[Dean T]

Hello all,

I have the O scale Budweiser train with MTH 2-8-0 engine. (6 months old)

Yesterday afternoon I had it running. I parked it and sat in idle position. After about 5 minutes the coal car begin to make an ear piercing high pitch squeeling noise. I tried to run the train and it had a very erratic forward jerking motion. I unplugged the transformer and the noise high pitch squeeling continued. I removed the body from the coal car and had to disconnect the battery to get the squeeling noise to stop.

I plugged the battery back in and re assembled the coal car. I put the engine back on the track and now it does absolutely nothing. No start up noise, no headlight, nothing.....

Has anyone encountered this problem?

Is there anything I can do to fix it myself?

 

[T-Man]

To start what are you using, DCC or at least give the transformer. Is this a protosound 2 engine? Can the engine run without the tender?

From the information, something did short out in the tender.
I would suggest you contact your dealer. 6 months is new. I am sure this was a good investment and is something you don't want to mess with.

All you can do is look at the obvious. Can other trains operate on the track?
Is there a visible short on the track or anywhere?
You may have a stuck button?
Did you battery drain?
It is interestig the noise didn't come back after you replaced the battery.

 

[Dean T]

Yes, It's a Protosound 2 engine. Using the original transformer. The track has power, (caboose lights up). Battery checks good at 2.5 volts.

I'd imagine the power supply on the tender went out. The circuits show no obvious failure, no burnt smell. Hard to troubleshoot with no schematics.

 

[stationmaster]

Use a continuity tester on the pickup wheels.

 

[Dean T]

Continuty from pick up wheels checks good. I rung out all the wires too, all seem to be ok.

The squeeling it was making was about as loud as a smoke alarm but higher in pitch. Not sure if it was coming from the speaker or not. Perhaps a capacitor going out?? Typically you can see and smell a fried capacitor. There are no obvious signs of failure.

I'll take it to my dealer tomorrow. Might be a good excuse to buy a new engine while I'm there too ; )

Thanks for your advice!

 

[stationmaster]

What does the cola car do? Is it just a "cabinet" for the sound? As noted, many of my HO steamers will not run with the tender.

One of my older units uses a 9v battery to power the speaker. When the battery goes bad, the speaker "squeals" a bit. I am not familiar with your engine, unfortunately.

I have had decoders an capacitors squeal pretty loud though.

 

[T-Man]

I checked with MTH and found a trouble shoot guide.
http://www.mth-railking.com/service...ocomotive/ps2/WEB Trouble Tree PS-2 Steam.pdf

Didn't find a schematic though.
I think you have a year warranty on the engine. Check it out it's a good site.

 

[stationmaster]

PS-2 board, ya think?

 

[Boston&Maine]

Do you have a product number Dean? If you look on the box, the product number is either the 20-XXXXX (Premier) or 30-XXXXX (Railking) number... I did a quick search on MTH's website to see if I could find your locomotive, but the only Budweiser engine I found was a diesel...

I know that if the Protosound 2.0 battery is dying that the sounds become garbled, but I have never heard of a screech...

You said the battery was good when you checked it because it read 2.5 volts... Is this the battery you have in the tender, because if so then it should read like 8-9 volts if it is good...

 

[T-Man]

I wonder if you can run the train with out the sound. The sound is tied into the operation too. I didn't read the guide but I think it covers a few checks. That whole troubleshooting section is pretty neat.

 

[Dean T]

My protosound 2 battery 2 batteries the size of AA batteries. General troubleshootig guide says to look for 2.5 VDC, which was present.

Engine Item Number is: 30-4155-1E

http://www.railking1gauge.com/detail.asp?item=30-4155-1

 

[Boston&Maine]

PS-2 board, ya think?

Maybe... According to the instructions in the PDF T-Man posted:

No Response
1. Check that power is present on the track from the transformer.
2. Remove the boiler and check the wiring from the pick-up assemblies to the board, especially check the
connections at any wire nuts in the engine.
3. Check that all wiring connections to the boards are in place and tight, especially the 7-pin harness.
4. Check that the harness from the boards to the voltage regulator is in place and tight. Correct
orientation is Red to pin 1 (marked with a “dot” on the component), Black to pin 2 (center) and Yellow
to pin 3.
5. If the problem persists, replace the PS2 board.

My protosound 2 battery 2 batteries the size of AA batteries. General troubleshootig guide says to look for 2.5 VDC, which was present.

Just making sure

 

[T-Man]

ooOH Engine, Nice!