03-14-2018, 10:20 PM
I just spent the last 2 1/2 hours inspecting all of the wiring under both levels of the layout. All wires to toggle switches were solidly connected, with none touching one another, and all wire connections to the track are solidly soldered in place. I found no bare wires touching any others, and no debris on the track or in the turnouts. Everything appears to be as it should.
I also disconnected the CM 20, and substituted the old power pack in its place (this takes the walkaround throttles out of the equation). I activated a section of track in that immediate area, and a locomotive on that track responded the same as it did when the CM 20 was in place: the loco moved, but extremely slowly - no meter reading because it's connected to the CM 20, but I'd guess it to be a similar 3 amps.
The trial with the old power pack connected to track controlled by a separate ON/OFF switch (isolated by gaps at both ends) resulted in normal running, so whatever the problem is, it must be within the tracks running between towns, as when track power is on, those tracks are always live. Attempting to run a train on them, whether power is supplied by the CM 20 or the old transformer, yields the same results - slow running and high current draw.
David, with no loco, and the throttle knob off, no current draw, and with no loco and the throttle knob turned up, the ammeter shows 3 amps.
No, all of the wiring was done long before ballasting, and the track had been used regularly - I wanted to be sure that everything worked before adding ballast.
I was pretty fussy about ballast application, and made sure to apply plastic compatible oil to the ties over which the points move. After flipping them back and forth a few times to distribute the oil, the points were parked in a mid-throw position. After the ballast and white glue had dried, I went over the track with a light and an X-Acto knife to remove any ballast in places it shouldn't be. All of the turnouts function as they should (manual operation) and I made sure to scrape any dried glue from the points and stock rails where the two meet.
All of the ballast work of that session was on track controlled by fascia-mounted toggle switches, and the test mentioned previously, with the CM 20 off and the old power pack hooked directly to the newly-ballasted track, resulted in normal speed operation. I don't think that the ballast work has anything to do with this problem, it just happened to occur right after ballasting
Wayne
I also disconnected the CM 20, and substituted the old power pack in its place (this takes the walkaround throttles out of the equation). I activated a section of track in that immediate area, and a locomotive on that track responded the same as it did when the CM 20 was in place: the loco moved, but extremely slowly - no meter reading because it's connected to the CM 20, but I'd guess it to be a similar 3 amps.
The trial with the old power pack connected to track controlled by a separate ON/OFF switch (isolated by gaps at both ends) resulted in normal running, so whatever the problem is, it must be within the tracks running between towns, as when track power is on, those tracks are always live. Attempting to run a train on them, whether power is supplied by the CM 20 or the old transformer, yields the same results - slow running and high current draw.
BR60103 Wrote:What is the current draw with no loco on the tracks?....
David, with no loco, and the throttle knob off, no current draw, and with no loco and the throttle knob turned up, the ammeter shows 3 amps.
BR60103 Wrote:....Did you play with any wires while you were ballasting?....
No, all of the wiring was done long before ballasting, and the track had been used regularly - I wanted to be sure that everything worked before adding ballast.
BR60103 Wrote:...When I ballasted a bit of my layout, I managed to get one point so that it wouldn't flip unless I moved it right at the pivot. Probably wouldn't create your problem.
I was pretty fussy about ballast application, and made sure to apply plastic compatible oil to the ties over which the points move. After flipping them back and forth a few times to distribute the oil, the points were parked in a mid-throw position. After the ballast and white glue had dried, I went over the track with a light and an X-Acto knife to remove any ballast in places it shouldn't be. All of the turnouts function as they should (manual operation) and I made sure to scrape any dried glue from the points and stock rails where the two meet.
All of the ballast work of that session was on track controlled by fascia-mounted toggle switches, and the test mentioned previously, with the CM 20 off and the old power pack hooked directly to the newly-ballasted track, resulted in normal speed operation. I don't think that the ballast work has anything to do with this problem, it just happened to occur right after ballasting
Wayne