Electrical Problem


Larry

Larry

Long Winded Old Fart
I never have electrical problems, but I do now. I run DC only in HO scale.
I have 1 main line that I run w/an MRC 20 walkaround & the other mainline I run w/a MRC9500. Before I left on my 1 week trip I was running trains on both mainlines for at least 2 hrs. for some visitors. I was gone for 7 days & when I tried to run trains on the walkaround throttle I had a dead short.
I switched transformers for a test & still have the short. That's w/an engine on the rail or not. My resistance reading is real high. I also disconnected the wires going to the back of the layout & just hooked the handheld controller directly into the transformer. Still have a short.
I badly need some idea's from you-all to fix this problem.:mad:
 
Hummm, have you cleaned all the rails? I'm wondering if there might be some Resistance causing junk on the rails?
 
Check the whole layout closely. Something metalic like a tool, paper clip, or piece of wire is laying across both rails. Also remove any freight cars with metal trucks. There's really not much else than cause this kind of short.
 
I vacuumed the whole track area, then I checked the whole layout w/a magnifier & then I used a poweful magnet on both mainlines & it still has a direct short. All of these problems while I was gone for a week. I think the bad track Ferry is trying to tell me something.
 
Another thing; When I have the transformer turned up slightly the needle on the track "voltage" meter flucuates slightly. It's like a car generator does when the battery is getting low. Doesn't do it on the Amp gage.
 
Larry, have you tested the voltage at the throttle terminals? If the voltage and current look good there, hook up couple of sections of track fed with some alligator clips and see of the throttle still put out good variable voltage and current and if you can run a engine on that track. It sounds like you've already eliminated most things that could be causing a short on the the layout tracks. That really leaves the wires feeding the tracks and the throttle itself. If the throttle checks out, do you have the layout divided in power blocks? If so, time start checking the wiring from the bus to each block. These kinds of things are just maddening to track down and it's always something simple, once you finally get it figured out. :)
 
I had the same problem once. Turns out after looking for awhile I noticed I put my beer on the tracks :eek:

I would start by cycling all of the turnouts to the position opposite of what they currently are. Then follow the bus wire to make sure nothing was eaten by a rodent etc. (Happens) If that doesn't work open up the bus wire half way through the length. If it clears it's between that point and the end. If it doesn't clear it's between the power pack and half. keep dividing the sections in half until you find the short. A multimeter will help big time. You can get one at radio shack for just over 20 bucks.
You'll notice that the spot you find the trouble at will alway be the last place you check :)
Good Luck
 
Never gonna believe what the problem was. Magnetic Coal. One of my buddies that has a key to my trainroom was running his trains while I was gone. Before I left I had been running a 32 car coal set & while I was gone he was running the same bunch & had a big tipover derailment in an area that I have a hard time getting to. I thought I had vacuumed that area twice. This morning I started checking the rails again w/a magnet & found the coal between the rails. The magnet grabbed the whole stack. I got the coal in a bag from a friend. I usually always check all scenery materials w/my electromagnet before I put it on the layout. Didn't & paid the price. No damage to any engines, just to my ego. LOL Thanks everyone for the idea's & I had tried them all & had almost decided to lay all new(300ft) of new track. Just kidd'in.
 
That's odd that they even make magnetic coal. Glad you found the source of the problem. Things like that are almost always a short between two rails but finding it can be a PITA, especially if you're letting magnet loads ride loose on the layout.
 
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Well, magnetic coal is easier to clean up than non-magnetic coal. Instead of vacuuming it up, you can grab it with a magnet and reuse it.
 
I suppose, but coal loads aren't that expensive compared to spending days and getting a few more grayhairs trying to find that short. :)
 
Well, as far as I'm concerned from now on there will not be any scenery stuff on my layout until I check it w/a magnet. Once I found a mess of magnetic rock from a well established MRR supplier that I had ordered on line. That is why I check everything except the coal I loaded on 2 long coal cars about 3 days before I went to Pensacola.
I don't know why I didn't check it. CRS
 
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