I have a MRC Prodigy advanced squared DCC system with 2 circuit breakers (one for the main line and one for the yard. Using Flex track and 2 Peco number 6 turnouts and 4 Atlas number 6 turnouts. The Peco frogs are powered and so are the atlas I believe. My problem is, and this is only with 2 MTH HO Steam locos (GS4 daylight and Challenger), at certain points on the track, usually before or after turnouts the loco will visibly hesitate and sound will cut out briefly. Then the train resumes normally. All track is getting power during this and it dosn't happen at all with my proto 2000 F7's or MTH SD70ace and athearn SD70ace. two other mth steamers with shorter lengths (K4, etc) work fine. Also weird is my MTH big boy seems to work fine. I am fastidious at making sure my track connections are tight. I am running 12 guage bus wires under the track with atlas track connectors/feeders approx every section of flex track. Any ideas, suggestions? Thanks.
It sounds like more of a shorting issue. Check the wheel gauge of the offending locos very carefully. There could be a wheel bridging the gap at the frogs and intermittently short momentarily. All the Peco code 100 turnouts have a wide gap between the stock rail and guard rail. Sometimes a wheel will bridge the gap at the frog and short out. I glued a .015 piece of styrene to the guard rail to close this gap.
Pete
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Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I agree. I'm using code 83 track. The only perplexing thing is the GS4 does it sometimes in the middle of a track section. I will purchase NMRA guage and check. If the track isn't perfectly level, could that cause the same problem? I'm thinking some wheels may not be contacting the track in places.
Are you using sectional track? Are there feeders going to the rails where the loco is having problems? Track clean? Wheels clean? Is there a stable road bed under the track?
Flex track, Feeders at almost every flex track joint but not at exact problem spot. Track was cleaned with track cleaner after clearing top surface after I weathered it. The wheels are as clean as I can make them without taking apart the loco which I am hesitant to do. The roadbed is cork and seems stable. The deisels are so much more forgiving as I haven't had one problem with them. Just the Callenger and GS4. very frustrating! And I thought having four teenagers was hard!
Sometimes it's not the loco doing it but a piece of rolling stock. I'd run it a bit slower and alone to see if you can isolate where the problem is occurring.
Springfield PA
Thanks for your help. I've been running the two offending trains solo. Would it be crazy to replace the turnout?
Replacing the turnout may temporarily fix the problem. You said it also stalls in the middle of the track and not on the turnout. If rail joiners are the only connection I would trouble shoot it a little more before ripping up track. When the loco stalls take a tool of some type sharp enough to reach the joiners and see if the loco starts moving again after wiggling the joiner. If you find a joiner that is not making good solid contact then solder it and test some more.
I am not sure about the MTH locos. Some use a bronze pickup that rides on the back of the wheels. The wheels may be clean but the pickup will collect dust and dirt that will cause intermittent contact to the wheels. I have picked out quite a few dust bunnies out of some of my locos.
I don't think the Atlas #6 turnouts have live frogs. I have a number of engines which stall briefly crossing frogs on these turnouts.
Try this. Place a few other sound engines around the layout, on the same bus as the track where you have the problem. The engines should be on the same circuit breaker as the problem turnouts. Turn on all the headlights. Then, mute the sound on the problem engine, and run it over the trouble spot. If you are getting a short, you will notice the other engine sounds cut out, and the headlights will blink. If it's just a power interruption, then the other engine will not change.
You may actually have both problems, with the dead-frog Atlas and the shorting-frog Peco, so do the same test for both.
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If the track has a slight dip or rise the wheels may momentarily lose complete contact
DCC doesn't like momentary glitches
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Thanks Pete. Good advice. Will try.
That's a neat idea. I will definitley give it a try and let you know. Thanks for the help.
That is a lesson I have learned. Very true. Especially when it comes to Steam locomotives. The diesels seem to deal with dips and riseswith little difficulty. Could be part of the problem as well. thanks for the help.
Thank you all for your help and consideration. It turns out the track leading into the turnout had a rise followed by a dip. On some locos the wheels weren't making good contact causing the hesitation and sound issue. I also had a track joiner that apparently wasn't making good contact. squeezing that gently with a needle nose fixed that. I'm sure this isn't the end but you now I'm armed with enough knowledge to hopefully troubleshoot any future problems. Thanks again!