Disastrous weekend

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GWR_fan
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Disastrous weekend

Post by GWR_fan »

On Saturday I was testing a loco to sell off on eBay and removed from the rails to do some tinkering to it. A few minutes later I returned it to the rails and applied power. My controller immediately showed a short circuit as soon as power was applied. I removed the loco and once again applied power and once again the short circuit light illuminated indicating the fault lay with the track or controller. I disconnected the power leads and applied power and no indication of a short circuit so the problem lay with the track.

I did a quick inspection of the track looking for something bridging the rails. No such luck. It looked like a full investigation of the wiring was needed. My outdoor railway is relatively extensive and has an array of wires reflecting when I intended using multiple Aristo-Craft Train Engineer controllers to control block sections. Along with the wiring was numerous on/off switches designed to isolate sections of the rail providing an unpowered block when the multiple controllers were in use. In the past a fault was traced to one of these switches rusting out internally even though encased in plastic sealed containers. Such is the life of outdoor railroading.

Much of the wiring was placed around ten years ago and to date has proven to be reliable. As a reflection of my aircraft training, I installed multiple failsafe backup power feeders to the rail so that if a fault occurred it would mean several failures were present.

for a few months I had made a decision to reclaim a portion of my backyard and not have trains overrunning the entire yard and intended to remove the continuous circuit leaving me with a lengthy point to point setup. The decision was made yesterday to commence the dismantling of the continuous run portion of the railway along with its associated wiring. I then set about investigating the fault causing the short circuit.

I commenced with severing a main feeder and then checking which side of the disconnection was faulty. Surprisingly, it was the side with less wiring contrary to Murphy's law. While it did relatively simplify matters, the less complicated section was still relatively complex. I then methodically set about disconnecting subsections and checking for short circuits. As alway with light diminishing I finally found the fault. A large bird of paradise tree had grown, pushing a paving block against a wiring loom and crushing the loom against an immovable obstacle. Part of the wiring insulation was damaged leading to a short circuit, although I still do not know where the current was going as only one wire was damaged (perhaps escaping to earth?????).

A quick check showed that I could apply power without seeing a red light illuminate on the controller. Now I need to go back and solder and insulate all the connections cut during the troubleshooting. I still need to investigate the tram shuttle circuit which forms part of the railway trackage to see if it is functional. Lack of light and a sore back from bending over all day was taking its toll on me.
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Lysander
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by Lysander »

Oh Lord, Tim, and life is so short too !

Hope you get it sorted.,....

Tony
Men with false teeth may yet speak the truth.......
GWR_fan
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by GWR_fan »

Tony,
I think that I have most of the track issues sorted. The tram shuttle still works so that is a bonus. I just need to sort out the remaining reverse loop circuit and I will be almost there.
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Bufferstop
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by Bufferstop »

Perhaps you should promote the resoldered connections to test points at which the wiring can be disconnected easily either by unsoldering or unscrewing a link. I'd get a continuity tester as well, don't stress your controller by using its overload warning as a tester! It should reward you with a longer life. Glad you got it sorted though, there's nothing worse than having a layout where nothing moves. The wiring on my layout is relatively simple and thanks to the control panel connecting to the central board has only half a dozen wires going in each direction. the inter board joints are hidden above borad in bits of scenery, a grounded coach body, a tumble down pigsty, a clump of bushes and a van body used as a store, each hides a choc block connector and some tails from the adjacent board, they were useful for checking any voltage drop when I first wired it up. Fortunately the worst short circuit I've had to deal with was the snipped off end from some wire cutting that had found its way under a point blade.
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GWR_fan
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by GWR_fan »

John,
the wiring at present is the simplest it has been in the life of the railway. Before venturing into DCC, I had over forty 30 amp relays controlling block sections (now nearly all removed). When initially powered up the sound of relays clicking was like crickets chirping in spring.

LGB make 'expensive' choc block connectors with clear plastic covers. These are ideal (if you have a thick wallet) for troubleshooting purposes.
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Emettman
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by Emettman »

GWR_fan wrote: A large bird of paradise tree had grown, pushing a paving block against a wiring loom and crushing the loom against an immovable obstacle.
Oh yes, nature will always fight back, given half a chance. From frost heave to wildlife occupying tunnels and everything in between.
Snail and slug trains can turn into something nasty when locos wheels hit them and voltage passes through them.
And always the green stuff grow.

I got exactly one test train running last year.
A few more years of abandonment and it'll be a job for Time Team!

Mysterious wiring defects, they are a bane too. I'm glad my wiring is simple compared to yours.


Chris
"It's his madness that keeps him sane."
GWR_fan
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by GWR_fan »

Chris,
given the forces of nature, an outdoor railway has to contend with factors the real railways deal with on a regular basis. Given the relatively long timeframe the railway has been up and running, I suppose I cannot complain. I did 'overengineer' the complexity of the wiring due circumstances, but the robustness of the job has proven itself in almost troublefree running for more than ten years outdoors.

Fortunately frost heave is not something that I need to be concerned with.


Tim
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Emettman
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by Emettman »

GWR_fan wrote:Chris,

Fortunately frost heave is not something that I need to be concerned with.


Tim
But one single leaf on the line...

Chris.
"It's his madness that keeps him sane."
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bike2steam
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by bike2steam »

Nah!!! Just look at it this way, not a disastrous weekend, just a few lessons learnt. No such thing as problems - only solutions. 8)
GWR_fan
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by GWR_fan »

bike2steam wrote:Nah!!! Just look at it this way, not a disastrous weekend, just a few lessons learnt. No such thing as problems - only solutions. 8)
The problem is finding the right solution for the problem.
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Emettman
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Re: Disastrous weekend

Post by Emettman »

GWR_fan wrote:
bike2steam wrote:Nah!!! Just look at it this way, not a disastrous weekend, just a few lessons learnt. No such thing as problems - only solutions. 8)
The problem is finding the right solution for the problem.
"Being somewhere else" or "this happening to someone else" would often be good solutions, if it weren't for the technicality of applying them.
"It's his madness that keeps him sane."
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