Peco points

[bhoulihan]

Do anybody have trouble with peco points when trains go over them that cause a short every time even though you clean the track & clean the loco wheels & oil it

[Irishrailwayman]

5 hours ago, bhoulihan said:

Do anybody have trouble with peco points when trains go over them that cause a short every time even though you clean the track & clean the loco wheels & oil it

Are these electrofrog or insulfrog points and are they correctly wired? Older rolling stock may have wider wheels which can cause problems also.

[Broithe]

5 hours ago, bhoulihan said:

Do anybody have trouble with peco points when trains go over them that cause a short every time even though you clean the track & clean the loco wheels & oil it

Do you actually mean 'shorting' or are you just losing connection?

[Broithe]

If you're relying the 'contact wiper' to make/break the electrical connection, then you can find that they aren't 100% reliable, but they can be made to work better by a little judicious bending with a small screwdriver, so that they make better contact with the fixed rails as the position changes.

 

[Glenderg]

I had this recently on my test track, and it was back at the frog (?) where the two rails meet with a insulator supposedly keeping electrical connection separate. If I threw the points one way, all was fine, the other way, the 141 would stall, as it shorted. I'd check to ensure there's no oil or electrical connectivity at the frog itself. I had to slip in the tiniest shim of acetate/clear plastic to ensure proper electrical order and keep some distance between the two polarities. 

(that actually sounds like I know what I'm talking about  )

[pauldelany]

i have resorted to using insulfrog points as i find they work better with oo gauge and dont short out :

 

[Dave]

Hi Bill,

 

Is it just one particular loco or coach that causes this?