Picked up a low time PS2 5v MTH F59 20-2320-1 from 2001 that worked well other than scratchy sound quality. Replaced battery, cleaned up old speaker that had light metal flaking, no sound improvement. Got a replacement MTH 16 ohm 5w speaker BF-0000033, carefully soldered connections and routed wires to avoid shorts. Powered up and immediately tripped the circuit breaker and got a puff of smoke. Pretty sure the audio amp part of the board is gone? Speaker may have been defective from the beginning but that is water under the bridge. The engine still runs normally, lights work, couplers work, smoke unit works, responds to all DCS remote commands with the speaker removed and wires isolated. My question is "Can I still run this engine without the speaker installed if I isolate/insulate the speaker wires from any possible short/ground?" The engine runs as part of a lash up so sound isn't required. If running it isn't a good idea, what options do I have for repair/upgrade?
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