Comments on: Trains Grind to a Halt a Few Days after Completing Track Work

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 10:52:04 +0000

Rusting track problem.
Try cleaning the track with CLR this is a household cleaning product so fairly harmless but it contains acids among other things.After following instructions on label put a drop of automatic transmit ion fluid on each track at about four meter intervals and distribute it with a train running on all the layout.
You will never stop dust gathering on the track so when necessary clean the track your faverit way and reapply the transmition fluid.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 05:01:35 +0000

Daniel;
What do you mean by the Track Status light blinked? It is either on or off. When it is on there is power. If it blinks on when you press the power button but goes off right away then you have a short.

If you have power and the train(s) are not responding are you sure you entered the correct address for the loco(s) you are trying to run? Check the loco address on the programming track if you are unsure what address you programmed it/them to. Default address from manufacture is usually 3.

If you have a short, start by verifying you don’y have a piece of rolling stock on a turnout that is not aligned properly. If not then remove all rolling stock from the layout. If the light stays on after this then your issue is a piece of rolling stock. Put them back on one at a time until you see which piece is the culprit.

If the Track Status light stays off after removing all the rolling stock then your short is either on the track or in your wiring.

By: James H Taylor

James H Taylor — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 01:36:16 +0000

Digitrax Dcc power can be in 2 states. standby and full power. I don,t know how to tell on Zephyer. On my DT400 throttles there is a dot on screen that blinks when in standby an steady when in full power.

By: W Rusty Lane

W Rusty Lane — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:50:45 +0000

That’s why I don’t do DCC!

By: George Kern

George Kern — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 22:24:34 +0000

All of the above comments sounds good. I had the same problem, took a little detective work and this is what I found. I had a car that was shorting out. How did I find it? I turned on the power, and removed each car at a time, until I found the culprit. I fixed the car, and all is OK. It was a worn wheel set that shorted the system.

By: anselmo

anselmo — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 21:05:53 +0000

check if there are any metal wheel (of a car obviously) parked just over the frog of a switch. I have had this sort of short caused this way. The funny is that the power pack lights on, every thing seems to be ok but locos does not run.
Since then I take much care to do not park metal wheels over a turnout frog.

good luck!

By: Bruce Webb

Bruce Webb — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 17:28:12 +0000

sounds like some guys are hitting the nail on the head here. you said you tried it out before leaving and every thing worked fine came home and nothing. is that correct ? i’ll assume yes Question no need to send me any answers here how steady has the humidity, temperature or ant thing else been steady. If so then you probably cooked tour power supply. check it first thing if weather has changed then maybe you have a not so visible loose connection or a poor connection volt meter will help (weather can cause track to expand or retract more than you realize. HOPE I HAVEN’T CONFUSED YOU THAT IS OT MY INTENTION. good luck Bruce

By: Lyman Dunning

Lyman Dunning — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 17:24:09 +0000

Check to make sure you don’t have derailed cars or engines. Many cars have metal wheel frames.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 15:48:05 +0000

I have read all of the above comments, and they are all good suggestions, I would do the same. However, one thing not mentioned, is the environment. If you have your layout in a room that can have fairly large temperature changes, it can expand or contract the trackage. I say this because my train room is in an attic room. The temperatures up there can vary a lot. I have found that the track expansion has caused shorts where I have had isolated rails. It is not a common occurrence, but it has happened, and it sure was difficult to find that fault in the system. With all this said, be sure to check your power source first, by disconnecting it from the track, and verifying the output is good with either a voltmeter or a locomotive. Then proceed to look for shorts in the tack. Having a good volt-ohm meter is a must for all of us model railroaders.

By: David Broad

David Broad — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:22:34 +0000

You need to divide the layout into sections like they did with DC. Chop the Bus into small chunks and feed each with a DPDT switch. OK it takes time but you can switch one bit on at a time and identify which bit has the fault without snipping wires. Maybe run 80% of the railway without clearing the fault.
Other alternatives include taking therapy, taking up fishing and going Radio Control.
Shorts happen, points fail and if you have 20 or 100 points to check each time it fails you are going to find an alternative hobby. Divide the layout into sections or “power zones”

By: Mark J

Mark J — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 10:23:55 +0000

I’ve had the exact same issue 4 times now, and it’s been a faulty turnout every time. It’s definitely a short so you’ll need to test the track to find it. Clip your leads to the track and operate each turnout one by one and/or check the whole thing block by block. It’s tedious but you’d best get used to it.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 08:10:50 +0000

If you are not familiar with multi meters and ohm meters get a 12 volt automotive sidelight, 5 watts, or panel (about 2 or 3 watts) bulb. If a holder is not available for it you can solder on 2 lengths of wire. The beauty of this is that you can work your way around the track starting at the power source and immediately see if you have power when the bulb lights up without having to keep one eye on the test leads and one on the meter.