All of the sudden i have a dead zone in a section of track cant figure out why it wasn’t there yesterday?
Tried every loco i have they all do it. stop in the same place and i slide it forward it takes off again till same spot. Track is clean tried that first.
Check the joiners on either side of the dead zone. It has to be a transmission of current problem, and the cause is on either side of the dead zone. Next the engine stops, press down one and then both joiners on the next joints in either direction, first the one behind, then the one in front. Chances are the engine will spring back to life when you depress the bad joiner. Solder that joiner and think about it for the others…or solder a feeder instead.
You may want to invest in an inexpensive volt meter from your local electronics or hardware store. With no loco on the track, set it for the appropriate voltage range, turn up the power on your power pack, and then just run the leads along the rails until you find exactly where the power cuts out. You can achieve the same thing by running the leads from a small (model style or Xmas light) down the rails. As Selector says, it is almost certainly a loose rail joiner which needs to be replaced or soldered to the rail.
Probably a meter like this would be a good one for you.
Their analog meter is a bit cheaper, but the analog dial takes some getting used to for a beginner to read. I would go with digital instead.
There are tools you can live without for years, but when you get one you find you are using it often. A mulitmeter is one of those tools for a model railroader
Sounds like a classic case of rail joiners loosing contact. Run feeders to that section or solder the joiners. Either will get power to the section.
I’ve got one of these in the middle of a piece of flex track.Feeders on both ends. Figure THAT one out![banghead]
It has to be something very simple, if it worked before and no all of a sudden it doesn’t? I guess thats why they suggest installing a lot of feeder wires
I will suggest one thing though, if your not very proficent withthe soldering pen practice practice practice on old scrap track before you start melting ties. It isn’t that hard to do but you need the right equipment and a good steady hand.
If you don’t have a multimeter, run an engine until it quits. Mark the spot. Then run it from the other direction until it quits. Mark the spot. Your problem will be at one of those two spots. If they are joints, check the connectors (joiners) for both mechanical and electrical continuity. If they are not joints then there is something wrong with that piece of track. Replace it.