I have four loops of track running next to each other in a large loop. At time the engines can run fine and other times the can run poorly( sound stops, speeds up or slow down, cuts out) Is this do to the four loops next to each other getting interference from each other. Would a ground wire running between the tracks solve this problem and would I need to run a wire between all four loops?
Thanks
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I assume you are running these engines using TMCC or Legacy. Is the command base's 3-prong power supply plugged directly into a properly-grounded wall outlet? If the command base is plugged into a power strip, does that strip have surge protection? Many such power strips interfere with the TMCC/Legacy signal transmission and will cause the type of intermittent problems you're seeing. Replacing the premium surge protected power strip with a cheapie strip with no surge protection can fix the problems.
It might help if you were a bit more specific about exactly what you observe. Poor signal has fairly specific symptoms, so you may be dealing with more than one issue.
The normal issue with signal is with overhead tracks, not multiple parallel tracks. The only place I had a slight issue on my layout was under the 2nd level. A few engines, (oddly mostly K-Line models), had issues with signal. Running a ground wire under the top deck was the silver bullet.
TMCC signal issue typically show up in specific areas on the layout, they don't normally come and go all over the place.
What transformer(s) are you using and how many power feeds to each loop do you have ?
Have you tested all around each loop to see if all areas of the layout are receiving proper voltage ?
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