Fastrack switch jams and will not switch

[snowbird railroader]

Two of the 14 O48 Fastrack switches I have will intermittently jam - the switch points will not move, neither electrically (switch controller or derailleur feature) nor manually twisting the lantern cap. The first time it happened I took the switch out of the layout, shook it all about, and it resumed working. This time I've screwed it down and am wondering if anyone has seen / resolved this issue, so that I can fix it "once and for all". Extra notes: * I can hear the motor trying to turn when I run a loco "wrong-ways" into the switch, but no motion * I'm suspecting the gear on the stepper motor inside is wedging against something, but haven't any evidence yet. Wiggling a flat-head screwdriver in around where the points slide back and forth didn't help any. Thanks!

[EIS2]

You can remove the bottom plate to see what the problem is.  There are a lot of tiny screws that need to be removed.  You also need to remove the electrical wires and bend up a cable clamp to remove the plate.  It is easy to do, but a little time consuming.

Earl

[ADCX Rob]

 There are no stepper motors in the switches.

If the warranty is over, you may want to disassemble them carefully to visually inspect.  Post photos if you can for more help.

Rob

[Boyd]

 Didn't they just start selling the 48 switches this year?

[snowbird railroader]

Thanks for the comments. After disassemby, I was still able to reproduce the problem by throwing the switch electrically back and forth (throwing it manually wouldn't reproduce the problem). Turns out the gear on the motor was climbing up onto the rack that drives the points (I have a picture; "daylight" visible in the diamond formed where 2 spurs of the motor gear are improperly riding up on 2 spurs of the rack). After puttering about, I seem to have success by limiting the travel on the rack (as opposed to stuffing something under the rack to force it to mesh more closely to the motor gear). Must ensure that the travel is slightly limited on the problem end, but that the limiter switch will still get triggered. (I have a picture as well). 20 cycles and the reproducible problem is no longer reproducible... hurray! As I haven't figured out how to get the pictures to "post", it's time for bed. :-)

[Boyd]

 I think it would be a good idea to contact Lionel with the problem you have run into. If not covered under warranty at least they can know someones having trouble with 48" switches.

[Anonymous]

Boyd

 I think it would be a good idea to contact Lionel with the problem you have run into. If not covered under warranty at least they can know someones having trouble with 48" switches.

48" switches! COOL! I gotta find me some of these! just kidding Boyd. Just got a chuckle out of it.

[POP-POP]

I bought 14 new 0-31 fastrack switches 2 months ago and slowly put them into service on my set. 6 failed, jamed like your did and lionel nor the distributor Heartland confirm any repatative problems. The rest of the switches replaced start to fail ecactly the same way. I am really sick of removing them and sending them back.  Is there a simple way I can resolve this my self?

[servoguy]

My recommendation is to abandon FasTrack and use tubular track and  022 or 711 switches.  If you restore the switches according to my post "022/711 switch operating pblms" they are bullet proof, and they don't snag the sliding shoes.  Apparently Ross switches snag the sliding shoes and the FasTrack switches are unreliable.  Both the FasTrack and Ross switches are very expensive.  I have about 125 022 switches most of which I bought for $7 each.  I have 27 711 switches which I paid less than $50 each + shipping.  

[rtraincollector]

That's why I'm slowly but surly buying O gauge track and switches. First off never been a fan of Lionel Fast track or MTH track with road bed. I have Gargraves track and Ross switches and have not had any problems but haven't run anything with shoes on them as of yet. And right now I don't even have a layout.