Santa Express - Dead

[DaveP1707822717]

Hi All.

Total novice here! We have had a Santa Express for a couple of years and this year it was plugged in to the same multi-socket at the Christmas tree and my son thought it would be fun to turn the tree lights on and off several times leaving the Santa Express not working. At first I thought it would be the ac/dc or the controller as the controller light was only working intermittently however it seems to remain powered on until the train is placed on to the track. What could be the fault?

Thanks

Dave

[Chrissaf]

Are you saying that when the track is empty the controller power indicator is on, but the controller power indicator goes off when the loco is placed on the track?

If this is correct, then the loco has developed a "short circuit" fault. Short circuits across the controller output [track] create a situation where the controller is trying to provide more current than it can supply, so the controller shuts down to protect itself.

At the top of the "General Discussion" is a sticky 'FAQ Index' thread. Read FAQ1, which might assist.

[DaveP1707822717]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried the 9v battery trick but the loco doesn't do anything. I've given it a clean and taken the top off so the inside could also be inspected. Is it likely that the motor has given in despite the relatively low use?

[Chrissaf]

You need a multimeter switched to measure resistance to prove the loco has a 'short circuit' and find the source of it if it does. Multimeters can be purchased from ebay for less than £8 delivered and is a key tool to have available in the toolbox.

It is still possible that the controller is faulty due to your son switching it on and off in quick succession. The multimeter can also be used to measure the output voltage and current from the controller. It may be that the controller is shutting down at a current which is much lower than its factory set trigger value. But this seems unlikely since the 9 volt battery test directly on the loco didn't work.

[ColinB]

I don't know if this is much help, but I use one of those cheap controllers out of a set to test my locos. I found the backward/forward switch doesn't always make contact. In my case all I have to do is push it to the left or right a little then everything works.

[AndyThomas]

Just another little thing may be worth looking at is if one of the wheels has picked up a bit of metal or a track pin as it could be shorting across from the wheel to body. Just look really carefully all round the inside of the wheels next to the body. Could even be a bauble hanger if under the xmas tree