WHAT MAKE'S PS1 BOARD GO BAD?

[Anonymous]

QUESTION FOR EVERYONE.

WILL LOW BATTERY ON PS1 MAKE THE BOARD GO BAD??

[chuck]

Some of the boards can get horribly scrambled by a low battery.  A PS-1 sound/control board uses a "state machine" to store it's settings.  These settings are backed up by the battery. 

When you put a PS-1 loco on the track and power up, the loco goes into reset mode for a few seconds.  If the battery is low, it takes longer to come out of reset. If you place a loco on the track with a low battery and do not wait for it to charge up and leave "reset" mode, any voltage shifts or DC spikes will be interpreted as commands.  Most of these "commands" are nonsense but they can lead to the board being left in an unstable or unuseable state.  On a few loco's it will actually scramble the board and require a special chip set to fix it (boards that give the three clanks of death on start up).

You can get Dick Teal's book on Modern Toy Train repair at many larger hobby shops that specialize in 3 rail O or you can order it on line from the bigger book sellers.  Excellent source of info on maintaining your modern trains.

[daan]

I didn't know why they scrambled with a low battery chuck, thanks for the explanation..!

[waltrapp]

Chuck, you are exactly correct in your statement that the scrambling only takes place if:

* you try to leave start-up reset mode,

* the battery is low,

* the engine is one of the few PS1 engines susceptible to the malady.

If you're worried, the safe approach is to fire up the engine and INSTANTLY kill the power to the track.  If the sounds last 5 seconds or more the battery is charged and it's safe to move on - even if you own one of the culprit engines.

Or you could replace it with a BCR and never have to worry again.

- walt

[laz 57]

Thats what I just did, replace all my batteries witha BCR and just let them charge up on the track for about a minute.  No problems at all.

laz57

[Deputy]

If you own a PS1 loco, it's always wise/safe to charge up the battery BEFORE putting the loco into operation. This accomplishes two things...#1 it prevents the "fried control board" syndrome, and #2 it tells you the condition of the battery. You should also use a battery charger that tells you the condition of the battery. I just invested in on of these "smart chargers" and for $30 it's worth the money. The BCR is also an excellent (although pricey if you own a lot of PS1 locos) alternative.

Dep