i recently purchased this unit, knowing full well that i would probably regret it and now all of my doubts are comming to friution. i have aproblem running this unit over my fasttrack switches as every time it goes over a switch it shorts out the track and shuts everything down for a few seconds and then starts back up again . besides throughing it in the dumpster which is what ive come close to doing a couple of times is ther anything i can do to it or to the track to stop the problems? thanks for the help!
You can send it to me ( better than the trash ) Now on the actual problem not sure as all I have in fastrack is straights and curves as don’t plan to use it. I hope someone will chime in and give you some good advice as I’m sure theres a cure out here somewhere and it may be as simple as putting a piece of tape on the engine or switch some where to prevent it I seem to remember back a few years ago someone having to do that with a switch or an engine to prevent it from shorting out. ( also I would stop running it for the time being as those shorts are not good for the electronics in it. ) Best of luck and hope someone can help you out there.
Welcome !
When you say “shorts out and shuts everything down” do you mean the sounds stop and the engine keeps running or does it stop moving as well as the sounds stopping ?
What are you using for a power source ? Does it have a circuit breaker that is popping then resetting or an indicator lite such as a CW80 or Z4000 that flsh when shorted ?
the engine shuts down completely and then when the direct lockon resets it starts back up and runs. i am using a 180 watt power brick with a direct lockon to power the track and it shuts everything off and then back on when it resets. the engine dosen’t do it every time it goes through a switch but often enough to be a real bitch.
Do you know wha is touching what to make it short out?
Check the switch where it is shorting for burn marks, possibly the pick-up roller is touching somewhere. If it is shorting/arcing it will leave burn or scorch marks that you can see as well as feel. If you can see where it is shorting on the switch rails you can try a little clear nail polish on that spot
Also check the rollers for alignment, make sure that as they travel thru the turnout they are not grounding on the motor truck.
Forgot to ask, does it do this when going straight thru or in turning position ?
Check that the pick-up roller assembly is tight and in proper alignment. I had an engine with a loose p.u. assembly that would contact the engine body when going over a switch or uncoupling section. Wouldn’t do it all the time.
i think i found out what was happening and i fixed it and no more problems so far. thanks everyone for the input.
For future reference use by others what was the cause & cure ?
actually i found that if i remember to reset the switch back to the direction the locomotive is heading in, and it doesnt have to through it itself to go back through it, it dosent spark .
Sounds like you may have a defective switch or it wasn’t wired properly. When I had my Christmas layout setup with FasTrack and 6+ switches I never had them spark no matter the direction of the loco nor the direction of the switch.