maxmanThe electrical engineers always said this was a mechanical problem and blamed the mechanical engineers.
Reminds me of a Garrison Keillor story. Just for his mention of his name could get me canceled in some areas.
There were 3 engineers discussing the meaning of life. The electrical engineer said the g-man must have been an EE: look at the way you think and your thoughts are transformed, by electrical implulses to your muscle movements.
The mechanical engineer said, no the g-man was an ME, look at the way your hips and your leg work to propel you forward.
The civil engineer said you are both wrong. Only a CE would run a sewage pipeline through a recreational area.
Running and ducking from Vinnie from the diner.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Lastspikemike The old broken wire fault....
The old broken wire fault....
The case of the missing electrons.
Hey, glad you fixed the problem. We'll keep an eye out for your next thread about the detailment issue .
Simon
Been abit preoccupied. Solved the problem. Disconnected all the feeds back to the powerpack. Reconnected one feed. Nothing. Crawled under layout and pushed wires up through holes. One wire kept on going because it had broken off rail connector. Popped track off roadbed (Dang, but Elmer's actually makes a strong bond with cork). Made own power feed rail connectors. Reconnected and laid track. Reconnected power leads to power pack. Turned "throttle" to 50% and tested track for aout 15 feet. Got 7.8v consistantly. Boosted throttle to 100% and tested again and got 15v consistantly. Place EMD E8 on track. Ran just fine until it derailed. And that's a subject for another question.
Thanks for the help.
It seems there are quite a few potential issues. I've had my fair share of electrical problems. Solving them required forcing myself to slow down (hard) and slowly working through the issue(s).
Yes, I'm guilty of sometimes not providing updates on the status of my questions here. Even if you've not been able to work the problem, at least a quick response helps.
Even though he isn't reading these. I will mention for others who are new possibly reading this that the wire size might be an issue. To small an awg. And it will restrict current flow. If he is using old bell wire (worked fine for smaller conventional dc controlled layouts) it will not work at all for the high amp dcc systems today. He said it has been 50 years since his last one. Something to think about
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
You and I and Sherlock Holmes are the same:
BigDaddy Rich you wouldn't have waited 7 hours to answer these questions or measure the voltages. Real Gomer has waited almost 2 months. He or she will get back to us in a couple weeks. Patience.
Rich you wouldn't have waited 7 hours to answer these questions or measure the voltages. Real Gomer has waited almost 2 months. He or she will get back to us in a couple weeks.
Patience.
Rich
Alton Junction
Lastspikemike The OP asked the question and got his or her answers. All done, one assumes. It'd be nice to know what worked but something did.
The OP asked the question and got his or her answers. All done, one assumes.
It'd be nice to know what worked but something did.
richhotrainWhatever.
Exactly. I usually refrain from replying to this guy.
Mike.
My You Tube
There were 28 replies to the first thread and now 7 replies to this thread without ever hearing back from the OP once. Whatever.
Where is the OP?
Obviously, if the power source runs a loco (off the track) with a direct connection, the problem is a short or lack of continuity in the layout's track.
Typically, a short is caused by a reverse loop or something bridging the rails. Oddball shorts I've run into was a faulty turnout and another was full metal trucks that weren't properly insulated.
I would start the search be verifying there is no reverse loop and then remove ALL rolling stock from the layout. If the loco runs anywhere on the layout, then you do not necessarily have a track short.
But you likely have lousy track connections, very dirty track or loco wheels, or an extreme shortage of feeders.
Now, would the OP please let us know what's happening?
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
The last thread got pretty far off topic so I don't blame you for starting a new one. I'd be ticked if my layout hadn't run in all that time.
RealGomerA circuit tester implies low power.
Not sure what that really means.
I guess a circuit tester could be just a light bulb. When there is a question of adequate voltage, I like to measure it. Sometimes 12 v with a meter is not 12 v with a load, but if we if we can't get 12 v to the track then the load doesn't matter.
You are going to have to pony up some more information. Tell us everything and somebody will be able to sort out what is important. By everything I mean everything, what kind of track, what kind of turnouts (some are power routing), DC or DCC and what system?
Are there any lights on the power pack or throttle that indicate you might have a short?
Is it all new equipment or Ebay or stuff you had 50 years ago or some mix of all 3? What engine, does the track plan involve a reversing loop? How long is the layout?
You don't need a fancy DCC meter, if you have DCC. A harbor freight meter will do.
Measure the voltage at the power pack. It should be the same at the first point where the wire feeds the track (on the wire) and at that spot on the track too.
You asked this question ''No power to track'' here in ''Layouts and Layout Building" back on page 5, December 19, 2020, halfway down the page at this time, last replied by ''BigDaddy''. I see you made no headway on this trouble yet.
Hi there. You need to do detective work on the track... Apply some power and using a voltmeter, go around and test the track at various spots. If there is a short, you won't get a reading. You seem to say that the voltage is low... testing at various spots should tell you where the weak points are. If you get 12v everywhere, then there is a problem with your loco, that would not picking up power from the track for some reason. What is the loco?
If Mikes suggestion doesn’t work we need a bit more information. What scale do you have?What is you’re circuit tester? Does the track check OK without the locomotive on the track?Is your locomotive diesel or steam, if steam one or both of the tender trucks could be turned 180°.Dose your power pack show a short when you place the locomotive on the track? Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I built my first layout in 50 years by soldering all the joints. In three places I used rail joiner with power feed wires attached to join sections. Here's the problem. When I test the engine by applying hot wires directly to the wheels it runs perfectly. When i place it on the track right at a power feed nothing happens. Is it the negine or is it the track? A circuit tester implies low power. Thank you.