Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you has encountered this problem with his/her CS2. A warning message appeared on my screen this morning after I turned on my CS2:

"you cannot operate solenoid items and run your trains at the same time"

Needless to say, that the speed dials did not have any effect on the locomotives.

Does anyone know why this happened? Could it be a bug in the newer software version?

Thanks in advance,

I have an question to you:
What kind of transformer do you use for CS2...?

Good!
It´s very important to use marklin´s transformer at 52 or 60 VA!
Nothing else more than that!

The warning comes up again tonight. It reads:
"There is no track format processor available. You cannot run locomotives and control accessories with this unit"

Only the Gods know what it is.

Hello Armando,

sorry to hear this.

Your CS2 has to be send in for recovery. TFP failures can be fixed only by Märklin. The boot-loader of the TFP went mad. This is a problem with the first Hardware Version of CS2 which may happen. After fix from Märklin this will not happen anymore.



Hello Goofy,

you can use all the transformer you want, even a 90VA from ESU or a 70VA from Viessmann or even a 120VA. Important is that the output tension of the transformer is the same than the Märklin ones.

rgds

Stephan

Hello Armando,

this issue is well known at Märklin. They will repair it for free even without warranty. It is not your fault that this occurred.

It seems that Murphy was thinking about you when he issued his law.

rgds

Stephan

Hi Stephan,

Well, I've checked with my dealer about the way forward with this matter. It seems that Märklin will not repair my CS2 (60213), but will want to replace it with the new 60214. It's supposed to be company policy. But it is not for free. Maybe in Europe it is. The cost for the upgrade (even if it's because of a faulty 60213, still under warranty) is about $120.0 plus shipping, natürlich!
Of course, the end user always pays!

Notwithstanding, I will reinstall the software version tonight and check if this solve the bug.

Armando. Send back to your dealer for a free replacement or your money back. I dont know about the USA but that is what would happen here in the UK.
Asking for a customer to pay to obtain a controller which was faulty is just not on.
The fact that you would get a 60214 should make no difference to an upgraded 60213.
My contract is with the seller (legally) and I have no interest in Marklin and their warranty. Why should you even pay postage to send it back ??
You also say you have problems every time you run your trains ???
I have had my 60213 for over a year and no problems and it is the same with all my Marklin. If I had your probs I think I would be buying another manufacturers stuff.
This is not a cheap controller and it should be made properly in the first place.
With all these so called 'known problems' no wonder nobody wants to buy M. as a firm.
Let us know how you get on and what service you get from both your dealer and Marklin.

Armando...you need to insist on getting a replacement unit at no cost to you.

I still dont understand why the dealer is not replacing the unit.

I think it is absolutely rediculous that you would have to pay $120 for no fault of yours. If the 60213 is not manufactured anymore, it is not your problem. The manufacturer needs to replace it with an equivalent unit which is the 60214 in this case.
If I were you, I would fight for getting a free replacement. You may want to contact Walthers and M* directly.

...with Marklin or...with Walthers ?

Apparently, the only option is to have a "credit" for the money you paid for the 60213. That means going back to my 6021, or wait until there is some sale on the 60214 someday. I have already written to Walther's and will write to Märklin in Germany as well. Will be posting the answers I'll get for you guys to see.

I do not understand why you continue to talk about Marklins warranty. You bought your CS from a dealer not Marklin. Is the law different to that in the UK.
Here it is an immediate refund from the dealer.

You did not buy the unit from Marklin but from your dealer. If you are going to send it back to Marklin then why bother buying from a dealer. These so called dealers get their profit for doing nothing but handing you a box.

Hi Ron In the UK we are covered by the Sale of Goods act. Our contract is with the retailer. The retailer buys from Marklin and our contract is with him as the seller of the goods. We have the choice of a full refund or replacement from the retailer who then returns the goods to the manufacturer where he bought them for his credit.I would not wish to send my TV back to Japan or my faulty printer back to China where it is made. lol
I would however like to sell in the USA and pass a box to my customer for a good profit then say goodbye and if you have a problem send it to the manufacturer.
Model rail dealers here are excellent and refund or replace immediately.But then they have no choice. Marklin warranty cards are just thrown away.
No wonder Marklin have problems when they have to deal with the public with whom they have no contract.
Having said that the only faulty item I ever had from Marklin was from Lokshop and they sent me a replacement loco in four days. Not a mention of going back to Marklin.
If I had to wait for months and also pay toward a replacement I would not be buying in the USA or I think Australia who have a similar problem and no protection against being sold faulty goods.
We just has a problem with our washing machine and phoned the retailer who sent an engineer the same day with spare part to fix it. The shop carries nearly all spare parts etc and saved me posting the washing machine to China lol. IF they had not been able to fix it I would have had a full refund.
Probably because I am aware of our consumer laws I have no problems but I understand how in other countries it must be most annoying.

Armando I feel sorry for the time and cash your are spending to obtain satisfaction in respect of a faulty item and it may be worth considering buying elsewhere.

Here's the reply from Walther's (I'm still waiting to get a reply on my email to Märklin in Germany):

"The 60213 has been discontinued and replacements are not available. The
defective unit can be returned to the Marklin factory for repair, which will
entail several months. You are not required to pay additional monies.
The dealer may have offered you the upgrade option, to save time".

Notwithstanding the above, I think that I will opt for the upgrade to 60214 (offered to me by my dealer)because I don't wish to wait an eternity for the defective 60213 to be repaired (if it ever gets repaired given that Märklin could unfortunately go belly up next year).

Hello Armando,

I wonder about the answer you got. I know at least 2 people, who became the 60123 repaired after this problem.

This problem is a software problem. The bootloader of the TFP went mad and need to be resetted ba Märklin service. At hte same time it will be mofdified so that that will not happen anymore
With new hardware Versions of 60123 this cannot happen anymore since the TFP is linked in a different way.

And there are more cases of them in the stummi forum. Some of them got the bootloader resetted, some of them got a 60124 for free.

So please insist, someone is telling b*****t to you and want to earn money.

rgds

Stephan

Hi guys, I may have no choice here. As per Walther's reply, the 60213 can be repaired in Germany alright, but it could take forever. Apparently, there is no question of getting an exchange for 60214 for free. Anyway, I'm still waiting to receive an answer to my email to Märklin Service Centre in Germany. I don't suppose their answer will be much encouraging because they already told me in the first place that this matter would be handled by Walther's over here.

So, I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet if I want to continue operating my trains with a Central Station.

Marklin Service after sales, here in France/on the continent, is considered to be the most serious of all train manufacturers,and it is true. I really don't understand what I'm reading here, such comments are somewhat surprising...

Ron, It is not only the North American Market that is not important to Maerklin but anyplace outside the EU.
AS LH said, in another topic, we are not "Suited" to own any of the magnificent Maerklin products most likely as we complain about lack of service or slowness (or lack of) of warranty. Now that is a no no. you do not complain and should accept the low level service when it is available.. Not all dealers are cast in the same mould but have to work inside a faulty and flawed system.
Nev

The situation is the same here. The NZ Sale of Goods Act says that product sold by retailers should be fit for the purpose for which it was purchased for. If it's a washing machine, then it should wash clothes, if a MRR controller, it should control trains. If it fails to do that then it is up to the retailer to fix the problem. End of story as far as the customer is concerned.

As I read M's mail, you will get a new unit if you send it in directly to their repair service with a purchase receipt copy and a short error description. I wouldn't blame M for a bad service attitude. Unfortunately the dealer & distributor seem to have their own ideas of handling things...

I would opt for a return directly to Germany, don't know the postage cost though, but it must surely be less than $120...

You would probably get a new 60214 unit since they indicate it will be swapped for a new one.

The hassle seems to be in Walthers/dealer part of the food chain.

If this type of trouble happened to me, I would buy from German Internet dealers instead.
But wait, I do that... Wonder why? "Been there, done that..." is the answer.
Still favor a Swedsish shop too for some items since they have good service...