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MTH E-8 Operating Manual

BATTERY PROBLEMS

REMEDY

I get no sounds when the engine shifts between the

direction states.

The battery may be dead or needs charging. See the

Battery Backup section for more information.

After I turn off my transformer, my engine continues to

make sounds before quitting with a ding of its bell.

ProtoSounds continues to sound for approximately 10

seconds after power to the track has been shut off.

The sounds distort at low voltages.

The battery is insufficiently charged or dead. Follow

the recharging instructions found in the section entitled

“Self Recharging Battery Backup System”.

A repeating horn blast occurs after the power has

been shut down.

The battery is insufficiently charged or dead. Follow

the recharging instructions found in the section entitled

“Self Recharging Battery Backup System”.

RESET PROBLEMS

REMEDY

When I first turn the power on, the engine will not

begin to run. I have to turn the throttle off and then on

again to get the engine to operate.

This is normal behavior. When power to the track is

first turned on, ProtoSounds enters a “RESET” phase

at which time the engine undergoes a system check.

Power must be interrupted to get the engine into the

Forward Phase. See the section entitled “DCRU

Reverse Unit Operation” for more information.

Whenever I interrupt the power from RESET to enter

Forward, the engine goes back into RESET instead of

Forward. I know this occurs because the bell dings

twice.

Whenever ProtoSounds enters RESET after power

has been off for more than 15 seconds, the

microprocessor initiates a system check to determine

that everything is in working order. This system check

requires 2.2 seconds to complete during which time

the engine will play the diesel startup sounds. We

recommend that you don’t interrupt the power in

RESET until the diesel startup sounds have

completed. This will guarantee that the system check

will have been completed since the startup sounds

take longer than 2.2 seconds to play. If the problem

persists, we recommend that you operate the throttle

with a slower movement as you interrupt the power in

RESET and enter the Forwaard Phase

BRAKE SOUND PROBLEMS

REMEDY

When the transformer is throttled down, the sounds

won’t play.

The brake features has not been activated. See the

section on activating the brake feature for more

information.The throttle voltage setting on the

transformer is either not starting high enough or

ending low enough to trigger the brakes sounds. Try

increasing the throttle setting to 14 volts or higher

before throttling down to 8 volts or less.

The brake sounds continue to play even after the

engine stops.

The brake feature sound record lasts for three

seconds. With practice you can control how quickly

you should stop the engine to keep it in sequence with

the sound of the brake’s squeaking.

The brake feature was activated in neutral after the

engine was running in forward, but the brake sounds

would not play when triggered after the engine went

back into forward or reverse.

The brake feature will only remain enabled if it is

triggered in the first direction state you enter after

activating the feature in neutral. You cannot interrupt

the power twice to enter another direction state and

still have the brake feature active. Therefore, in order

to make the brake sound feature operate in forward,

you must first activate the feature in the neutral

position that occurs after the engine was in the reverse

state.

After triggering the brake sound and stopping the

engine in neutral, the engine begins making passenger

station sound effects.

After you trigger the brake sounds, you cannot stop

the engine in neutral and leave the track power on

without activating the passenger station sounds. If you

don’t want to hear the passenger station sounds after

entering neutral, turn the power off for three seconds

to disable the passenger station sound effects.

Summary of Contents for E-8 DIESEL ENGINE

Page 1: ...iring instructions and is completely compatible with most other 3 rail locomotives rolling stock and accessories The locomotive is equipped with several deluxe features that are simple and fun to oper...

Page 2: ...5 Locking The Engine Into Forward or Reverse 25 Unlocking The Engine 25 Locking The Engine Into Neutral 25 OIL LUBRICATION INSTRUCTIONS 27 TRACTION TIRE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS 28 LIGHT BULB REMOVAL...

Page 3: ...perates in the same manner that all reverse units function by using forward neutral and reverse states that are entered each time the throttle is turned on and off or by using the transformer directio...

Page 4: ...he interior engine components When the smoke output begins to diminish while running the engine an additional 20 25 drops of smoke fluid should be added or the smoke unit switch should be turned off W...

Page 5: ...DCRU reverse unit that contains the standard forward neutral reverse states found on most reverse units However as described earlier when power is first applied to the track the reverse unit begins i...

Page 6: ...le button is depressed only one single bell chime will be heard each time the whistle button is pressed If you don t want to configure or change your locomotive using any of these programmable feature...

Page 7: ...he ProtoCoupler and press the whistle button The bell should begin chiming To turn the bell off press the whistle button again If you want to keep the bell on while running the engine simply interrupt...

Page 8: ...our dispatacher to engineer Cab Chatter radio transmissions that occur every 2 to 30 seconds Each sequence will play at random intervals to eliminate repetition While the sounds are selected to play r...

Page 9: ...engine and turn the throttle off quickly the brake sounds will likely continue playing even though the engine has come to a complete stop This annoying effect can be eliminated by simply practicing w...

Page 10: ...ssages passenger disembarking and embarking sounds conductor voices and general train station ambient sounds Each is described in more detail in the following sections ACTIVATING PASSENGER SOUNDS Your...

Page 11: ...tton To activate the feature turn on the transformer throttle and get your engine into the neutral position not RESET Once in neutral set the transformer throttle at 8 volts or less and press and hold...

Page 12: ...ection it arrived The following operator controlled events control PFA s actions and sounds Event 1 Forward While the locomotive is running in forward or reverse PFA is activated by the operator pushi...

Page 13: ...erator now interrupts the transformer throttle again to enter the next reverse unit phase reverse In an effort to enhance realism PFA has disabled the reverse phase so that it doesn t power the motors...

Page 14: ...unit phase forward PFA confirms to the operator that it has entered the forward phase by playing a conductor voice yelling All Aboard Immediately after playing all aboard the sound of the doors closin...

Page 15: ...ProtoSounds or PFA If the engine isn t equipped with PFA the only thing to remember is that you not turn up the transformer throttle very high when entering the reverse state found in Event 3 If the...

Page 16: ...come silent when power from the transformer is shut off the battery may be going bad Before replacing the battery you should put the engine in NEUTRAL and leave the transformer throttle at about 12 vo...

Page 17: ...rol all the sounds in the system and a remote control RESET option Option 6 allows you to control the volume level of the engine sounds remotely from the transformer Turning the volume adjustment knob...

Page 18: ...ure at a time through the available options An air release sound is heard each time the throttle is advanced In addition there are special sounds to tell you what RESET position you are in For example...

Page 19: ...me pushing it a third time will give you 25 volume and pushing it a fourth time will give you no engine sound The microprocessor will immediately play the sound level each time the whistle button is p...

Page 20: ...ed for a bell button Simply turn the throttle off and then on again to Lock In the new setting To reset the computer to its original factory default setting no separate bell button operation repeat th...

Page 21: ...operating your engine with a separate bell button and want to blow your horn when your engine is in neutral you will need to program ProtoSounds to do so as the factory setting only allows the horn to...

Page 22: ...er engines without uncoupling the engines from each other To turn the ProtoCoupler function off enter RESET and go to Feature 10 See the section on Using RESET To Program ProtoSounds on page 17 Once i...

Page 23: ...ly thinking that the engine s electronics have failed To activate the Remote Lockout Control setting go to RESET Feature 40 See the section entitled Using RESET To Program ProtoSounds on page 17 Once...

Page 24: ...ps to eliminate repetitive and boring messages While the sounds are selected to play randomly by the unit s computer there is no guarantee that you won t hear the same message repeated twice or more t...

Page 25: ...WHISTLE BUTTON After about one second you will hear a short horn blast QUICKLY TURN THE THROTTLE BACK ON AGAIN Your engine is now locked into Forward or Reverse and it will remain so until you unlock...

Page 26: ...voltage settings prior to the user s attempt to lock out the engine Remember the horn doesn t t blow in NEUTRAL unless you programmed it to do so using Feature 25 See page 20 for details only the bell...

Page 27: ...ed additional grease until after 50 hours of operation or one year whichever comes first Grease cannot be added to the internal gearing until the body is removed from the chassis which is held in plac...

Page 28: ...e truck block internal gearing it is a good idea to lubricate the outside truck block idler and drive gears with grease Use the diagram shown in Fig 7 above as a guide and add grease to the points mar...

Page 29: ...have to be removed and reinstalled or a noticeable wobble in your engine will occur when operating the locomotive In addition it is important to make sure that the tire is fully seated inside the groo...

Page 30: ...ssed fully the ProtoSound circuit may not recognize the signal Try pressing the whistle button slower taking approximately 1 second to fully depress the button BELL PROBLEMS REMEDY When I press the wh...

Page 31: ...nsformer It sits still with the diesel compressor sounds running The engine is locked out into the Neutral position Follow the unlocking proceedures in the Lockout Section The engine won t lock out in...

Page 32: ...eted This will guarantee that the system check will have been completed since the startup sounds take longer than 2 2 seconds to play If the problem persists we recommend that you operate the throttle...

Page 33: ...whistle and bell buttons has no affect Because PFA must control various effects in each PFA event the bell and whistle functions are disabled until either the PFA events have been completed or the eng...

Page 34: ...90 Watt Standard Lionel 1043 U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1043M U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1044 U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1053 U A 8 17v 60 Watt Standard Lionel 1063 U A 8 17v 60...

Page 35: ...wed including the following Read this and all related manuals transformer power supply locomotive etc thoroughly before using this device This device is not recommended for children under eight years...

Page 36: ...ss daytime phone number Return Authorization number and a full description of the problem must be included to facilitate the repairs Please include the description regardless of whether you discussed...

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