Well Just Talked to MTH. I have been passed around and around but finally got to someone who knows what he is talking about. I got passed from John to another tech person [did not get name but got ext]. Low and behold he suggested I check the two outer rails that make the V in a switch. They have to be insulated from the outside rails of the track. I had forgotten I had one that was doing that before and found that one of the rails had “slipped” forward and was touching the the outer rail of the siding. Pushed it back and no problem. If touching, it is making the derailing function act all the time. Also check my switch motor and be sure it is seated proberly. Will get to check it later tonight. I am to get back with him. Also will be sending him some bad switches and the one that the switch point is super thin and bends. Very nice guy. He was not aware of these quality control problems. Also, Buckeye I have a fix for swtiches that will not throw all the way in one direction but will in the other. Told him of your experiences with the later switches. If you want to talk to him, will give you ext. number. [^]
Good to hear you got a good response from MTH. And hopefully talking to them about the problem will help in the future.
Ralph
Chief…I know about the V in the switch. Last O-72 needed to be ground off so that it would not touch the hot track. Voltmeter confirmed problem. Why is the rails slipping?
How hard is to seat a switch motor? You plug it in, it snaps and it is in place, supposedly. I have found the male-female connection loose on one switch. I have also found loose wires inside the switch.
I can’t wait to hear how to fix switches that will not throw all the way, and why I need to fix them? This last switch that I sent back was tested with two different motors and two different lighted levers. The prob
I am amazed that manufacturers/importers keep saying they are unaware of quality problems with their products. All they have to do is monitor the various train forums to gain a wealth of quality control issues. The quality posts are not hard to find. They generally have Lionel or MTH mentioned in the post. We need to let the manufacturers/importers know that “we are unaware of quality problems” is no longer an acceptable answer. Hey guys, do your job and monitor the forums!
Earl
This attitude is not unique to the train hobby. I was in the electrical contracting business for 40 years and had to deal with lots of defective products. In all that time I never talked to one manufacturer or rep that would admit they had a quality problem. [banghead]
He was wrong. Nice gap in both rails. Now I remember “gapping” them some on all switches [after the one that was slipped forward]. The controller came apart in my hand while trying to move the handle up and down after checking for a gap. Replaced the controler and it works again.
Youze guys with RT switches that don’t throw all the way in one direction, have you checked the spring that pushes the white plastic part? Check that it is riding with tension on both sides. I’ve found this to solve my own “not pushing all the way” problem.
HTH
NH Chris
Nice try Chris…Been there, done that. We have had these switches so far apart and under a magnify glass that it would make your head spin. We have found out-of-gauge track, too wide of space between guard rail and main rail, substandard frog depths, loose wires, etc. One of the interesting things that we have seen is the inconsistencey of the blackened center rails. Some have been cleaned of the black and other are still black.
Turn switch over. Look in hole in bottom for two springs. Some times the one for making the switch close completely jumps off. One spring makes it “lock” to straightaway and the other “locks” to turn out.