# MTH engine won't move



## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

Helllo all,

I am in need of a bit of help here. I have an MTH set which has the proto sound 2.0. it's 4 years old and is hardly used. Anyway, I set it up and it makes the running sound, whistles, idles up and talks but it will not move. It seems to be acting as if it is stuck in Neutral, but i followed the instructions as listed in the owner's manual and no luck. won't go forward or backward. i did change the batt in the remote as well - and I at least know the whistle and bell buttons work just fine. i have only used this set 3 times and am losing my patience over what seems to be an unending stream of maintenance. perhaps it is time for me to pull out my grandfather's vintage lionel set and just spend my time on that.

if anyone has an suggestions before i end up having to spend a fortune to have this looked at I would really appreciate hearing them. 

mdh157


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## alfalfa (Jan 11, 2008)

Have you tried taking it apart and messing aroung with it a little? Check the gears and electrical conections?


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

Are you using a compatible controller, of which there is a list in the back of the instruction booklet?

Are you sure that you got the timing correct when you tried to "unlock" the engine from neutral? After you did it, did the whistle blow twice like the instructions say it should? I posted the exact sequence in another thread - http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=314



Boston&Maine said:


> So try powering it up and doing this combo: Whistle, 1/2 second pause, Bell, 1/2 second pause, Bell, 1/2 second pause, Bell... If you get the timing right you should hear the whisle blow two times... Hopefully this is the problem


Anyways, just for some specifics, is it from the Railking model line or the Premier line? What type of locomotive is it?


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## ntrainlover (Nov 19, 2007)

could it be in direction lock?


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## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

*mth engine*

Let me answer all at once:

No on the taking apart - I am not exp in train repair and don't want to damage anything

I am using the MTH remote and transformer that came with it (bought the set new) to control

What is direction lock? Never heard of it.


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

mdh157 said:


> What is direction lock? Never heard of it.


Direction lock is what I was talking about... You mentioned an old Lionel set that you had... Do you remember it having an "e-unit," that little rod on top of the engine that you could switch? Well, direction lock is the modern day version of that "e-unit"...

With direction lock *OFF*, every time you cut power to the engine (or hit the "direction" button on the controller) it will cycle to the next direction... For example, if your train is moving forward and you cut the power to it, the next time you give it power it will be in neutral... Then if you cut the power again the next time you power the engine up it will be in reverse, etc, etc...

With direction lock *ON* you can cut power to the locomotive without it changing direction... For example, if your train is moving forward and you cut power to the engine (or hit the "direction" button on the controller), the next time you give it power it will still move forward...

So in your case if you accidentally locked it in neutral, no matter what you do the engine will not come out of neutral unless you give it the command to... I posted the command a couple posts up, it is in a quote block...


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## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

No luck....just had it out again and here's what I have:

It powers up and idles, whistle, bell and direction change button all work ok. did the directional unlock idea and the whistle blew 2 times in quick successsion, but the train still will not move. When I hit thhe dir change button it shuts the light off and back on again as if it is changing though. The light also will get brighter when I push the center button on the remote. Oh, and I changed the battery a short time ago as well to eliminate that as the problem. It doesn't idle up and move as it should when you first start off in a new direction.


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

So it seems to not be in direction lock, hmm...

Well, I am trying to think of all the possibilities... I know this is simple, but are you giving the train enough power? You need to crank that middle button up quite a bit for it to move... Giving it enough power to make the lights work is not enough to get it to go...

Here are two items from the troubleshooting section, just so you can double check everything I can think of... I would really look into the Protosound 2.0 battery and try charging it... The instruction booklet says that they can last up to five years, so with four years of sitting it may be drained or completely dead...

*Problem* - The engine will not start after I press the Direction button.
*Remedy* - You may not be sending enough power to the track to power the engine. Press the throttle up for a few more seconds to increase track power.

*Problem* - The engine will not leave the initial neutral setting.
*Remedy* - Check to be sure the battery is installed and fully charged. See the "Self-Charging Battery Back-Up" section.


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## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

*still no luck*

I agree......it has got to be something simple. i am going to try and take it to a local shop and see if the owner has any ideas. i am sure i am powering it up enough and I tried 2 diff 9 volts batts so the battery should be fine.

Oh.....not sure if this means anything but the wheels are locked - when i hold the chassis and try to move them they will not move in either direction, and I thought they were supposed to regardless of what gear the engine was in. When thsi prob started the engine was working fine and then it would not work after i stopped it and wnet to change gears. so perhaps it is something I did.


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## Lownen (Mar 28, 2008)

Have you called MTH? I understand their tech support is quite good. I don't have any of their products, so I can't say first-hand though.


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

mdh157 said:


> Oh.....not sure if this means anything but the wheels are locked - when i hold the chassis and try to move them they will not move in either direction, and I thought they were supposed to regardless of what gear the engine was in.


My two MTH engines are the same way, so this is not the problem either... Might as well give them a call like Lownen said since we have run out of ideas on here...


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## Bighanded (Dec 8, 2020)

I know this is an old thread..but it just saved my sanity...thought my Doodlebug was in major trouble..and was frustrated that it had almost no runtime on it..anyway..yep...guess I pressed bells n whistles too quick n fast last night as I had multiple trains running around the christmas tree...but tried the whistle/bell/bell/bell code and everything is back to normal. having not been born as a person who reads directions closely, if at all, I had assumed the lock code sequence would lock it in fwd direction only for example..not that it would lock it down in neutral...makes sense now that I know..but wow did it scare me into thinking I had a busted train...thanks again for this great forum...


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