Help! Nothing will work on new layout

[Phil S]

Loads of good advice here. But can I add a little more, for the happy day when the OP has it sorted.

This is a classic case where power districts would help trace the fault, by isolating different sections of the layout. Make the roundy loop one district, the sidings a second. Separate circuit breakers for each. Not too pricey and avoids the embarrassment when a shunting derailment, inside clear, stops the roundy loop too.

Phil: Not necessarily multiple 'power districts'. Simply 'sub districts': multiple isolatable sections running from the same central unit or booster. There is only need for the added power capability and cost and energy consumption of additional power supplies and booster's if the current being drawn is near the limit of the single central controller. That said; some 'starter' DCC controllers have minimal output capability, and therefore additional power through a booster may be a early consideration!!

I use Roco Multimauses and their 3.5A output amplifiers..... And have the advantage that these can easily be used as boosters without modification... So my loft layout does use 4 power districts but further subdivided into SUB districts .....whilst my normal current is less than 1A PER POWER DISTRICT despite most coached being lit.

But equally I use a single amplifier even for our LGB portable layouts... Because these run on the level. I only reach the limit if my 4 motor Allegra railcar stalls against a buffer stop!! (In the garden, with an incline/slope, I use a single power district and no sub districts, with all 24 sets of points run from the track DCC, but from a Massoth Dimax800 with 8A capability...taking 5-6A with 3 trains running..... Here my priority is ensuring good power distribution, With multiple parallel feeds, rather than sub sections for fault isolation because there are fewer trains on the whole layout, and the cause is usually more obvious.

Don't forget that increasing the current capability (maximum output of a central controller or booster) means that the overall resistance of the layout and wiring needs to be reduced to ensure that a short circuit trip operates correctly from all parts of the track. Sub districts with individual sub section protection eg with PSX intelligent breakers, will reduce the size of the required wiring ( in the same way as a 3A fused mains device can use thinner wires than a 13A kettle lead )

[howardpidd]

I'm very grateful for all your advise. In my exasperation I was on the verge of ripping the whole lot up and starting again, but I will now try a more systematic approach as has been suggested to isolate the problem and perhaps re-wire using 3 districts as John recommends. 

 

I'll report back on progress.

[Clearwater]

A few weeks back, I had a similar problem after a rebuild. It's a simple 6x4 two loop layout so I hadn't done any testing on the way through. When I turned it on, short straight away. Musing on it for a day or so, I realised the only possible short was a wire connected the wrong way. Going back through the wiring, i quickly identified one that looked wrong. Unsoldered it, tested layout, no short. Bingo.

 

If I was you, I'd go back over what you've done to see if there's an obvious fault and progressively unsolder until the problem is resolved

 

David

[RAF96]

For track that is less than obvious which rail is which I always use the wagon and sticky tape method. Push the wagon round the track and check the taped side matches your chosen wire colour for that rail.

If at any point you get back where you started from and the tape is on the wrong side then you have gone through a reverse loop which requires special switching (manual or automatic) to reverse the track polarity (even on DCC).

[Pete the Elaner]

Turn the power off, take all locos off and disconnect the Powercab, so no power is getting through and there is no connection to the booster. Having removed the Powercab from the equation, its just a matter of testing the resistance across the rails until you find the cause (you will probably have to break the layout into sections) starting with the point motor switches for the crossing polarity. Disconnect them one by one. If it's not that then check the feed wires are correct. By the way, you are missing a couple of feeds off the diagram.

The last sentence about feeds was responded to but not the rest, which is a very good guide to troubleshooting. From comments I have seen on this forum in general, it is an underused fault finding technique.

 

If you suspect a short, you will be passing excess current through something, which can damage the components. These should have safety cut-outs, although the PowerCab itself does not; It relies on its power supply to cut power.

The first thing you should do is remove your PowerCab & any locos / rolling stock from the layout.

It will now be impossible to damage your PowerCab or its power supply.

 

If you have wired up your layout on multiple boards, disconnect them from each other. This will make it easier to find your fault.

Switch your multimeter to resistance.

Go around the layout testing each piece of track for resistance across the running rails. You should have infinite resistance everywhere. Anything else will indicate a fault.

If you have a multimeter with a 'connectivity beep' then be wary about using this for this fault. It will indicate a good connection but not necessarily a mediocre one which can still cause a problem.

[Pete the Elaner]

For track that is less than obvious which rail is which I always use the wagon and sticky tape method. Push the wagon round the track and check the taped side matches your chosen wire colour for that rail.

If at any point you get back where you started from and the tape is on the wrong side then you have gone through a reverse loop which requires special switching (manual or automatic) to reverse the track polarity (even on DCC).

I like that. Easy & clear.

[Geep7]

Not wanting to sound condescending, and only suggesting if you haven't, but have you tried plugging the cable into both sockets on the PcP? The fact the red light on the PcP isn't coming on may mean you're trying to plug it into the wrong socket. Only reason I mention is I did exactly the same yesterday with my PowerCab.

[Torper]

Has there been any progress?  I would like to know if the layout is working yet and if so, what the problem was!

 

DT

[howardpidd]

Finally after a lot of angst and bad language I think I've finally found the cause of the problem this afternoon. Having tried just about all the ideas posted here in response to my plea for help and found absolutely nothing worked my desperate last resort was to take up the points to check them out. Naturally it was the last one I checked where I found the problem - I had omitted to cut the two little wires that link the closure rails and the frog. A quick test run with my new GWR Dukedog confirmed that was almost certainly the cause. I won't know for sure if that was the only problem until I've re-laid all the points and reconnected the wiring.

 

I'm really grateful to everyone who came up with ideas, they really did help. Fingers crossed that is it now and I can finally get on with finishing the layout. 

 

Howard

[Enterprisingwestern]

Finally after a lot of angst and bad language I think I've finally found the cause of the problem this afternoon. Having tried just about all the ideas posted here in response to my plea for help and found absolutely nothing worked my desperate last resort was to take up the points to check them out. Naturally it was the last one I checked where I found the problem - I had omitted to cut the two little wires that link the closure rails and the frog. A quick test run with my new GWR Dukedog confirmed that was almost certainly the cause. I won't know for sure if that was the only problem until I've re-laid all the points and reconnected the wiring.

 

I'm really grateful to everyone who came up with ideas, they really did help. Fingers crossed that is it now and I can finally get on with finishing the layout. 

 

Howard

 

Listened.

Acted.

Resolved.

Thanked.

Doesn't get any better than that IMHO.

 

Mike.

[73c]

Glad to hear it's all sorted. Good luck with the layout.

[kevinlms]

Finally after a lot of angst and bad language I think I've finally found the cause of the problem this afternoon. Having tried just about all the ideas posted here in response to my plea for help and found absolutely nothing worked my desperate last resort was to take up the points to check them out. Naturally it was the last one I checked where I found the problem - I had omitted to cut the two little wires that link the closure rails and the frog. A quick test run with my new GWR Dukedog confirmed that was almost certainly the cause. I won't know for sure if that was the only problem until I've re-laid all the points and reconnected the wiring.

 

I'm really grateful to everyone who came up with ideas, they really did help. Fingers crossed that is it now and I can finally get on with finishing the layout. 

 

Howard

Of course its always the last one. Next time you'll know to start from the other end! Well done.