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Lost Power

S SpenceOGR Forum Member
Hopefully I can explain my problem. I'm building a large layout. 53' long by approx. 22' wide. I ran my buss wires all along the layout & plenty of drops every 6'. Tested the voltage & had approximately 17.2 - 17.4 volts along the entire track. Ran the trains (TMCC) & everything worked fine. Then took a break from trackwork & built a huge mountain & also connected a few accessories to a different buss wire. I went back to run some trains & I can't address the engine unless I manually move it till the lights go on. All of the passenger car lights are now constantly flickering. I charged the batteries in the Cab 1 but still no luck. I am now reading about 14 volts compared to the prviously 17 volts. My connections at the ZW are tight. I'm at my wits end. HELP!!!!
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G GinsawOGR Forum Member
Track and roller cleaning never hurts. It's gotta be done periodically. But since this was working before and the problem is apparently sudden and recent, I suspect TMCC signal reception issues due to changes on the layout.

Is there wire mesh built into that mountain and what is it made of? What kind of ground wire are you using? Are the new accessories metal and trackside and do they share the same commons with track power? And what are the accessories?
AP Arthur P. BloomOGR Forum Member
Take all the cars and engines off the track. Leave them off during all the tests.

Inspect the track for small bits of metal, wet scenery, screws, nails, etc. Sometimes using a magnet will help.

One step at a time...

Take the bus wires off the transformer, and test the output voltage right at the terminals. What voltage is present?

Re-attach the wires. Test the voltage at the transformer again. What voltage do you read?

Put one lighted car on the track at the point that is furthest from the transformer. Test the voltage at various track locations. Let us know the answers to these questions, and we'll go to the next step.
S SpenceOGR Forum Member
First of all I cledaned a large section of track. Then I checked the volts right at the ZW & sure enough instead of 18V it's puting out 16.The other side is ok. I switched to the MRC & almost 18V @ the terminal. Hooked up the wires &TMCC. Everything is aok.Thank you very much everyone for all the great help. Now the tension headache (LOL0 should go awaqy.
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