What happens if ???

[Anonymous]

I have a Arisro Mike My wife was hooking the tender to the mike and pulled the connector off the plug in on the tender. I put a new one on the tender but not sure I got the correct wire to the correct place. So what happens if the tender
pick ups are wired diffrent than the engines?????????? A big short ?
Ed[xx(][:o)]

[Puckdropper]

Yes, it shorts. Your power supply should handle a dead short like that ok, but let's not risk a $50 piece of equipment when we don't have to.

Get a $10 multimeter from the electronics sections of one of your local stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Sears, Radio Shack, Bob's Local Hardware Store) and set it for the OHMS setting. Put one lead (either one) on the engine's wheel and one on the tender's wheel. If they're connected like they should be, the meter should read about 0 ohms. If not, try moving one lead to the other side. If that reads 0 ohms, you've got it backwards.

Want to do this cheaper? Got a low-voltage bulb and battery? Connect one lead of the battery to one lead of the bulb. Then, the other lead of the bulb and battery become your probes and can be used as stated above. If the light lights, the two wheels are connected. If it doesn't, try the other side. (This eliminates the possibility of a bad connection messing your diagnosis up.)

[wd8jik]

Using a low amperage 12-24 volt bulb less the battery,with wires attached can be use when try to clear a short also.
If you have a short in your track or a piece of equipment the bulb can be put in line in series with one side of the power source.
Apply power and the short will act as a switch and when the short is cleared the light will go off.

When using a set up like this work from a section furthest from the power source breaking connections till the light goes off . The short is in between the place you last checked and the section you just opened. Leave the sections opened, open until the short is found, then reconnect all sections after short is found.

[piercedan]

The bulb method is much better than a cheap ohm meter as most cheap meters do nott have a low enough range for non-technical persons to read properly.

The light bulb method is easy, cheap and very exact.

[Puckdropper]

piercedan,

I disagree... An expensive meter will be just as easy or difficult to read as a cheap one. The expensive meter will be much higher quality, and either more accurate or more precise or both.

Granted, the light bulb method has the advantage of being able to be seen over a much larger distance than the multimeter, which makes it better for distance trouble (sp?) shooting. As a practicing HO scale modeler, I can see where it would be convienent to stand at the control panel and turn switches off and on to see what creates the short.

[Tom The Brat]

I have a continuity tester with a battery, light bulb and wire. Very handy gadget next to my meter and oscilloscope.

[Anonymous]

I have a new multi metre and its about the worst one i have ever had. My problem is it will not autorange at all, its not supposed too but i didn't realise it at first.

A good rule of thunmb for buyimhg a mulitmetre is get one for $25.00 and it is supposed to be the best one for you.


Rgds Ian

[Anonymous]

Puckdroper what $50.00 piece of equiptment are you refering to? I have about $900.00 tied up in this engine and tender

[Tom The Brat]

I think I paid about $15 (US) for my multimeter.