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Test electrical connections as you go and save BIG headaches! MRH forum help
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Prolific poster (deceased) 6,447 posts rickwade Prolific poster (deceased) 6,447 posts
rickwade

I've seen a number of posts here lately that say something like "After I connected all of my feeders / electric I had a dead short."

So, save yourself some BIG problems by checking for shorts frequently (I do it after EVERY connection) during the wiring process.  In my case I had a "figure eight" track arrangement and the colors changed for the feeders where the track crossed over itself.  I had been soldering the red wire to the outside rail which became the inside rail at the crossover.  When I checked after soldering the wire at that point I had a short, which I quickly corrected and then made sure going forward I had the correct colors attached to the correct rails.

Just a suggestion.....

Rick

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The Richlawn Railroad Website - Featuring the L&N in HO  / MRH Blog  / MRM #123

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lexon Prolific poster 1,211 posts
lexon

Knowing Obvious Man

is a great advantage. Good post.

Some use a buzzer and nine volt battery from Rat Shack, continually connected to the rails. As soon as you create a short, the buzzer alerts you.

Rich
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Brian Clogg Regular poster 277 posts
Brian Clogg

wiring

I do my wiring with the track power on so the booster lets me know if there is a problem. 

Brian Clogg

British Columbia Railway

Squamish Subdivision

http://www.CWRailway.ca
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Prof_Klyzlr Moderator 7,955 posts
Prof_Klyzlr

Dear Brian, May I ask what

Dear Brian,

May I ask what the make/model of the soldering iron you're using is? I know that some irons are "Earth'd tip", and this could make for some fun-times if the output side of the booster is effectively shorted to Mains Earth...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr
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Brian Clogg Regular poster 277 posts
Brian Clogg

iron

I am using a weller adjustable iron for feeders and a weller gun for the buss. I have 4 boosters and the system is earth grounded at 1 place.

 I really should learn to turn the boosters of for safety and to save money. I started leaving it on years ago to keep the cat off the track-which worked. The train room now has a door ( what a concept) so the track power can go off

Brian Clogg

British Columbia Railway

Squamish Subdivision

http://www.CWRailway.ca
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