Hi I have a MTH GE es44ac protosound loco and love it.I run it conventional with a lionel cw 80 and i have had no problems with it until today. It will turn on like usual with the sound on but the bell is ringing immediately and when i push the direction button the loco will not move now.I looked in the manual and thought it might be locked in neutral, so i followed the steps to get it out of neutral but still nothing.The sounds are loud and the lights are bright but no movement. Id appreciate any opinions or comments that maybe could help me figure this out.I also ran my MTHsd70ace on the same track and transformer and it ran fine .
Use the CW-80 to run your accessories, not your PS-2 MTH loco. It may operate occasionally but eventually it will do goofy things. I sold my CW-80 and went with the Z-1000.
I second the reply to get rid of the CW-80. I quickly had troubles with it trying to run MTH trains. You can buy a Z-1000 very reasonably. The CW-80 messed my engine up so bad I had to take it to the dealer for a reset.
Roger
Get rid of the MTH engine if you can.
I am surprized that the CW-80 ever worked with a PS-2 engine! I tried once with a PS-2 engien and all it did was act up badly. MTH instruction booklet says NEVER to use a CW-80 with any PS-2 or PS-3 engine, look up transformer compatibility in the MTH manual!
Lee F.
phillyreading I am surprized that the CW-80 ever worked with a PS-2 engine! I tried once with a PS-2 engien and all it did was act up badly. MTH instruction booklet says NEVER to use a CW-80 with any PS-2 or PS-3 engine, look up transformer compatibility in the MTH manual! Lee F.
Guys, reading comprehension is a little lacking here, the OP wrote ProtoSound, NOT PS2. In MY experience, I have run many ProtoSound locomotives just fine with a CW-80, including the remote couplers. Yes PS2 locomotives often do behave badly with the CW-80, but that is not what the OP is asking about.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
Doofus Get rid of the MTH engine if you can.
I second this motion. I have many more Lionel Locomotives than I have MTH locomotives, but, I have had MANY more problems with MTH locomotives than I have had with Lionel. When I became involved in the 3 Rail segment of the Hobby, coming from HO, I did not have any preconceived Biases for or against any particular manufacturers. I felt if they all make Great Trains, Great, there is more to choose from. I have personally found Lionel to be more reliable, than MTH, YMMV.
The CW-80 is a Wonderful transformer, when used within it's capabilities, it is not a ZW, or Z-4000. The CW-80 does have an advantage on most other transformers though, in it's near zero minimum voltage. The ZW, New and old, as well as the MTH Z-500,750 and 1000(I don't know about the Z-4000, I have not used one) all have too high of a minimum starting voltage for many smaller locomotives to be started smoothly, or run slowly. I have often read of locomotives that start with a lurch and run too fast, at the minimum throttle setting, this is usually when being run with one of the other transformers, TRY using a CW-80, before condemning the Locomotive(CTT testers PLEASE try this when reviewing locomotives slow speed operation), all too often the culprit is the transformer, NOT, the locomotive.
The OP did not specify if his is a PS1 or PS2 (or 3) loco, so let's assume it's a PS1.
To the best of my knowledge, MTH never referred to ProtoSound as PS1, that is a Hobbyist term, like "Lash Up". From what I know MTH had soundless units, LocoSound units, ProtoSound units, ProtoSound2(PS2) units and now in HO ProtoSound3 (PS3) units. If the box says "Equipped with ProtoSound" on it, it is most likely not a PS2 unit.
The MTH ES44 only came with Protosound 2, so it is not an original PS loco. Also, it sounds like the CW-80 is likely the culprit of the problems. Not sure why someone would post above to get rid of this loco- I have several of these new ES44AC engines and they are awesome in all regards-
While the CW-80 has it's own abilities, positive or negative features, the Z-1000 is the better transformer to use with a PS-2 engine. The Z-1000 has 100 watts of power and has the newer circuit breaker built-in the power brick, so it will protect your MTH engine better than a post war transformer.
The transformer's circuit breaker primarily protects the transformer itself and, if it is appropriately heavy, your layout wiring. Drawing too much current is usually not the cause but rather the effect of the failure of a locomotive. Postwar Lionel made a big mistake in using a single circuit breaker in series with the common, rather than separate breakers on multiple transformer outputs. But the type of circuit breaker that they used is well suited to its task.
Bob Nelson
I am not familiar with the CW 80 nor the GEes44ac. However, I have read enough material to believe your battery in the locomotive may be dead. I have seen where the battery is dead when the loco will not move in any direction when prompted. Also, check out the sound. When turning off power to the loco the sound should stay on about 8 seconds before dying out. If the sound stops immediately upon the power drop, the battery is dead. Caution! If these condition exist with your loco, DO NOT try to move the loco with the direction switch. Don't even power up the loco until the battery is replaced. If I understand the issue correctly, the dead or very weak battery charges negetively (opposite polarity) and causes your CPU to scramble its memory.
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