# MTH wireless drawbar problems



## Rabbitman (Jan 24, 2014)

I have a MTH PS3 4-8-4 Santa Fe steam engine with the wireless drawbar that has caused nothing but problems since I got it new last year. I have tried new drawbars, checked for loose wires ect and want to do away with the hidden system it uses and just use a teather wire like the PS2's and older versions. The problem I have so far is a male and female connector for the 6 small wires which are about the same gauge as teleplone line wires.
Where or what do I ask for to get a very small connector for this purpose. I'll use shrink tubing over the wires but I hate to wire it solid with no connector but this wireless drawbar has to go.
By the way this thing has been back to MTH for warranty 2 times in the past year for electrical problems mostly caused by this drawbar system they use now on steam engines. Other than that these are great running and sounding and have very realistic smoke.
I guess I could probably use 3 extension cords but that might be a little overkill!:stroke::dunno:


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

Rabbitman:

Your drawbar problem may be more severe than mine, which was the connection becomes loose and lost connectivity between the engine and the tender. My solution was to use a tiny tie wrap around the connectors to tighten up the connection and assure it won't vibrate out of connectivity.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Finding those small connectors, especially molded plugs like the old drawbars have, is a real trick. If you can find some older K-Line tethers, they were 6-pin and had nice small connectors.


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## lovin it (Nov 21, 2012)

This is where I got my 6 pin connectors to wire a tsunami sound decoder.

http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/the-599/6-Pin-Micro-Connector/Detail


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's actually a fairly huge .1" spacing connector, there are better choices. Figuring that's sitting on a quarter, that's not really that small.

I use the Minitronics Micro-Mini Connectors for many tasks. They're only rated at 1A, so I sometimes double up lines for stuff like power or motor.


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## Rabbitman (Jan 24, 2014)

lovin it said:


> This is where I got my 6 pin connectors to wire a tsunami sound decoder.
> 
> http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/the-599/6-Pin-Micro-Connector/Detail


Thanks alot, I just ordered the 6 pin colored wire one. That's just what I need, thanks again.


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## Rabbitman (Jan 24, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> That's actually a fairly huge .1" spacing connector, there are better choices. Figuring that's sitting on a quarter, that's not really that small.
> 
> I use the Minitronics Micro-Mini Connectors for many tasks. They're only rated at 1A, so I sometimes double up lines for stuff like power or motor.



I just went to their site and they only have connectors up to 4 pin but thanks anyway, at least I have another source for things like that now.


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## Rabbitman (Jan 24, 2014)

Lynn D Bennett said:


> Rabbitman:
> 
> Your drawbar problem may be more severe than mine, which was the connection becomes loose and lost connectivity between the engine and the tender. My solution was to use a tiny tie wrap around the connectors to tighten up the connection and assure it won't vibrate out of connectivity.
> 
> LDBennett


 I'm pretty sure my problem is on top of the connectors where the wires mate to the pins. I see that they are extremely close together and there is some movement in them as well and more than likely 1 or more of them are touching at times. I had thought of mixing up a little epoxy and putting a drop or so on top of them to keep them still. I probably should have tried that first but I just ordered the 6 pin connector from Ulrich and am just going to eliminate the damn thing once and for all. I really like that engine but I get so frustrated I've came close to smashing it to pieces but at least I know where the problem is now and it can be fixed pretty easy.
I'm hoping I can epoxy the female part of the connector to the inside of the cab or tender where it isn't too visible but it really isn't an issue. I'll just be glad to see that thing start up every time when I put power to it.
If it doesn't solve the problem I better just put it in the box for it's own protection and my sanity since it's too cold out now to think about fixing a window after a pretty heavy diecast steam engine has passed through it


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

A common issue is the connector inside the locomotive works loose, dressing the wires coming to it to reduce strain is important. Once you get them working, they work OK, but I'm not impressed overall with the design. I think they could have done a better job. They tried to use standard PCB connectors for a job that they're not really suited for.


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