Fastrack Switch Throwing By Itself

CCTSteamOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I'm having an interesting problem with a Lionel Fastrack Command switch, left hand, O-72. This switch has been in use for about a year give or take and only recently did it start having problems. Initially it started acting up by sometimes not responding to the Legacy remote, but of greater concern is the new problem it's having now.

The new problem is the switch is throwing by itself, and when it does this it is to the diverging path instead of straight through. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to when it does this... It will happen if trains are moving or standing still, and will happen sometimes as a train is running over the switch. If it happens when wheels happen to be on the isolated rails it will immediately switch back to the through path like it should have been all along. But, if the timing is just right, it'll catch the trailing truck of a car and send it off to the side while the front truck is going on through - obviously causing a derailment.

I had the back off of this switch before when it initially started having problems responding to the Legacy remote and didn't note any loose wires or other obvious problems... Is the self switching behavior something that indicates a problem with the internal electronics or something else I need to look for, especially when also considering the intermittent lack or response to the TMCC signal? By the way, this is somewhat or a starter layout so it's powered by track power instead of separately. There are 4 other Command switches in use and they're all functioning normally.

Thanks!

3/3/204:55 PM

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Richie C.OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

This sounds like it may be either an antenna or a ground plane issue.

See if simply holding your hand above the switch helps.

Also, I would do a quick Forum search about ways to solve ground plane issues and see if it helps. I think you could try connecting a thin (18-24) gauge wire from the screw holding the plate on the electrical box into which the Legacy/TMCC base is plugged in and running it up to near the offending switch and just laying it on the layout.

3/3/205:09 PM

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DavetyOGR Forum Member

I have a switch doing this exact same thing and never found out why. I'll be monitoring this thread hopefully someone have a resolution. I ended up replacing my switch and the mystery thrower went to a disused siding on my layout.

3/4/201:36 PM

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CCTSteamOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Well, I can give an update on this after some more tinkering and finally an attempted repair. The nature of my current layout is that it's of a somewhat temporary nature, making running ground plane wires not particularly feasible. And, what continued to bug me the most was the fact that the switch worked fine for nearly a year and then started acting up while nothing else had changed. For the record I will say though that when the initial problem of the switch not responding to remote commands showed up, holding my hand over the switch did help it to respond better.

What I ended up doing was ordering a new antenna board and motor controller from the Lionel support / parts site (antenna board p/n 691FTSWB01) since they're not overly expensive relative to the complete switch. I decided to switch out the antenna board first and test out the switch to see if that made a difference. So far I can report that the switch is working normally again, responding to every Legacy remote command and the self throwing behavior has also stopped. Before swapping this board the switch was throwing itself on average probably once a minute or even more, and after swapping I've had a good 1 to 2 hours of running time with no issues. For now at least, it looks like that was the problem and I'm relieved the derailments seem to have stopped.

3/15/209:36 AM

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rm233440OGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I am having the same issue with an o72 LH Fastrack switch…luckily no derailments yet! I have 12 switches and this is the only one acting up. Interestingly, it started this week after hooking up my new Base3 last weekend. After spending some time troubleshooting, it does not appear to occur while operating in DCS with the Base3 turned off. The good news is, the switch is only a few months old. I would like to just send it back to Lionel, but I have soldered all of the crimp joints inside (I had issues with power loss on other switches). Do we think I voided the warranty? I have not programmed any switches into the base3 yet, this just started happening out of the blue so I can only assume the switch is defective. Perhaps it is the same issue above, wondering if that ultimately solved the problem? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

11/8/248:15 PM

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Vernon BarryOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Simple test- unplug the separate TMCC radio module and if it no longer throws randomly- you have your answer. Being the board uses TRIACs I have seen a few switches do exactly what you are saying- fire randomly.

The radio module is just one plug and the switch will operate remotely from the wired controller or the anti-derailing sensing also still works with this unplugged.