Lack of power to track - DCC

[Gbh4]

Hi all

I've finally finished my layout after many years of doing small bits of modelling here and there but since my Dad passed away in July I’ve really wanted to finish it which I have now done.

Now I’m getting back to the trains and I seem to have an issue with track power. I’ve got a DCC system with a main bus which connects to the track at various places, a decoder for the points and using Rail Master. Railmaster is working fine, points operate as they should and the locos are getting the signal to move, it’s just that they are very slow to start and seem to stop quite often.

I’m guessing this might be because some areas of the track haven’t got enough power. But is there a way to test that sort of thing? Or is it something else?

Many thanks for any help!

[P-Henny]

DCC is less forgiving than DC and needs spotlessly clean track rails, wheels and loco pickups. So thoroughly clean everything and test again.

It would also help if you were to specify more detail such as whether Hornby track or not. If Hornby are you using any power track / clips to supplement your power bus. Again if Hornby, are you using DCC point clips to supplement your bus. Can you identify any particular locations on the layout where power seems to be iffy. A curve or a particular point for example.

Slow to start is perfectly normal for a Railmaster controlled system. It is RMs way of trying to make 'train operations' more realistic.

[ColinB]

It is probably a bit late but on my layout I split the layout into sections by using insulated rail joiners then use a double pole switch to enable power to each section. It is a carry over from when my layout was DC. The advantage is it is easy to isolate sections and find where the fault is. I use DCC and my layout is 16 ft by 8 ft and I have no issues with power loss, so unless your layout is huge I suspect you have a fault in your wiring.

[Fishmanoz]

Are you using eLink with the original 1 Amp supply? This arrangement is known to cause problems beyond an overload from running more locos than it can handle. Solution is simple - upgrade to the 4 Amp supply.

If already using the 4 Amp and not trying to run 10 or more locos at once, I’d be starting with the spotlessly clean solution and putting aside Colin’s isolated sections in the first instance.

[96RAF]

For a simple comparison, as the reading is not accurate, use a multimeter set on AC Volts at various points rounds the layout. If one or more sections are a lower voltage than those near the controller then investigate why.

For an accurate reading use an RRAMP meter which is optimised for a DCC signal. Hornby DCC target voltage as shown here.

[Deem]

Nice Device to check voltage 96RAF. I wish I was aware of this few months back when I was struggling with issue's myself.

As for the actual issue here, In my experience DCC is more forgiving to dirty track compare to DC. But I only started using DCC few months back and still learning a Lot about the DCC.

If the track is long and depending on your controller with what power supply, also how many loco you running, you could have issue's.

[Gbh4]

Thanks all for the replies.

First thing I will do is clean the track as this set has been a long time in the making and I probably haven’t run a train on it for a few years now and along with all the modelling it may well be a bit dirty.

It’s mostly Hornby track I believe (although quite a few years since the track was laid so not 100%) and at several points around the power bus I have takeoffs which go directly to the track.

I clean the track first and report back if there are still issues.

Many thanks!

[Fishmanoz]

Hi Deem, a couple of pointers/tips for you:

• a forum search on rramp turns up 20 postings, this one and 19 previous. You must have been reading all around previous references to voltage checks using this meter
• it is very well documented that DCC is less not more forgiving than DC to dirty track/wheels/pickups, unless a “stay alive” is being used
• in a light-hearted vein, I’ll be asking Apostrophe Man to visit your place to discuss your issue with issues

[96RAF]

This is the one I got at a UK show years ago but without the case. My case is an old Hornby 4-amp PSU box.

https://tonystrains.com/news/rrampmeter-by-dcc-specialties/