I have a small DC layout modeling a rail yard. One out of 20 turnouts is not working correctly. It operates when the turnout is set in one direction, but not when the turnout is set in the other. What is baffling is that it shows full voltage at all points in the locomotive's travel, but the locomotive still stops. It is a Shinohara turnout. I have cleaned the top surface of the rails, cleaned the locomotive (other locomotives stop as well), and used Never Stall on the contacts of the turnout. What am I missing? Thanks for any help on this. Jim
No, the frog gets its juice from the rail, but as I said, the voltmeter shows that juice is passing through the appropriate turnout rails.
Not sure this is the case but in some situations if you have an electrical connection that is bad you can see voltage past it but when it comes time to pass current (amps) through it won't pass the current. An example is your car. Have bad battery connections and if you checked at the starter you would have voltage but the dirty battery connection won't pass current so the starter won't turn. Something similar could possible be happening at the the frog area if it is getting voltage and current from a dirty rail connection??? Sumner
It might take a third hand, but be sure to measure it while pushing down on the point rail, as the locomotive would. I have to keep tweaking the brass contacts up a little on mine to keep contact with the stock rails. Be sure the underside of the stock rail is clean too. I heated a no. 11 X-Acto knife blade in a candle, so I could bend the tip 90 degrees to the rest of the blade. I use this to get underneath the brass contacts and gently reshape them.
I would suggest this, and can check the resistance too. I've had dodgy turnouts where it's like there's a resistor on the feeder, which obviously has a profound effect on running. Another possibility is that the pressure of the DMM probe is creating enough contact for things to look good, then as soon as you're not pushing the point blade the circuit goes open again.
I believe this is closer to my problem. I use a hooked dental tool to work my switch contacts, but with this one to no avail. What is a good method of cleaning the underside of the stock rail as I have cleaned everything else?
can you put a piece of thick plastic to force the rail to be tight and then see if the engine stalls.
I had plastic under it, but to no avail. Does anyone have a good method for cleaning the underside of the rail where the contacts are located? I would like to try cleaning there as I have cleaned everywhere else.
I have oversoaked a Q-tip in LL track cleaner, pressed in onto the points and worked the points back and forth. I did this several times. It worked. LL track cleaner is amazing stuff. Too bad that Atlas did not pick up that one. You still can see it at shows, though, if the shows ever come back.
To clean the underside of the stock rail, I use my bent X-Acto knife blade. It is much stiffer than a dental probe.
I believe you said you were working with I bought two or three of these and still have them. They went on one of my N scale layouts, right out of the box and I had nothing but connectivity problems with them. One of the reasons so many guys hard wire their switches in to a reversing DPDT. The S switches come at an expense greater then my justifying hard wiring them. Not going to happen and shouldn't be required. George/Mtntrainman had the right idea. I didn't do what he suggested as I kept them to remind me not to do that again. In principal the right idea. I replaced mine with Peco Electro Frog Switches. I've never been happier. You shouldn't have to fuss with a switch right out of the box. Oh... and none of my family of Rails ever called these wonderful routing tracks a "Turnout" aiiyiiyii it was called a "Switch". But whose listening?
LOL Only on our layout. No, they are switchers. They've all-ways been called switchers and they will always be called switchers. As are the switches and switch-men. See someone was paying attention.
