# no power now



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

So, I have this track on a sheet of 4 x 8 around the xmas tree. It was running slow and I checked the connectors and everything. Just bought new wires from the local train shop. It's an oval shape and I have two connectors on it, opposite ends. I had turn the train off and was going around lighting taping where the tracks meet with a hammer. Nothing serious, just wanted to make sure everything was connecting. I was on one side of the tree and the transformer is on the other side of were I was. My son turned on the transformer without me knowing and when I hit the track, there was a spark and now my train won't rain. The light on the train barley comes on, you can hear it buzzing when putting your ear to the train, but it won't run. Also when the transformer is on, and i put my fingers on the one connector, the connector is hot! Please help!


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Is this your 027 stuff with the 1033 transformer? What kind of train, number would help? Sounds like a short somewhere. Check all your wires again , make sure they don't contact anything except where there suppost to. Also check your locking to see if a wire is touching the other side, sometimes its a small price of the stranded that gets caught under the little connectors and gets diverted.


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

Yes, this is for my 027 and 1033 transform


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

how do i add pics?


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

here are the pics


----------



## Dave Sams (Nov 24, 2010)

I think you have a short in the track somewhere. Turn the lights off, take the train off the track and power up. Look for sparks.

Does the connector heat up without anything on the track?


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

I redid the whole track, took out all the screws and rescrewed it down. Now I'm not even getting the train light to come on.


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

I want to make sure the transformer is hooked up right, I have 2 (connector) to A on transformer, than 1 (connector) to U on transformer.?????????


----------



## BillCN (Jan 6, 2013)

flyboard3 said:


> ....and was going around lighting taping where the tracks meet with a hammer.
> .....and when I hit the track, there was a spark and now my train won't rain. !


I would try removing the piece you were beating on when the sparking occurred, and see if the condition goes away. Maybe the center rail was driven through the insulation and is shorting to the tie.


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Nice simple engine, I have a soft spot for those guys, decent running train. I have a few of them. Ok, take a step back, try hooking up the train directly to the transformer. One wire to the pick up rollers on the bottom, one to the frame. If the engine runs the problem is with the track. A test kit with alegator clips help here but you can do it with regular wire. Disconnect the track first, lets try to eliminate some stuff.


----------



## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Do you have a VOM (volt/ohm meter)? I'm pretty sure the problem is in the track somewhere and not the engine. Your tapping may have caused one of the paper insulaters on the middle rail to tear and short against a tie. Disconnect the wires at the transformer, and test for continuity between the middle and each outside rail. The meter needle should NOT move. If it does, remove the lockons and check again. If it still moves, your short is somewhere in the track and you'll have to check each piece individually until you find it; if not, it's either in one of the lockons or in the wires to the transformer.


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Six of one. ; half dozen of another.


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

so, i was able to make the train run, by going right from the transformer to the train. So, tomorrow i'll swap out the piece that sparked and see what happens. thanks!


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Never mind.

Don


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

I still have no power after replacing the two pieces where I saw the spark. Is there a way to test the track pieces?


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Yes You can test each track section to
find a short circuit.

Take the track sections apart.
If you have a volt/ohmerter set it
for OHMS. Put one probe on either
OUTSIDE rail. Touch the other
probe to the CENTER RAIL. If you
get a reading that section has a
short circuit. If no reading move
the one probe to the other OUTSIDE
rail and again touch the CENTER RAIL.
If you got no reading on either
that section is good.

If you don't have a meter you can
do a simple test as a last resort
but be careful. You could damage
the transformer with this test.

Set your transformer to about 3/4
on the speed control.

Connect a wire to either OUTSIDE rail
and to one of the TRACK terminals
on the transformer. Set the transformer
speed control to about 3/4.

Connect another wire to the other
terminal on the transformer. Very
QUICKLY only touch the center rail with that.
Do NOT connect it.

If you get a spark, that section has
a short. If no spark, it's OK.

But a preferred method is:

If you have a 12 volt auto tail light
bulb it would be better to wire it
it so the transformer voltage would
go thru it before touching the
CENTER RAIL. If the bulb lights,
you have a short. If dark, section is
OK.

Don


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

Don, how do i hook up the transformer to the bulb and then to the track?


----------



## Howard1975 (Jan 6, 2014)

flyboard3 said:


> Don, how do i hook up the transformer to the bulb and then to the track?


If I'm not wrong, you would wire the bulb in series, in the SINGLE wire that connects between the transformer and middle rail. In other words, one end of the bulb connects to the transformer, while the other end of the bulb is briefly touched to the center rail. 

The other wire, which connects between transformer terminal and (either) outside rail, is not changed. 

But I could be wrong. I would let others comment first, just in case I got that wrong. 

Howard


----------



## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Howard, yes; that's the general idea. Hookup one transformer terminal to one of the outer rails, preferably with something like an alligator clip. Don't use a lockon, just in case the problem is there. You could then take a second wire attached to the other transformer termiinal, strip the end enough to wrap around the brass base of the bulb and make contact, and touch the solder tip at the base of the bulb to make contact with the middle rail. If it lights, there's a short. Frankly, I'd rather swing by Home Depot or Radio Shack and pick up a cheap VOM. There are a million other uses and reasons for owning one from the car to the house to the trains to "Lookit me! I got a geeky looking meter and I know how to use it, sorta!" Plus for a coupla bucks you can take the transformer, engine, and lockons entirely out of the testing procedure.


----------



## BillCN (Jan 6, 2013)

.
I see how this thread could get "derailed",  so I'll just throw a little gas on the fire
.
Here is my "geeky meter"...or you could use an oscilloscope!!
.








.
.
But seriously....I hate to see a train NOT RUNNING at Christmas time!
.
So, you know that your engine is OK, therefore the problem has to be with the track or wiring.
.








.
Both outside rails and the ties are all electrically connected together....BUT the center rail MUST be insulated from everything else. Look closely and you will see small pieces of insulation wherever the center rail meets a tie. More than likely, your problem exists here. If even one of those places has broken through the paper, well...."Houston...we got a problem"!
,
,
A silly thought but...earlier you said...
.
"


flyboard3 said:


> I want to make sure the transformer is hooked up right, I have 2 (connector) to A on transformer, than 1 (connector) to U on transformer.?????????


"
.
Are we sure that both those connectors (wires?) on A are going to the outside rails? I know you had said that it was running slowly, in the beginning, but did it run all the way around the loop?

If all else fails...you could try hooking up just a couple pieces of track, put the engine on, and see if it runs to the end of the track....if so...add another piece...and so on...and so on...


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I agree. Every modeller should have
a volt/ohmeter. While you're not going
to get a quality device as Billcn shows,
you can get a usable cheap one at
Harbor Freight. They even give them
away from time to time.

But, in the meantime, use the light bulb
as the guys have described. If it lights
you've found the shorted track section.
If it stays dark that section is OK.

Don


----------



## Howard1975 (Jan 6, 2014)

jesteck said:


> Howard, yes; that's the general idea. Hookup one transformer terminal to one of the outer rails, preferably with something like an alligator clip. Don't use a lockon, just in case the problem is there. You could then take a second wire attached to the other transformer termiinal, strip the end enough to wrap around the brass base of the bulb and make contact, and touch the solder tip at the base of the bulb to make contact with the middle rail. If it lights, there's a short. Frankly, I'd rather swing by Home Depot or Radio Shack and pick up a cheap VOM. There are a million other uses and reasons for owning one from the car to the house to the trains to "Lookit me! I got a geeky looking meter and I know how to use it, sorta!" Plus for a coupla bucks you can take the transformer, engine, and lockons entirely out of the testing procedure.


Glad my general idea (how to attach a light bulb in the circuit) is correct. I do have a cheap multimeter myself, but the original poster (flyboard3) I assume does not.


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

I'm going to get a volt/ohmeter. I'm still not sure how to set up/hook up the light bulb.


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

A bulb socket has two wires. Attach one wire to each transformer post. Keep the throttle half way. The bulb lights up because the circuit is complete. Now cut one wire in half . The half attached to the transformer goes to the track outer rail. Now touch the other wire form the bulb to the center rail. If it lights the rail has a bad insulator. If it does not light the track is good or your connections could be bad . Make sure you have a good connection. You can make a visual inspection, one insulator could be missing.

I hope your engine is AC wound, What's the number?


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

T-Man, did you see the pic?


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

So I bought a Digital Multimeter. Now what?  How do I use it to test my track?


----------



## flyboard3 (Dec 5, 2011)

*digital meter*









so i bought this meter, what setting to i put it to to test my track pieces?


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Turn the meter on, plug the black lead into the bottom jack, the red lead into the middle jack, set the dial to ACB/200, and connect the leads to the center and outside rails.

Read the voltage on the digital display.


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Good. You got one just like mine. All you need
for a model railroad. Does it have the battery
installed and is working.

Set the meter to ohms. Use the 200 ohm setting.
Turn it on. Test it by touching the two probes
together. That is a short circuit. 
You'll see the reading change to Zero.
Any time you probe and get that zero reading you
have found a short circuit.

See my post # 16 in this thread for how to
test and locate any shorted track sections.

Don


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Are we looking for voltage or shorts? Maybe I'm giving the wrong instructions.


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Shorts, John.

He hasn't been able to get the train running. There have
been several problems.

It seems to have boiled down to one or more track
sections have shorts in them and it is to find that
the test is set for reading ohms.

Don


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I use the "divide and conquer" principle in this case, split the loop in half, then in quarters, etc.


----------



## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

My fluke meter has a beep function for continuity. When I check for track shorts I just wait for the beep.


----------



## BillCN (Jan 6, 2013)

.
I'm pretty sure this is some kind of an intermittent short...(just shows up at Christmas time)
.
.December 2011


flyboard3 said:


> I have an 027 gauge track. have an oval under the tree. my engine keeps stopping in two spots on the track. what am i doing wrong?


http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=9491
.
Probably, everytime you move the board.....something changes..
.
,December 2012


flyboard3 said:


> I have an 027 gauge track on a sheet of plywood. simple oval track around the edge. I screwed down the track and train was moving fine until it hit one corner where it stopped and started going backwards. there was a connection that was loose and would spark when the train went over it. after i screwed it down, my engine will not work now. the light in front won't even come on. if i take a car and put it on the tracks, it sparks, so i know the track is getting power. also my transformer is starting to click., any advice?


http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=15370
.
December 2014


flyboard3 said:


> So, I have this track on a sheet of 4 x 8 around the xmas tree. It was running slow and I checked the connectors and everything. Just bought new wires from the local train shop. It's an oval shape and I have two connectors on it, opposite ends. I had turn the train off and was going around lighting taping where the tracks meet with a hammer. Nothing serious, just wanted to make sure everything was connecting. I was on one side of the tree and the transformer is on the other side of were I was. My son turned on the transformer without me knowing and when I hit the track, there was a spark and now my train won't rain. The light on the train barley comes on, you can hear it buzzing when putting your ear to the train, but it won't run. Also when the transformer is on, and i put my fingers on the one connector, the connector is hot! Please help!


.
Can you show us a picture of the track? I am wondering about the "screws" that hold the track down. Possibly they are the problem.
.


----------



## Dave Sams (Nov 24, 2010)

I have the same meter. $4 shipped from China.

It was DOA.

The back said "No user serviceable parts inside."

There was a dead AA battery inside (under the quality control inspection sticker).

For $4, it gets the job done.

It would help if we had a little more communication from flyboard3..

We could walk him through the process.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I suspect he's solved the issue and moved on, it appears he joined to get his Christmas layout working.


----------

