MTH GP-38-2 Proto 1.0?

[Demon09]

Does anyone know which screws to remove to get the battery out of this thing?  My proto 1 battery is dying out on me, and I can only get the loco to work in the forward direction, and needless to say it is driving me insane... The online manual says that I can use a regular 9v as a temporary until I can get a new battery to replace this one....

Is it possible to do this?  Can I remove the battery myself, or should I just wait until I can get out and buy one of the newer battery replacement systems that can charge in 15 seconds or whatever it is... Can this only be done by a repair technician?

If it is the case that only a technician can do it, I can have them put in the BCR in their shop for me... But if I can postpone doing so until I have my holiday situation solid, I would prefer that....

Thanks!

[ChiefEagles]

Owner's manual will show you.  Ususally 6 screws under the unit [2 at each end and two next to the fuel tank].  All the ones I have worked with, once the shell is off, battery is visibale.  PS1 's, I have not done a lot with but pull the "guts" and install TMCC and Railsounds.   Maybe someone will post more.  I would go for the BCR.  Dead battery can scramble your chip.

[Demon09]

Thanks Chief!  I took your advice and checked the screws near the fuel tank, and there was a long screw through the bottom of the engine and through a spacer holding up the board-- I was able to take out the MTH battery and put in a temporary 9v...

But with that, I now know what I am doing, so I can order the BCR that charges in 30 seconds that I saw in CTT for $20 rather than paying the $35 for a BCR that charges in an hour and put it in myself-- which will save on having to pay a technician to do the work on top of the $35 suggested.....

[daan]

A simple 8.4 volt 160mAh Nimh battery will do the job. They cost about 4 or 5 euro's here, so at your side of the pond probably about the same.

Put it in a charger vor a few hours and install it. They don't have the memory effect regular Nicad batteries have and work flawless. It's just plain plug and play.

The chip doesn't scramble over night, if you change the old battery for a charged Nimh battery you can use it for another 5 years without a problem. I have 2 loco's with those batteries installed and it works as it should. Doesn't cost you $35 or $150 for a conversion.. Just loosen a few screws and install the $8 battery..

(I work on a budget and I like the proto1 units..)