Hopefully, this is a novice question and has an easy answer. My track was operating reliably until about a week ago when a turnout lost power. The only change I recall was having cleaned up some of the wire connections with denatured alcohol. The layout is DCC wired. The turnout is an N scale Peco code 55 electrofrog. The track before and after the turnout receive power well, but the switch itself is dead (I've used the quarter on the track test). Any ideas on trouble shooting?
Thanks for the help!
Allen
Peco turnouts are power routing. Sometimes the point rail gets dirty and doesn't make good contact. Rather than try to clean up the point I'd recommend you add feeder wires so that all sides of the turnout get power and not rely on the point.
Springfield PA
Hamltnblue Peco turnouts are power routing. Sometimes the point rail gets dirty and doesn't make good contact. Rather than try to clean up the point I'd recommend you add feeder wires so that all sides of the turnout get power and not rely on the point.
Yep, that is what I would do too - - - add feeders to the ends of the turnouts.
Rich
Alton Junction
There is more to it than just adding feeders. The points get their power from witch ever rail it is touching. So you cannot run two feeders to the turnout without a short. You have to have a switch to isolate the feeder wires so the correct polarity is applied when the switch is thrown in either direction. I powerd my Peco Electrofrog points using the built in switch in the Tortoise switch motor. It will apply the correct polarity to the points when the switch is thrown automaticly. I did have to adjust the point speed to the internal switch by adjusting the slide bar on the Tortoise. If the point touches the rail before the internal switch switches in the Tortoise it will short.
Just a heads up, Truck.
If the turnouts are insulfrog you can add all the feeders you want. Mine are fed on both sides with no problems. If it's an electrofrog than you have a different story.
The way to tell the difference is the electrofrog has a metal frog. The insulfrog has plastic.
Chances are his are insulfrogs or he'd be complaing about shorts.
Hamltnblue If the turnouts are insulfrog you can add all the feeders you want. Mine are fed on both sides with no problems. If it's an electrofrog than you have a different story. The way to tell the difference is the electrofrog has a metal frog. The insulfrog has plastic. Chances are his are insulfrogs or he'd be complaing about shorts.
Well Hamltnblue he did say in his post he had a PECO CODE 55 ELECTROFROG, so thats why I commented on a different story scenario. But then again you may be right on him having insufrog also, He does state he has power to and from the turn out but does not mention the gaps nesisary for the electrofrog to work without shorting out, more info may be needed on his part. Truck.
Here's a link about PECO turnouts and how to solve problems with them
http://www.loystoys.com/peco/about-electrofrog.html
Hamltnblue:
Thanks for the link. I have had a bit of trouble understanding how to deal with my electrofrog turnouts and the link answered my questions.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I'm getting an education! I'm still trouble-shooting. From most of the posts, it sounds as if the problems are generally in the frog, but I've discovered my stock rails are the ones without the power.
Thanks for the information; this is my first attempt with electrofrogs. Under the category of "something I should have known yesterday" is I don't always need to include insulators on the stock rails. That will help in future track laying! Thanks for everyone's advice and patience with a newbie.
If there is no power to the stock rails, then you need feeder wires at the end of the turnout where there is no power.