UPDATE: MTH PS2 loco problem - are these engines junk or what??

[darianj]

I would not say they are junk, but hey are a little picky about where you run them.  When the engine was returned, did you have the LHS test it on their layout again?  The engine might have been fixed; but you could still have a problem on your layout.  The CW-80 and PS2 engines really don't like each-other.

I had simular problems with my first PS2 engine.  Same setup...Lionel CW-80 and fasttrack.  I was advised to place a lightbulb somewhere on the layout.  When I did that, all worked fine with the movement, but I still was not able to access some of the features using the horn and bell buttons with the CW-80.  The next PS2 engine I bought blew the fuse in my CW-80.  I then went out and bought an MTH Z1000 and have had no problems since.

So

1- Make sure the battery is charged (As someone else mentioned)
2- Try placing a light bulb somewhere on your layout so that is powered by your track
3- Try a different transformer.

Hope this helps...good luck.

[Andrew Falconer]

Bob, you are quite the schemer.

The MTH ProtoSounds 2.0 Locomotive most likely was set wrong by the transformer controls.

I have run several MTH P-S 2.0 Locos and have never encountered a problem except with sending the wrong commands using the transformer buttons.

Andrew

[ChiefEagles]

NO they are not junk.  They are not my favorite because I do not like their sounds and especially their horns.  They operate great  They are very detailed.  Battery is their weakness but can be handled OK.  If you are going to put them up and not operate them for periods of time, go buy a MTH battery charger.  Recharge the batteries before running them.  Next best thing would be a BCR.  If you use one of those, you have to remember not ot do anything for a few seconds while it "entergizes".

[SchemerBob]

I have come up with a solution to this problem (read the last post)

Last November, I bought an MTH ProtoSound 2.0 SW1500 switcher locomotive. I ran it with my Lionel 80-watt transformer (not the CW-80) and Lionel FasTrack, and it worked fine. This transformer was not on the list of compatible transformers for that engine, but it still worked fine. Then, right when I changed the track layout for Christmas, the engine's speed control just conked out for no reason. When it was working fine, the switcher would creep along and I was very pleased with it. But then it just sped around the loop of track at an alarming rate of speed, even when I put the transformer to the lowest possible power setting. I couldn't operate the horn or bell, or activate any of the locomotive's features. Re-setting the engine and turning speed control on/off did not work.

When I took the engine to my hobby store, they tested it out on their layout, and, sure enough, even though they had the MTH Z-4000 transformer and MTH track, the engine did the exact same thing. The hobby shop sent it back to MTH, where it was "repaired". When I finally got around to putting the loco on my track again today, it did the exact same thing it did at Christmastime. I am very disappointed. I was very excited that MTH was making a BNSF Evolution, but now I'm not sure I should even buy MTH trains, and Lionel doesn't even seem to care about making any BNSF anything, which is very unfortunate because all my Lionel engines work perfectly all the time. Does anyone know what the reason might be for why this engine doesn't work, or is it possible that I just got a dud?