My locos are shorting out in several places


A

AllenB

Member
Some background,...I have the Digitrax Zepher and I'm using feeders about every 4-5 feet. My mainline which is the only one I'm running now is about a 40-50 feet circuit. I'm a very beginner with the DCC stuff and electrics in general so bear with me. My problem is my locos seem to start and stop ALOT! I cleaned the track with those erasers and a VERY high grit sand paper in places. I'm running Athearn Genesis, Proto and a couple other locos and they all act pretty much the same. Turnouts (Atlas) seem to be an issue too although intermittently. Sometimes a loco will complete the circuit with no problems at all, then the next time around it'll start/stop several times. And when I say start/stop, I don't have to intervene, it just sputters so to speak. So, are there any tutorials out there about how to clean your wheels or how to maintain track to avoid all this nonsense? Any advice would be great.
Thanks!!!
 
Question #1) Are you using simple connectors on sectional track, or is your track soldered together?
A ton of problems can come from track connections simply not being good enough. Are there certain places the locos sputter, or is it random? If it is just certain places, I would recommend soldering the tracks together in those areas to help bolster the connection.

Question #2) As for the turnouts, they say that Atlas Snap switch turnouts are DCC friendly. I have found them to to be DCC "Genial" at best. The rails tend to come too close together and allow shorting on even some of the best spaced wheel sets.
Get yourself a NMRA Standards gauge and just check all your spacings to make sure everything it where it should be.
 
Sounds like dirty wheels might be your problem. Cleaning them isn't too difficult once you learn the technique.

First, find an old shirt or rag of soft cotton and soak a ~2"x 2" square area on it with isopropyl alcohol (available at any drug store). Then drape the soaked rag across the track. Place one set of your locomotive's wheels on the track covered by the alcohol-soaked rag and the other set on the exposed track. Hold your loco firmly in position, then apply power - the wheels spinning on the soaked rag will get cleaned. (You should see two black/brown streaks on the rag where the dirt has come off.) Then flip your loco around and do the other set of wheels the same way.

Hope this helps...
 
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Ditto what Ken says. Dirty wheels. I use a folded paper towel instead of a cotton rag, but either one works the same, whatever is on hand.
As far as keeping track clean, use the search function in the upper right corner of this page and type cleaning track. There must be a hundred threads on the subject. Hint, use advanced search.
Willie
 
I am in the same camp of thinking it is dirty wheels and the same camp for cleaning them. I use lint free linen cloth. I've found it lays flatter and conforms to the rail better so it is not catching small detail parts on the trucks and pilots.
 
Yep...dirty wheels thanks guys. I seem to have to clean them every 20 minutes or so. Just when I thought my track was clean...I'm obviously doing something wrong. Thanks all!
 
Have you also checked the wheel gaging on your locomotives? I recently purchased a Walthers P2K GP20. Seemed to stop at certain places, especially running forward around curves, etc. Wouldn't have a problem running in reverse. Checked the gaging, and lo an' behol' the wheels on the lead axle on the front truck were slightly out of gage...right out of the box! Re-gaged, and the problems disappeared!
 
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