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We were running my Dad's new MTH F-3  in conventional mode on his American Flyer layout this afternoon when it stopped just before a switch at the far end of our layout. I couldn't see the lights and thought that it had maybe hit a dirty spot in the track and gone into neutral, so I tried going through the reverse unit cycle and the circuit breaker in the AF 30B transformer tripped. I discovered that the engine went into a turned out switch. Now the F-3 doesn't respond at all to track power. We have TVS diodes installed at each lock-on.

We assume that one of the boards is fried, but why? The short circuit shouldn't have been going through the board, no?

And other than call MTH or Charles Ro—where we purchased it—is there anything we can try?

Last edited by Matt_GNo27
Original Post

Matt, The breakers on the old transformers are much to slow for the modern electronic trains we now have available to us. Hopefully some one here may be able to help you out with this. Maybe Gunrunnerjohn may have some ideas of what you may try.  In the meantime I would recommend the purchase of at least the Lionel Lockon  for the protection of the new generation of trains. I have gone to the use of the Legacy system, with Powerhouses and  Powermasters, and am amazed at how quickly these things react to a short circuit.

Ray

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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