Make sure the points are not sagging, if they are you can shore them up with styrene under the throwbar. They may only sag with the weight of the loco on them so check that as well.
Kalmbach’s DCC projects #4 describes shorting problems with turnouts using DCC. Sometimes even momentary shorts can cause the decoder to hiccup even though the power booster does not trip.
Wheel tread and flanges can short across some frogs, wing rails or occasionally even guard rails. Electrofrog turnouts are more likely to do this and it can be important to isolate both of the inside rails leading out of the frog. I fit plastic isolators instead of metal joiners on each of the frog rails, the rails that lead out of the two branches of the frog. DCC continuously powers both of those rails from the back, automatically, and when you use a power routing turnout like a Peco this creates a shorting situation you might not otherwise notice.
Let’s make that clickable:
Sure
If you take a narrow piece of glass or plex just a bit wider than the track and a little longer than the turnout so it extends past the ends maybe a couple inches.
You can see if it teeters or if there is any high or low spots. Possibly a twist in your tournout from uneven roadbed. Put the edge of a business card across your frog and points to see if there’s any low spots as well.
At least you’ll know if it’s that or its something else.
I also have a flat car with a glass deck. If derailments are happening somewhere it makes it quick to find the cause.
TF
Electrofrog turnouts do not have the plastic insulating frogs. Therein lies the problem with long wheelbase trucks or driver sets. The centre wheel(s) drift over very short sections of conducting rail with opposite polarity. The DCC signal gets interrupted even though the booster does not see a short for long enough to cut out.
Two things about Peco Electrofrog: they power route and the frog is dead but conductive out of the box. Without powering the frog they act pretty much like insulfrog turnouts in DC layouts. Once you power the frog in the DCC system then you MUST also isolate the two diverging exit rails from the rest of the track and you really should also then power the frog using an automated polarity switch, either electronic or mechanical. Peco makes a purely mechanical switch that fits onto their turnout motors with a purely mechanical SPDT switch for this very purpose. The throw bar actuating pin is double ended, one end throws the turnout up top and the opposite end throws the polarity switch underneath.
I believe Peco Electro frog are DCC compatible out of the box if these two things are done.
The spring loaded Peco switch points are handy for finger operation but primarily the spring pressure is there to ensure conduction of power routing through those switch point rails. It is not necessary to add to or cut the jumpers under the rails although that is essentially the basis for the design of the new Unifrog version combining both types of Peco turnout into one type.
The problem with DCC and these turnouts is DCC powers all of the track all of the time so you have to make sure that both the frog and the rails exiting the frog reverse polarity when the turnout is thrown and to do that the frog and exit rails “assembly” must be a self contained isolated electrical area from both diverging routes. The short results from DCC power connecting all three turnout ends simultaneously. One pair of rails will always be wrong polarity a
I saw a guy on you tube use a bit of aluminum foil with glue over part of the plastic part…no idea how he keeps that clean or if he uses bright boy from tearing it up. I have electrofrogs as well but if the track is clean…so far I do not need to power them.
Man, I need to slow down and read more carefully! I thought the topic was “JERKS running engines”. oyvey!
oldline1