@jps32016 posted:

I was running a 15 year old 3v ps2 Hudson when it suddenly lurched to a halt and could not get it running again.  The headlight comes on but that it.  Didn't appear to be any internal damage but checked the 2.4 battery and it read about 1.3. Would that be so low nothing but the headlight would activate?  Pretty sure it's the original.  Beyond recharging?  Get A 2.4 volt BCR?

I would opt for the BCR .      Not sure why the Hudson stopped , but I wouldn't run it until you have that battery replaced  .

Well fudge.  I put in on the track to recharge for 7 hours and the battery now reads 2.58.  I assume that's full charge.  I don't remember if this was the original battery or a replacement.  But the engine is still lifeless except for the headlight.  Could a factory reset possibly revive it, or is the board in mth heaven...or the other place?

Just a thought...I replaced all batteries in engines after storage of at least 5 years.  Most batteries were at or near the 10 year mark in total age.  In one of my steamers, the battery was a AAA and the battery compartment was minute.  I couldn't find a replacement battery (MTH) so i researched and found a company that makes and sells "capacitors."  Problem solved...no more battery in that steamer

Okay I'll give it a try.  It'll be a while before I can report back because my DCS railroad is half an hour away in a baggage car at a museum.  Will get the BCR.  I donated it in 2006 and have been working on it ever since, but it's only open May - Oct.  I do have a smaller pre-war tubular track layout at home that I run with my old remote commander.

For PS-2 3V you need battery for conventional operations, but not DCS.  Also, 3V board are not as susceptible to a weak battery like earlier boards.  The fact that it will not even start up and you have a headlight on is a problem and sounds like a board issue not a battery issue.

If you have amp meter on transformer you can see if there is an issue but charging 7 hours on track if the audio amp or some other issue is wrong with the board, can toast a board that could have been repaired at the component level.  If the battery charged, the board was trying to work and had AC power, but no start up, sounds, etc... leads to a major board failure.  Get to a tech to test board.  Stop powering it until tested.

3V boards no longer available and the constant application of power can destroy a board that was repairable.  I am seeing more and more 3V boards that had a simple audio amp failure that left power on burned up the audio traces, damaged processor chip, and even damaged the Power Supply board.  G

I suspect you're right.  It suddenly shut down while running so that doesn't sound like battery.  Sadly I've lost a few older PS2s where something shorted out the board.  Seems like a derail that doesn't trip the breaker fast enough can be fatal, along with my own carelessness.  Fortunately this loco is an old Railking that will now become background scenery.  The others I salvaged for smoke units and motors for other uses, and one took out all the drive rods and wheels for my engine house junk yard.  Can boards simply wear out or get more vulnerable to the slightest twitch?

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