Extremly anoying 00 Gauge problem

[Hornby1995]

Hi

I've been having alot of trouble with buying trains and them not working, Although they work on the layouts at exhibitions, but not with me, I have quite decent locomotives, and its a real shame having to give them away due to them not working, some people are saying to use a special controller for them, Its the reason why I've stopped buying Lima locos due to this, In the last year, I've gave away 10 locos because they do not work on my layout

Could someone help me please?

Tom Hughes

[dman-lewis]

Could it be down to the track conditions that they lay on. maybe not getting a constant flow or there is something stopping them from moving. Tryied testting them on a spare bit of track that isn't on your layout?

[Essex2Visuvesi]

A bit more information would be good.... what controller are you using? it could be the controller isnt man enough for the job
What type of layout is it? track manufacturer radius of curves etc?

[Hornby1995]

oops forgot that bit, the tracks clean, its brand new, and I'm using a Hornby controller


One of those.

Tom Hughes

[dman-lewis]

DCC or DC?

[Hornby1995]

DC

[K9-70]

oops forgot that bit, the tracks clean, its brand new, and I'm using a Hornby controller


One of those.

Tom Hughes

There's your problem mate, your controllers not powerful enough.
You need to buy a controller that has a minium of 1amp output.

K9-70

[Essex2Visuvesi]

The controller you have there is very basic and has quite a low power output

If you want to stay with hornby look for either a Hornby HM2000 or better still HM4000 if you can find one

If not Guagemaster controls come highly reccomended

[Peterm]

If I pm you my address, would you send me any Loco's that won't work on your layout ?

[0121modeller]

oops forgot that bit, the tracks clean, its brand new, and I'm using a Hornby controller


One of those.

Tom Hughes

Just thought I'd ask this;
Are you using the correct terminals ?, the 2 terminal contacts on the front are 16v ac only , the wires from the side are 12v dc for track.
But just to be sure they have current flowing, test them with a wired crocodile clip & test lamp.

I have that model of hornby controller & transformer, I only use mine as a tester for powering track/testing loco's, It does'nt give the best results compared to my heavy gaugemaster "D" model . But it does however supply power each of my loco's regardless of maker (heljan, bachmann, new & older hornby, & Lima)

Also thoroughly clean the wheels of loco's & check all pickups are clean & making good contact, you say they're clean & run on other layouts, so problem is with controller or its transformer.

Dave.

[Hornby1995]

Oh yeah I clean the wheels regularly acutally, I got a bachmann class 04 the other week, and bought a Hornby Railways 2-6-0 B12 yesterday, It would make sence getting the Hornby HM2000 because I see people use them when they tested my B12 yesterday.

Tom Hughes

[locoworks]

those controllers cost buttons for a reason. get a gaugemaster that is not the 'E' model, that too only has a miserly output.

[tuxychuff]

or get a morley!
they can be cheaper than gaugemasters
have handhelds
built in cdu
and a whopping great 1.1amp output on each of the separate transformer windings
(the hm 2000 has 1amp over all 2/3/4 outputs )
oh and you can top up your stock of switches in the same p&p thingamagig

[Flashbang]

Hi
The Hornby R965 train controller and the C990 power supply that feeds it can only be described at best as a basic train set controller.
However, that said, the output from the C990 is 800 milliamp and this should be sufficient to power a loco without any problems.

It has to be assumed that you're only running one loco at a time via the controller and no other accessories are being fed from the auxiliary output terminals of the R965 as these would rob the power need for the one loco. If that's the case then the below may overcome your problems. If you are trying to run two or more locos from the controller or using its auxiliary output for feeding other items then remove them all and retry it just powering the rails and one loco.

Initially do ensure all rail tops are spotlessly clean. Then clean all wheels of all rolling stock, not just the pick-up wheels of locos, though these wheels are important anyway. All wheels collect 'muck' and spread it around via the rails, so its important to clean all wheels.

Then ensure all metal rail joiners are making good connection rail to rail. Ensure the rail web and foot where the joiner connects onto is clean and the inside of the joiner itself is also clean - use a fibre pencil to clean both areas. Carefully 'crimp' the joiner onto the foot of the rail with the aid of a pair of pliers.

With just one loco and no auxiliary feeding taking place, run that one loco.. It should run without hesitation around the track. If it stops anywhere check that the rail joiners before and after the stopping place / section of track are making good contact. If it stops on points or immediately after a point clean the inside faces of the stock rail and the closed switch rail - use the fibre pencil and once cleaned ensure the switch rail shuts tightly onto its stock rail.

A simple 'proving test' is to use a small flat blade screwdriver to touch across the top of any rail joint or the closed switch rail to stock rail on a point with the loco previously stalled and the power still turned up. If you find the loco moves off when the top of the two abutting rails are linked together by the screwdrivers blade, this is where the problem lies, and it must be corrected by cleaning and if necessary on a point any adjustments made to the point blade fit.

If you have the funds consider up grading the controller to a Gaugemaster or Morley controller unit. Google the names will provide a link to their respective web sites.

[hobby boy]

Make sure that the controller is plugged into the power clip and that is plugged into the track, preferably in a curve that is away from the points and is not trapped by points. If you've checked these, make sure there isn't a bit of metal on the track as it would short the controller instantly. And check the fishplates, like flashbang said

Andrew