ZW-C Problem

Did you test this with a load on the tracks?  Put a lighted caboose or passenger car on the track and try measuring the voltage again.

Well, I am as far from an expert as you can get. But I am a long time ham radio guy and have worked on vintage ham gear for 25 years. It's a very different animal from what we are dealing with today on a layout with modern electronics. So whatever experience I have may be worth exactly what you are paying for it--nothing! But here is what I would say about your readings: Fine, good, no problem. Your readings are well within the tolerances of the components and gear you are using. Please proceed to run your trains and enjoy them. 

The subtext for me is that electronics is not as exact a science as the engineers would have us believe. Just because your meters will indicate down to 1/10th of a volt doesn't mean that makes any difference to the operation of your equipment. It RARELY does. I know nothing about modern digital electronics and the very idea that an oscilloscope will show waveforms up into the Ghz region astounds me. But my daily hobby work has no use for that level of exactitude, nor indeed do I have any signals in the Ghz region to measure! 

So my free advice (again disclaimer, worth every penny you are payng....) is to ignore your voltage variations and go ahead with what you were doing. All will almost certainly be well.

Don Merz

A triac controller such as the zw-c has to ha ha a small load for a reading. A small bulb will do. As to the channel A reading at full throttle, not sure why. I would also do a recalibrate as per the manua, add loads, and measure again.

Two thoughts. If your command base is powered on, the ZW-C may still see it. I had this problem over the weekend. I didn't even have the ZW-C connected to the track or the Command Base, however I could not get the handles to put power to the outputs. I had programmed the ZW-C a long while back, and it saw the TMCC signal and went into command mode on me. I unplugged the Command Base and the ZW-C worked fine. 

Second, the handles on the ZW-C can slip. Is it possible your D handle slipped and is no longer turning the pot internally back to zero?

Just a few thoughts here. This controller has some complexities that make it more difficult to troubleshoot.

George

No change when I put a Golden Gate Depot sleeper on the track. Same values measured as before, both at the terminals and at the rails. The current bleed was enough that the sleeper was lit even with the handles in the off position.

Have you performed the zero calibration? Page 14 of the manual.

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/72-2982-250.pdf

”Electronic reversing units will not change direction properly unless the track voltage drops to zero volts. If the ZW Controller’s track voltage does not drop to zero when the handle is at zero, the ZW Controller must be re-calibrated. All four channels can be calibrated by moving each handle to zero, and holding the program button in while the power is turned on. The red light will flash five times to indicate calibration is complete. This must be done with the Command Base disconnected. Calibration is done at the factory and should not be required with normal use.”

Yeah, I did, twice before posting my first post. It didn't change anything. Although the manual is slightly incorrect: you have have to depress the button before turning the power on.

As far as not getting full power, it is possible the gears inside the unit are slipping or not fully engaging, therefore not rolling up to full or down to zero when you move the handles.

Check this video from Mike Reagan.    

ZW-C video

You need to zero it out. Mike Reagan did a video on this awhile back. 

Gentlemen,

   All your advise is right on the money, most people know I am a big ZW guy, old or new.  The one exception is the ZW-C way to many problems with them, and they use Bricks.  IMO Lionel should fix every one of these ZW-C's under life time Warranty as Lionel does with our Legacy package.

Lionel could not give me a ZW-C.

PCRR/Dave

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Gentlemen,

   All your advise is right on the money, most people know I am a big ZW guy, old or new.  The one exception is the ZW-C way to many problems with them, and they use Bricks.  IMO Lionel should fix every one of these ZW-C's under life time Warranty as Lionel does with our Legacy package.

Lionel could not give me a ZW-C.

PCRR/Dave

Every one is entitled to an opinion but I have been using mine for about 17 years with out ANY issues!  I enjoy the large meters that Lionel sold to go with it, the fact that no fans are required to cool it, the super quick breakers and the postwar styling.  These kind of comments are thrown out all over the forum but I know quite a few fellow hobbyist who really enjoy theirs.  I understand the frustrations of those trying to fix issues with these but this type of post does not help them.

I hope SLUGGER is successful  in his efforts to resolve the issues.

Happy railroading,

Don

I love my ZW-C, best transformer I have ever used, but I'll admit I haven't used many.  I'd open it and check the pots, could be they have slipped.  Once you have them able to all get to mostly zero, then try the recalibration.

Don,

   I am glad you got one that has given you no problems, Congrats!  

PCRR/Dave

DGJONES posted:

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Gentlemen,

   All your advise is right on the money, most people know I am a big ZW guy, old or new.  The one exception is the ZW-C way to many problems with them, and they use Bricks.  IMO Lionel should fix every one of these ZW-C's under life time Warranty as Lionel does with our Legacy package.

Lionel could not give me a ZW-C.

PCRR/Dave

Every one is entitled to an opinion but I have been using mine for about 17 years with out ANY issues!  I enjoy the large meters that Lionel sold to go with it, the fact that no fans are required to cool it, the super quick breakers and the postwar styling.  These kind of comments are thrown out all over the forum but I know quite a few fellow hobbyist who really enjoy theirs.  I understand the frustrations of those trying to fix issues with these but this type of post does not help them.

I hope SLUGGER is successful  in his efforts to resolve the issues.

Happy railroading,

Don

Don,  my experience mirrors yours.  Almost 15 years with my ZW-C.    I use 4 180PH with it and it this the heart of my power for my large layout running Legacy/TMCC and DCS.  It simply just works.

I had to adjust the gears once on the D handle after 10 years.   Just like I've had to get into my original PW ZW275 every several years to clean rollers, etc.

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Don,

   I am glad you got one that has given you no problems, Congrats!  

PCRR/Dave

Dave,

Why do you insist on poking us ZW-C users? I know you love your Z4000's, but we are happy with our ZW-C's. Mine works fine. If anything goes wrong, they are pretty easy to fix, and I love the fact that I can connect 4 PH180's to it. The PH180 is a fantastic part of the unit!

George

George,

I am not insisting on anything, I simply do not like Bricks or any Transformer that uses them.  Further it seems by the ZW-C posts here on the OGR that they have more than their share of problems, compared to the old ZW or the new ZW-L.  

If you happen to have a ZW-C that has given you no problems great, Upgrade to a ZW-L as soon as you can.

PCRR/Dave

I don't have any problems with my ZW-C. I have no reason to upgrade to a ZW-L. I don't need the very heavy, bulky unit with analog meters and a large fan. My ZW-C does everything I need and I am very happy with it.  It also provides much more power and flexibility than a Z4000. I may just go out an get another ZW-C. 

Also, just to poke back at you, I am going to make sure my ZW-C is prominently positioned in all of my tinplate photos going forward.

George

George,

   That is fantastic, I like man who knows what he wants and sticks with it!  Looking forward to the pictures with the ZW-C prominently displayed.  Better hope it does not break down during the next year, or I will have to harass you but good.

I have to give you this you expended a lot less money on the ZW-C than the guys purchasing the new ZW-L.  I still want one however, looks to be some good engineering!

All the best,

PCRR/Dave

To steer this thread back on topic, I popped the lid off the unit and visually inspected the gears. All four seemed to properly be engaging and rotating the same amount, although I'm not really sure what the correct amount should be or how to tell where the 0 / max positions should be.