MTH Lo-V Subway Car does not run

Well, the good news, it's a PS2 3V, so there is some hope as that is a more "repairable" board set than say a 5V.

https://mthtrains.com/sites/de...ction/30dl11868i.pdf

@MartyR posted:

HELP. After a derail, my MTH 30-2448-1 subway set

will not run in conventional mode (or any mode). So you have DCS TIU or Explorer? Or the IR commander? Also, What transformer for conventional mode testing?

Engine clicks and lights come on when powered up - Good, that passes a basic check that it's not completely damaged.

, but that's it. No sound ... nothing.  A million and one things could have happened- your speaker might have a flaking magnet and be failing, and the crash caused it to finally fail fully. That in turn might have damaged the sound amplifier on the PS2 3V board. Could be the battery is disconnected or some other failure- and that definitely affects the processor when trying to run in conventional mode which would prevent movement. Also, when the battery is low on PS2 3V at startup- the volume is reduced until it charges up to a threshold. you might have jostled wiring or connectors, broken a wire or solder joint to something like the volume potentiometer.

If you have transformer with bell and whistle, you could try a conventional reset since it appears to be powering and in neutral, but given the lack of sounds- I probably would open the shell, inspect the speaker, inspect all the wiring and ensure nothing came unplugged or was damaged.

Thanks for the response. Perhaps clarification is in order. Power up ... click ... lights ... NOTHING ELSE. It was running fine and just derailed on a switch track, then nothing. Nothing when I use direction, bell or whistle. Do you think it is the board? Can I do an easy reset on it without damaging further?

Thanks

@MartyR posted:

Thanks for the response. Perhaps clarification is in order.

Power up ... click ... lights ... NOTHING ELSE. It was running fine and just derailed on a switch track, then nothing. And lord only knows what can happen electrically in a derailment.

Nothing when I use direction, bell or whistle.- Well, you aren't getting ANY sounds, so we really do not know what the processor is doing at this point. Also, with no movement- again we have some form of general main processor is not running the engine functional problem. It could be battery related, it could be board damage, a whole lot of unknown.

Do you think it is the board? I'm hoping it is something external to the board, speaker, battery, wiring, connector.

Can I do an easy reset on it without damaging further? Given you have tried now several times powering it, if there was damage- it's been done. Again, first clue is we have NO SOUNDS. Second clue is, we have no running. So at this point, attempting a bell and whistle based conventional  reset won't hurt, but I'm kinda limited on hope that is the simple fix behind no sounds and not running

Thanks

What I would do, is again, open the shell and inspect rather than keep attempting powering it.

On inspection, you might find some burned wires- it was a derailment short and we have no idea how bad it was, the current involved, how long it cooked for. Did one of those wires burn and melt into another wire?

Have you ever replaced the battery in this? The engine is circa 2005. One could also measure the battery voltage, but that does not guarantee that under load that battery is good- especially if the original now 17 year old battery.

Again, if the engine isn't opened, how do we know the speaker was or is not on the way out as a classic failure mode? We have no sounds- regardless of how or when we stopped getting sounds- general inspection of the speaker is always good practice.

Then we get into something you said early on- "will not run in conventional mode (or any mode)."

What other control mode is implied here? DCS command mode using a DCS system like a TIU, DCS WIFI Explorer, or the lowest option- the DCS IR commander set.

So that begs the question, can the engine be added to a working DCS control system and then be reset that way- thus indicating or giving some insight to the health of the PS2 board set.

And last, what transformer or equipment are we dealing with? Was it running under DCS at the time of the accident?

Thanks. I have opened the unit. The battery tests fine, I have never tried it with my TIU, that actually was my goal in taking it out. It cannot be added at all. I have tried this on an MTH Z-1000 and an MTH Z-4000. There is no response to any whistle or bell. No sign of burnt or melted wires, the motors manually turn cleanly. the boards physically look good and I have checked all the connections. I can only suspect the boards at this point. WHich leads me to the next question if that is the case. Where do I get one?

Agggggghhhhhh!!!!

PS/2 boards are extinct, so the replacement option for this unit is the currently unavailable PS32 replacement board.  We don't know when these will again be produced and available.

Your board may be repairable at component level.  I have replacements also.  Don't keep powering it up you risk more damage if the board has a short.  G

OK, pretty sure the boards are bad. Can anyone fix this for me? Does anyone have parts? I can ship anywhere (within reason).

Thanks

My email is in my profile.  I can do the work. G

EXCELLENT. I will email you shortly.

Thank you