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Lost power at Turnout

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  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Clearlake, California. USA
  • 869 posts
Posted by Lake on Monday, February 17, 2014 7:28 PM

Why not clean the points and rail where they make contact? A piece of fine emory cloth will work just fine.

If it worked fine before, then dirty point and rail contact is most likely the cause. Try the easy fix first.

I have had to this on many point contacts over the years. Only replaced switches that actually broke.

Ken G Price

 

Ken G Price   My N-Scale Layout

Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR

N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: 4610 Metre's North of the Fortyninth on the left coast of Canada
  • 9,352 posts
Posted by BATMAN on Monday, February 17, 2014 2:35 PM

gdelmoro
The point is not contacting the rail hard enough when the switch turns off ther mainline.

Read this.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_bonds.htm

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Mount Vernon WA
  • 968 posts
Posted by skagitrailbird on Monday, February 17, 2014 12:24 PM

Who is the maker of your misbehaving turnout?  Is it powered?  If so, by what?  If not, by what mechanism, if any, do you throw the points?

Most problems like this can be rectified short of replacing the turnout but the fix might be dirrerent for different turnout construction or method of throwing the points.

Roger Johnson
  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
  • 23,330 posts
Posted by selector on Monday, February 17, 2014 10:44 AM

It depends on your personal tolerance of things not working perfectly.  If the trains are still working well through the points rails on that turnout, but you know you're not getting power-routing because of poor rail to rail contact, you have a number of options if you'd rather NOT exchange the turnout for a new one.  You can try to improve contact, including by cleaning the inside of the point rail and the flange face of the stock rail against which it sits, or you can solder some jumper wire, a thin 24 gauge wire, say, between the stock rail and the closure rail.  Or, you can gap the rails after the frog that lead to the siding/spur, and feed them with 22 gauge feeders from a bus that you probably run below the layout.  You'll have to run a switch in series in those feeders so that you can de-power the spur/siding.

  • Member since
    January 2014
  • From: Moneta, VA USA
  • 1,175 posts
Lost power at Turnout
Posted by gdelmoro on Sunday, February 16, 2014 10:25 AM

One of my turnouts is not transfering power to the rail causing the block to be dead when switched off mainline.

The point is not contacting the rail hard enough when the switch turns off ther mainline.  Straight is fine.

Di need to change out the switch? :(

Gary

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