MTH Operating Passenger Platform 30-9107 Malfunction

Can you manually actuate it?  There is a lever on the solenoid housing under the roof.  If so, I would open the controller first because dropping the housing is a pain.

i have the same problem only reversed,i going to check the wires ,i had to splice them,then i do have another one i can switch out the controllers ,its a fav will update later,and yes i can operate it manually 

Thanks for the reply, Jon.  Yes, it moves freely with the lever.  I should add that I have two controllers for this; one that came with the station and a second I purchased as a backup.  It does the same thing with both switches; the passengers will go up into the roof if I manually put them in the down position, but they don't respond when I flip the switch to make them come back down.

@Teeg posted:

...Could this indicate the Zippy switch controlling the downward movement is malfunctioning and should be replaced?  .

For anyone else stumbling upon this and wondering what Zippy switch is all about, there was this OGR thread and some links therein that describe the Zippy modification which should be in any recently purchased platform.  This modification used a different brand (Zippy) of sensor switches IN THE PLATFORM that allowed lower 12VAC track voltage to reliably flip the solenoids (passengers or freight).

As noted in above thread it can be a hassle to open up the platform.  So what you really want is for there to be a simple/fixable loose connector in the controller toggle switch or in the harness between the controller and the 4 connectors on the bottom of the platform (A B C D).  Following is a recycled photo from previous OGR thread:

You can take the controller out of the equation by simply disconnecting the 2 wires at terminals B and C under the platform.  Then you can simulate the controller with a short wire momentarily connecting power to terminal B or terminal C to activate the alternating actions.  I used to know if "power" comes from A or D but it's no harm no foul to use the wrong one - nothing will happen on the wrong one.  It only take a few seconds to go thru the combinations (of course NEVER connect A to D which shorts the track voltage!)

Anyway, if the passengers go back down with one of the above combinations then you know it's an issue with the controller or the wiring from the controller. If passengers do NOT go back down then I figure you need to open up the platform...in which case you could get lucky and find a loose wire. Less lucky would be a defective Zippy lever switch or defective solenoid. A meter that measures Ohms would be handy if you reach this point.

Addendum:

I found this OGR thread that suggests you get power from terminal D.

So with track power applied to terminals A and D (which may already be connected from the controller), disconnect the controller wires going to B and C.

Then, with a short piece of wire, or even a paper clip, momentarily connect D to B...or momentarily connect D to C.  One should make passengers go up, other should make passengers go down.  This should isolate the problem.

Stan, this is excellent information and I'll go through the procedures as they are described.  I'll come back if I have additional questions.  Thanks very much for this.