Ok the elderly neighbour has a train set with an electrical fault somewhere. He must desperate for help as he asked… me! 😆

The line has good power and my voltmeter works fine until a train is put on the line and the voltage drops to zero on meter.

The same train works fine on another model with the same power supply.

Without the train, the line shows good voltage without the train.

The contacts are good but there must be a short somewhere?

Any ideas? I am ok with basic electronics but have no idea on Hornby trains.

HELP!

That sounds like a bad connection somewhere in the wiring or around the track. The voltage would be good until a load is added, then the resistance of the fault would be higher than the train, causing the voltage across the train to be low and the train to not move.

Put the train as close to the power supply as possible and wiggle the wires and joints until something happens.

I was all excited about being able to pass on some actual physics knowledge but I was pipped to the post 🙂

Probably one of those little fish plate things that connect the track to each other is not firtted properley or there is a break in the track.

Have you checked the track for leaves yet?

Put train on track. Test everything for voltage, starting from the output of the controller which will hopefully give a good reading.

“This is a customer announcement. The 19.40 from Dunster* will be delayed by approximately 2 days due to problems with the track. We apologise for any inconvenience”

* took me a while to remember the name!

Thanks guys.

I will pass on the info.

I checked the whole track originally and it was bang on with the voltage everywhere.

Popped the train on different areas and the voltage dropped to zilch.

Funnily enough on random occasions the train travelled as though everything was ok.

I guess working from home, he can see me and waves me over. 87 years old and lost his wife to cancer recently.

Difficult for me to say I’m busy with work and I try to help as much as possible.

Thanks again for the advice. Will check for leaves tomorrow 😆

Probably no harm in me clarifying what others have said to aid in quick fault finding;

1.. Stick the train on the track and verify the volts have dropped to zero at the train
2. Working backwards toward the power source, test for voltage until you find it.
3. The weak connection is between the low and high voltage points.

Point being, back at the power supply terminal you should have good volts, at some point there is a high resistance (bad) connection; downstream from this (toward the train – the electrical load) there will be low voltage, but upstream of the bad connection there will be good voltage. If you get all the way to the power supply and there’s no voltage when the load is in circuit, then it’s a bad power supply. Probably worth replacing if you or the owner don’t fancy opening a mains voltage box.

A guess: do modern Hornby transformers have short-circuit protection? Why not try the following: connect meter to the output of the transformer, monitor voltage. Place the train on the track and watch for a significant voltage drop.

Also: try another train on that track, measure the resistance across the wheels of the ?suspect? train and compare to a known good one. Maybe you can test the transformer with a 12v lightbulb, 3-6w 12V would be a reasonable test (IIRC the transformers are 12v).

Is it a mix of old and new parts? Could there be a compatibility issue?

Last suggestion, if the problem seems independent of the applied load, the transformer may be faulty.

Oh, the really easy one is to test the mains connection. Just swap the transformer for desk lamp of something, to ensure the problem isn’t faulty mains supply.

Last suggestion, if the problem seems independent of the applied load, the transformer may be faulty

To eliminate that just press a 9v battery to the rails, train should move if all is ok. One presumes it won’t.

Buy a track rubber and rub all around. My sons gets shabby performance very quickly and a quick rub around the track and all is good again

http://www.track-shack.com/acatalog/Peco-PL-41-Rail-Cleaner–abrasive-rubber-block-Peco-PL-41.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwj7q6BRDcxfG4pNTQ2NoBEiQAzUpuWxkPbyJQF76bUZjVdAI0uX9oZzkZUntIV9ntX_dZ87EaAnPa8P8HAQ

Did OP manage to electrocute himself with the trainset?

Another question: is the controller analogue (old school) or digital (DCC)?
Is it just this loco that fails or all of them ?

Hi,

Got it working by pushing down on the rails near the power connections.

Soldiered it up. Works ok.

It’s an old model with analogue transformers from 25 years ago?

The neighbour and myself appreciate all the help. Hopefully it will cheer him up.