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O Scale Electrical Problem
Steve sent in this question hoping someone reading this blog can help him:
“I have a Lionel layout with three separate tracks operated independently from a Z transformer (each track is connected to a separate circuit). I apparently have developed a short which I cannot find but strangely it has affected all three tracks/circuits which doesn’t make sense. Anyone have any suggestions to help me locate and solve my problem other than starting over?”
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6 Responses to O Scale Electrical Problem
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You’re probably overloading the transformer and tripping the circuit breaker.
My best memories are not only of that first train, a Lionel given to my at my sixth Christmas, but watching the steam engines coming through the little town of Colfax, California in the late forties and early fifties. But the biggest thrill was the day the City of San Francisco was set free from her snow bound trip through the Sierras and arrived in Colfax with many exhausted but grateful passengers. We made a trip into town to greet these people and wish them well as they finished their delayed trip.
To avoid this happening try three seperste transformers and controllers one for each track.
The Z transformers are one transformer with multiple outputs drawn from it. A short on one output will affect all the others.
Try disconnecting one circuit from the transformer at a time to try to isolate the circuit causing the short.
Just disconnect each track in turn until the fault clears.Better still have isolating switches for each track,
Then reconnect the rest, on be one, if the fault only goes away with no tracks connected check your isolators and maybe take out a section of track each side of the power connectors and see if the fault clears, then add more pieces of track until it clears, I had to do this with my first Hornby Dublo 3 rail layout aged 7 or so as the connector tags used to ride up over the insulation, Happy days (Not)
This is the classic DCC problem, the simple fault that shuts down the entire road. and why iIwont have DCC
qustion can a ho dc transformer run o scale 2 rail trains