MTH EP-3 20-5559-1 New Haven Fried?

you've made the big mistake a lot of train guys do a  derailment causes you transformer to put out a very high current which blows your electronics, you'd b e better using electronic transformer Z 4000 mth or Line ZWL which use very fast circuit trips. since its a p 2 3 volt board it might be able to be repaired maybe. 

Alan

@Alan Mancus posted:

you've made the big mistake a lot of train guys do a  derailment causes you transformer to put out a very high current which blows your electronics, you'd b e better using electronic transformer Z 4000 mth or Line ZWL which use very fast circuit trips. since its a p 2 3 volt board it might be able to be repaired maybe. 

Alan

@Knight007 posted:

Greetings All, this is my first post after reading the forum for a long time.  I recently purchased this NH EP-3 on eBay from a gentleman who stated that it virtually new with less than an hour of track time and had been tested OK by an MTH tech.  It arrived and worked fine for several runs until one day the front truck derailed and shortly after the signal lights on the front and rear didn't change from red to green anymore (just stayed red), the headlights and interior lights went dark, and the pantographs stopped moving.  The locomotive still moves, changes direction, Protosound 2.0 still works, and the smoke unit still operates.  I was running it conventionally on 0-72 tubular track with a Lionel LW transformer that I've never had any problems with.  I opened it up to see if anything obvious had broken and noticed that the system of connecting the body elements to the chassis is based on springs pressing on contact plates and seemed a bit wonky, but adjusting these springs and the units they sit in, etc made no difference.  I also noticed the bottom circuit board had dark marks on it, but I'm not sure if they indicate that the board got fried, or if they're just normal soldering marks.  I haven't taken out any of the other smaller boards to inspect them.  Seems sort of ridiculous that a simple derailment would have destroyed a good portion of this locomotive's functions as model trains are bound to derail.  I have several other MTH locomotives that I've run conventionally for a long time and that have derailed, and all still function fully.  Any advice and guidance to get this unit 100% again would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

It is very likely that the lights themselves are blown. If the sounds, smoke, and operation still work, then its likely the board is somewhat OK. I would recommend emailing @gunrunnerjohn here on the forum.

Does the board look damaged or are the dark marks normal?

The dark marks look like rosin flux to me, that doesn't look like the result of heat.  Of course, I can only tell what I see in the pictures, seeing a board in person is a lot more instructive.  You can also try the smell test, if the PCB has really cooked, the smell is pretty unmistakable.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The dark marks look like rosin flux to me, that doesn't look like the result of heat.  Of course, I can only tell what I see in the pictures, seeing a board in person is a lot more instructive.  You can also try the smell test, if the PCB has really cooked, the smell is pretty unmistakable.

It did smell strongly of ... something... when the derail happened.  If that board is messed up, are there options to replace it?  Barring finding an old PS2 board like that, would a full upgrade to PS3 remedy these issues?  Trying to avoid that option as my local MTH service station seems pretty skeevy and no doubt would charge me more for repairs / PS3 upgrade than I paid for the entire locomotive.

There is a PS32 board that replaces the PS/2 board.  It's mostly a drop-in affair, but you do have to change the physical mounting of the board.  If you replace a 5V board, you also have to swap out the speaker, but not for the 3V board.

First, most likely board is repairable, but it may be one of the accessory boards not the PS-2 board damaged.  Second, for 3V that has a flash code for operating panto so any old PS-2 3V will not work.  Only MTH can load the flash code, but those boards obsolete and must be the flash type. 

Send the engine to a Tech that can test engine board and do board repair.  More than likely the panto board and possible light board may be damaged.  They are available.  Do not waste money buying a PS-32 board only to find out the PS-2 3V board is not the issue. 

Alan,  not sure it is over current,  The derailment causes transformer over current to the shorted wheels.  It is the Voltage spike that can damage components on the circuit boards.   G

After examining the insides of the locomotive again, I've concluded that the problems are beyond my ability to diagnose and repair. I'm in the Norfolk / Virginia Beach area so I will try to locate an MTH service tech within a reasonable distance so I don't have to pay the exorbitant shipping back and forth.  It will probably be awhile before any train stores are open for business again though.

GGG is near you and I've recommend him as well as others here who've responded.

Top notch guys

Can't go wrong with GGG if you want it repaired, he's a top-notch MTH guy.  He's likely the closest MTH guy to you, at least of any that I know and would trust.  If anyone's going to be within driving distance, I suspect that it's him. 

A quick check shows that George is only 20 minutes or so from Norfolk, so he's your man.

Sounds good - GGG has a shop?  I'd like to see about dropping this locomotive off to be fixed ASAP.  Still getting the hang of posting on this forum and sending direct messages to members etc.  Thanks to everyone who replied.

Send @GGG an email and he'll set you up, I'm not sure what his arrangement is exactly.  Given today's environment, you may be leaving it at the door.