I have an MTH train set that I purchased somewhere close to ten years ago. According to their website, I think the product number is 30-4034-1. The engine is a CSX F40PH, most likely the Proto-Sound 2.0 version because it has the solenoid controlled couplers.
The engine stopped working after it derailed once but stayed upright, I think the center and outside pickups crossed, which might have fried the electronics board inside. The only thing that happens with track power is nothing, no lights, sound, or motion. There might have been some humming. There is no visible damage inside.
The set has been in its box now for several years since I never got around to trying to figure out how to get it serviced. I would like to get it running again because the box isn't doing any good taking up space.
Did you check the battery?
The MTH website says that 30-4034-1 is a PS/2 locomotive. If you don't get any lights or action, I'd first look closely at the wiring from the pickups, are you SURE those wires didn't get cooked? It's quite possible to board is cooked, in which case you may have an expensive repair on your hands if you choose to repair it and retain the PS/2 capability.
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The MTH web site lists 30-4034-0 Loco Sound version (no automatic couplers as far as I know), and 30-4034-1 Proto Sound 2.0 version. Since I bought the set sometime after 2000, and the locomotive has automatic couplers, I don't think it is anything other than Proto Sound 2.0. They don’t list a Proto Sound 1.0 version.
In a few days I’m going to inspect the train set. It has been packaged up for at least five years and I am sure the battery is dead by now. I will find the exact product number and features, and confirm whether it is Proto Sound 2.0. I don’t think I ever checked the wiring to the pickups on the trucks; the connections could have been yanked or melted off in the derailment. I will open the engine again to check the wiring and board for loose connections and damage. I may apply track power momentarily to see if anything happens.
I have never run this locomotive on anything other than the MTH power supply and track system that the set came with. I don’t own any other MTH stuff. I have used an analog Lionel locomotive and streetcar on the MTH system, but since the MTH locomotive died, they have only been run on Lionel track.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is the battery. Should I buy a new battery and charger before I attempt to give the locomotive power?
I have read about the “three clangs”, which I guess is the normal bell sound, three times. Does this happen on different versions of Proto Sound, or only on Proto Sound 1.0? Do the three clangs happen only before losing all function, or would it be something that can keep happening if the locomotive still has some function, when it has track power and the user tries to control it?
My locomotive is completely dead, so there are not even clangs when there is track power. It may have done the “three clangs” at the time that it died, but I don’t remember.
The battery would be weak or very weak by now.
Get the MTH ProtoSounds 2.0 battery charger to try first.
Andrew Falconer
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
The "three clanks" are a PS/1 issue with earlier PS/1 locomotives. AFAIK, the lockout doesn't happen with the PS/2 line. I'd certainly give it a new battery before I did anything else, 5 years in the closet has probably killed that one.
My MTH 4-6-2 Hiawatha did the same thing, and it has baffled me to know end. When it first happed i went to my hobby shop to see if i could get a new Proto battery to replace the original. Got one and all was fine for awile. Now i get nothing. I have even recharged it since it had been sitting for awhile; but even that didn't work. I don't know what to do. Only differents seems to be that when power to the track is on; i get sound from the tender itself, and the engines headlight comes on; but i get no movement. Not sure what i should do, and i know that the warrenty is long gone. Keep me posted as to what you have found out.
Charge the battery for at least 8 hours. A PS2 loco will not leave neutral in conventional control with a dead or low battery.
The set is a Proto Sound 2.0 version but for some reason it has the nine volt style battery. I took a look at the locomotive the other day. The wire connections to the trucks looked fine as well as all the plug connections and wiring that I could see. The board didn't look damaged either. I know it wasn't the best thing to do but I set the locomotive on track with the transformer. I tried it for a very short time with its original battery, and then with a fresh nine volt battery which the instructions say is an acceptable thing to do. The locomotive just sat on the track with no function except for a buzzing noise. At some point the circuit breaker on the transformer also tripped.
Today I found the time to bring the locomotive to a shop. The closest authorized place on the MTH web site is about a forty minute drive away. I called one other place that wasn't listed and confirmed that they sell Lionel and not MTH. My main hobby shop where I buy some Half O stuff can't stand toy O scale. The place where the set is from is gone. I brought the whole set with me.
The first thing the shopkeeper did was change the battery. Unfortunately it didn't solve the problem. He told me there must be some kind of short, and it was most likely a fried board as I suspected.
I was thinking about unloading the set all along but I wanted to see if I could get it working first. The potential board replacement cost wasn't worth it to me. So I have washed my hands of the whole MTH set and picked up a retro Lionel item. Lionel isn't a priority for me right now but in the future I am going to stick with the classics. I think I am satisfied with the deal I got. The dead board has me out somewhere around a hundred dollars. Sunk costs. Saved the hassle of trying to sell a bulky set with a dead engine on the internet.
The early PS/2 stuff had 9V batteries (well, actually 8.4v batteries), same as the PS/1 stuff. Then they went to the 3V batteries for the later PS/2 boards.
What did you finally do with the locomotive?
Electronic issues are part of the electric train digital hobby if you use the TMCC / DCS / Legacy locomotives. But even if you go the with the conventional wisdom such as Williams by Bachmann locomotives you still have the risk of fried smoke boards or electronic E units.
Bill T.
What type of transformer are you planning on using in the future?
Think about getting a high-end transformer with fast acting CIRCUIT BREAKERS.
I use the PowerHouse transfomers with extremely fast circuit breakers to prevent damage.
The worst Circuit Board problem was a Lionel SOO LINE SD40-2 diesel. The SOO SD40-2 was rolling down the tracks nicely, and then the circuit board started smoking and that was the end of that, until I took it to be repaired. I got it back home, then the headlight and numberboard section popped off, and I can not figure out how to get it back in place for good.
Circuit breakers protect against overcurrent. The problem with locomotive electronics is overvoltage. Install transient-voltage suppressors (TVSs) across your track-power circuits.
Fast circuit breakers are harmless; but they don't solve the real problem. They can also be a nuisance during short, harmless overloads. The sort of thermal circuit breakers installed in traditional transformers do a better job of modeling the thermal behavior of the wiring that they are designed to protect, although Lionel skimped on the number of breakers needed, in almost all of their transformers.
Bob Nelson
As I open up my TMCC/Legacy locomotives, I'm installing a TVS directly across the pickups in each one. The best place for transient protection is as close to the item being protected as possible. I also put one across the track feeders, the belt and suspenders approach.
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