Hi everyone. Many years ago I bought a Marklin ICE 2 kit that came with K track, a digital 60113 box and 60653 mobile controller, and never took it out of the box until this past week. I decided to make a little winter train layout under the tree, and set it all up. It was working fine until today, when I tried to start the train running, and found the controller completely unresponsive to key presses. Can't take it out of Stop or do anything else. I tried power cycling it, plugging it into the other port, nothing helped.

Family is coming over late this evening, and I'd love to be able to get it to run. I don't know if anyone is reading these forums this weekend, but if you have any fixes to try, I'd love to hear them.

Is there a way to factory reset the controller that doesn’t require using the front keys?

I am very adept at electronics, and have quite a few things like Arduinos and Raspberry Pis around. If anyone knows what the digital signaling protocol is, either to the track, or from the controller to the digital power box, I could hack together something to command the system. It really just needs to tell the train to run, maybe turn the lights on for a bonus.

If it's a common failure of the electronics (basic components), I can attempt repairs here too.

Thanks for any help!

you cleaned the plug with IPA, beer? 🤣🤣🤣

Merry Christmas and happy trains 👍🏻