Outdoor G SCALE track - Testing the circuit

[Andrew LGB TRAINGUY]

Hi there

Can anyone help me, I have just completed rebuilding my outdoor garden railroad and use LGB track, I actually ran a train last night for the 1st time but there are parts of the track when the train just stops, due to poor power? I am not using railclamps and the track is free floating on a limestone screed, I know I have some electrical issues but I want to know of a good way to check the electrical continuity of the track throughout the layout. Is there some form of circuit/track tester you can purchase or make?

Any ideas, guidance and suggestions are appreciated

thanks

 

[ttrigg]

I assume you do not have a multi-meter. From a piece of hard cardboard cut something like a slingshot. One end is obviously the handle, the other two are about a half inch wide with a small notch so that each will rest on the rails. Cut a small slot below the notch for the rails. Take a length of bare copper wire and wrap the wire between the notch and slot so that the notch is completely covered with the wire. Run the wires to the body of the slingshot and solder to a 4~6 cell flashlight light bulb. Put the slingshot tester on the rails and slowly ramp up the power to a point the bulb shines just bright enoungh that you would put batteries on the shopping list if it was a flashlight. Now put the tester on the rails at both sides of every rail joint. If the bulb dims then you have a poor electrical connection. Position the slingshot so that one arm is on the 'goog rail' and the other is on the poor section, then swap positions. If the light is good in one position and poor in the other, you have just located a dirty connection (dirt/rust/etc). If the light goes off then the same swaping will tell you which rail joint is bad. If you have a fairly long run you will notice that the bulb dims a bit as you get farther from the power supply, you may need to ramp up the power supply a bit. Some power loss is normal over distance.

This is not the most professional way to find bad joints, nut it is cheap and it works. Some folks here will want to say get a multimeter and if it does this then use this formula and do that. Right now you are only looking for bad joints and this will work. Hope it helps. I did this when I was running HO, then again with N and Z and I still use it in the garden.

[rbrr]

"...I am not using railclamps and the track is free floating on a limestone screed ..."

The only  railclamps (splitjawz) I have in place are at the turnouts.

 

Otherwise i've only utilized/installed the stock AristoCraft railjoiners (on LGB track pulled out the 'slippery joiners', tap and die for the AC screws at 5mm back from end) also with a mm of LGB conductive grease applied on the lip of the AC joiner before joining  sectionals together and cinching up the sometimes eluxsive  screws.

 

It took her 16yrs but Mother nature finally gave us  track continuity problems this fall and likely because of all the rain we had since the end of June till Sept. !

Since I could afford a multimeter that is what I used to track down the joints where there was problem (first using the sound continuity setting and then switch it to voltage to see how low)  ... then undid the screws carefully pull apart the two sectionals, using a brass brush wheel in motortool  shines the ends back up, applied a fresh mm of grease,  back together   4 bad joints later ....  trains running again with 22v reading all round !

 

doug c

 

 

[Dick Friedman]

I'd suspect that bad connectors are the problem, especially if you live in a damp climate.  Bad joiners will fail with just the weight of a locomotive rolling over them.  That's why I connect my RR to my power supply in two places!  If you live near a Harbor Freight store, you can get a perfectly good volt-ohm-amp meter for free often (with a purchase of course).

[rbrr]

Andrew;

 

BTW,    a great multi-meter tutorial is one written-up by David Bodnar;

http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_Workshop/index.htm

 

 

doug c