Andrew-372848 Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 If that isn't successful try bridging the joint with pieces of wire to prove the dead section is sound, you can tuck the bare ends under the rails if you run out of hands. You may need that soldering iron after all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Another invaluable tool to add to the collection is a multimeter. A decent one can be as cheap as £15, Screwfix/Tool Station/Amazon etc. this really helps diagnose and locate so many electrical issues, being confident where and what the issue is is half way to fixing it. As suggested wire can bridge the possible faulty joint to prove it but more fiddly process. Remember it might only be 1 join that’s iffy. While the Nickle Silver Rail is highly resistant to corrosion and so are stainless steel fishplates, when you put the two together in the presence of an electrolyte (water) you will get Galvanic Corrosion, apply a current and it accelerates. The effect of the corrosion is not sufficient to cause one metal to be eaten away in front of your eyes (some metals it can quite literally do that) but a layer of non conducting material is produced, a greenish fur. That’s what causes the issues. You can use a pin/fine needle, to scrape the contact surface between the rail and fishplate (without lifting the track or removing the fishplate) Then you can use ‘electrical contact cleaner’ (widely available- WD-40 Brand do one but make sure it’s Electrical Contact Cleaner, NOT WD-40) It only needs a tiny amount to soak through the joint, you can work it a bit with pin. Dab up any excess with tissue. The problem of Galvanic Corrosion is why you will see some of us not in favour of, Droppers on fishplates or Point Clips, they are more likely to fail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunmarc88 Posted May 4 Author Share Posted May 4 Thank you for the responses. I’m feeling a bit deflated at the growing list of things I need to get the railway going properly as I’m starting from new. So I need to have a think as we’ve had a few big money things go wrong recently at home and it’s getting harder to justify spends at the moment. I had hoped I could get by with all the bits I had already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 You could make a continuity tester with a bit of wire and a bulb, pennies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moawkwrd Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 5 hours ago, taunmarc88 said: The track in the front short siding is now dead, not from the points but actually where one R6 curve meets the straight piece. It worked okay a few days ago but now even the long locos will not go into the siding past the curve piece. I’ve tried cleaning the track but that doesn’t seem to be it. Not sure what to do, it’s already ballasted. I'm starting to think I wouldn’t ballast in this method again, it seems to cause a lot of problems (but that may be my technique?). Sounds like some PVA may have dried inside one of the fishplates on one side - this is the downfall of sectional track unfortunately, more joints means more potential points of failure. If you have some needle nose pliers, you can try tightening up the fishplates from above. But as mentioned, this is a scenario where having a multimeter makes life easier. I bought mine as a result of having the problems with my points. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew-372848 Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 1 hour ago, taunmarc88 said: Thank you for the responses. I’m feeling a bit deflated at the growing list of things I need to get the railway going properly as I’m starting from new. So I need to have a think as we’ve had a few big money things go wrong recently at home and it’s getting harder to justify spends at the moment. I had hoped I could get by with all the bits I had already. Don't lose heart, this is nothing but a minor setback which should be quite straightforward to resolve. Clear your head and you'll get to the root cause easily enough. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 This is when tea saves the day 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_watts1 Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Car tail light, not the double filament one, or a blinker bulb and a bit of wire as a circuit tester should find the fault cheaply, about 50p for a bulb if you don't already have a spare. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie 66 Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 19 hours ago, taunmarc88 said: Thank you for the responses. I’m feeling a bit deflated at the growing list of things I need to get the railway going properly as I’m starting from new. So I need to have a think as we’ve had a few big money things go wrong recently at home and it’s getting harder to justify spends at the moment. I had hoped I could get by with all the bits I had already. I too am a newbie and have been working on my layout (Sanctuary Junction) since March. Similarly after a massive initial £ spend I assumed I had everything I needed, but I have discovered that TT gauge requires careful handling - ballasting especially with a tiny grain somewhere causing derailments. I'm using Peco track and twistlock turnout motors controlled with Railmaster through an Elite Box and have found things to be "temperamental". Some days everything runs smoothly, other days there are unexpected faults. Plus my "Trigo" had faulty pickups which I've managed to repair. It has been challenging and I too have felt deflated at times, but I have learnt this is a marathon not a sprint and I now think the more you invest your efforts into the hobby and overcome these issues, the more rewarding your layout will become. People on here are very friendly and helpful and have already provided me with answers to a few technical issues, so don't feel afraid to ask. Good luck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 @Charlie 66 Interested you say the points are temperamental, I did have a couple of point tie bar failures on the very first ones Peco released but with Twistloc motors driven through DCC Concepts ADSXs and Dynamis DCC controller, they have been absolutely reliable, but noisy 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie 66 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 On 05/05/2024 at 14:56, Rallymatt said: @Charlie 66 Interested you say the points are temperamental, I did have a couple of point tie bar failures on the very first ones Peco released but with Twistloc motors driven through DCC Concepts ADSXs and Dynamis DCC controller, they have been absolutely reliable, but noisy 😁 I think it's more to do with the Railmaster/Elite DCC signal and Hornby 8247 decoders. Sometimes it feels like no pulse is getting through to the twistlock motor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 RM is notorious for skipping commands sent from programs, especially if the controller is an Elite. Commands sent from the screen points icons usually work fine. ELink is much more reliable at sending commands without any skips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Ahh so a DCC communication issue rather than a mechanical one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie 66 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 3 hours ago, 96RAF said: RM is notorious for skipping commands sent from programs, especially if the controller is an Elite. Commands sent from the screen points icons usually work fine. ELink is much more reliable at sending commands without any skips. Interesting thanks. I did read a rumour suggesting there is an RM update due. If true maybe that will help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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