I just purchased several Kato HO manual switches and at least half of them don’t work. It is as if the spring is not strong enough to throw the points. Does anyne have any ideas as to how I can solve this problem?
John
I’ve never had trouble like that on new Kato turnouts, but I had a couple where I painted some of the ties and that seemed to make things not work like you describe. I’d suggest unscrewing the plate at the bottom and take a look inside to see if something slipped out of whack, or needs some lubrication. Otherwise, I’d return them for new ones or a refund; they should work fine when new.
I’ve never used a KATO manual track throw but have used both types of the Caboose Industries type. The manual throw alone is powerful and is strong enough to throw most point rails but the Caboose Industries type with the DP/DT switch attached is not reliable at all.
I scratch built some turnouts once which had some really stiff points and found that the Caboose Industries manual throws are strong enough to move the points. The problem was that a scratch built turnout is a “select control” type turnout and the Caboose Industries manual throws with the SP/DT switch did not work.
I ended up using a SP/DT micro switch from Radio Shack that i had to drill a hole into the plastic slide and attach a spring wire thru the hole in the slide and to the point throw rail so that the SP/DT connections would make contact and the points would move at one time.
What i’m getting at is that if you have an “All Power” type turnout (insulated frog) the Caboose Industries manual switch throw will work well because it is strong enough to pull the point rails over.
The Caboose Industries manual point throw with the SP/DT switch has a real cheesy contact system and doesn’t work. It will pull the point rails over but the SP/DT switch rarely makes the contact needed to switch the power from the outside rails to the frog. …chuck
The KAto HO turnouts are of very high quality and I have had experience using these on temporary set ups.
I would(as someone has already suggested too) remove the baseplate of the trunout and make sure nothing has come loose in the point linkage. if it is broken, I don’t know if kato would stock repair parts for them - you may want to contact Kato USA at their website and inquire about replacement parts.
Go to: www.katousa.com
Good luck and let us know what you find out - its a good track system and I jsut wish the offered more radii.
HF1
On the Kato track, the throw mechanism is built into the turnout, there really isn’t an external throwbar to connect a manual throw to. There’s a slide switch on one side that connects to some fairly thin piano wire that moves to throw the turnout. You could remove the baseplate of the turnout and attach a throwrod extension of some type to that.
Thanks guys, these are brand new kato switches and I have removed the bottom plate and found nothing mechanical wrong. I think lubrication might help but I have been hesitant to use light oil. What do you recommend?
John
Use a light application of hobby plastics-compatible grease or oil, or use a drop of Dexron III auto-transmission fluid…it is safe for paint and plastic, and it’s an excellent lube. For broader surfaces that slide against each other, plastic-safe grease might be better.
Crandell
I have a couple of manual #6 with similar problems, After taking the switch apart, and lubing the internal mechanism with graphite, and re-assembling the switch, the problem persisted, but only when the humidity in my basement was high.
I temporarily solved the problem by moving the switch to a location where the spring switch feature would suffice, but I believe that the problem is caused by binding of the rails when the switch is thrown.
Kato products are well made, but their manufacturing process is not infallable either, so some tinkering is occasionally needed to get them to work as you want them to.
Joe