Sorry for another post on head-end power. This is really directed at Amtrak engineers on here. I’ve been on the Anne Rutledge trains frequently, and I’ve noticed that when we’re cruising along I-55, sometimes the HEP will cut out completely. It doesn’t really bother me personally, but I’m curious what causes it. As I understand it, on the P42, the HEP generator is driven by the diesel engine, correct? May I assume that the loss of power is just from a circuit breaker tripping, and not the power assembly itself taking a dive? Or is it simply something more mundane like the jumpers between cars coming unseated slightly (I’ve seen that happen at my job, and it’s usually more catastrophic).
Thanks in advance everyone.
Ian
On the P32 - P40 - P42 - P32acdm the hep is taken from main alternator driven by the main engine.
The reason the HEP is going out may be the egineer doing a fault reset or a jumper grounding out , in both instances the HEP will die for a moment.
a loose jumper will only drop HEP out when speed is below 9 mph and it stays out till train speeds up again.
What do you mean by fault reset? Is that similar to a ground-relay fault?
By the way, I see you are an engineer. If you are with Amtrak, may I PM you with a few questions?
I prefere you ask questions on the forum.
Yes Engineer but for MNCR in New York I operate P40’s -FL-9’s and P32acdm.
and yes the fault resets can be: ground fault, phase out of ballance, over/under voltage etc.