I had run several different trains then pulled out the NIB 18025 T&P and the light turned to flicker city. Any thoughts???
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What ever you are running is using to many amps.
quote:Originally posted by jojofry:
What ever you are running is using to many amps.
This is the first time I've had this issue come. So I assume the problem is the engine? How would I diagnose or is it a dealer problem?
I don't really see a problem.
Your new loco just draws more current than the transformer will deliver. It will draw less as it gets broken in & lubed well.
Your new loco just draws more current than the transformer will deliver. It will draw less as it gets broken in & lubed well.
quote:Originally posted by ADCX Rob:
I don't really see a problem.
Your new loco just draws more current than the transformer will deliver. It will draw less as it gets broken in & lubed well.
So try the ZW and see how the loco responds? Would the lack of appropriate current also contribute to the RailSounds not functioning? The sounds were sporadic at best.
The CW is surely too small. Try the ZW - you should be good to go.
everything haha....its only good to run a 4-4-2 and a few cars anything else it just doesnt have the power
A CW-80 can handle just about any engine out there, but not multiple engines in MU, or multiple motored units plus passenger cars plus lighted switches etc...
It puts out 80 watts, which is quite a bit more than a Post War 1033/34, but not as much as a KW or ZW.
Jon
It puts out 80 watts, which is quite a bit more than a Post War 1033/34, but not as much as a KW or ZW.
Jon
The only engine that has caused my CW80 to blink was a Williams GG1. It still ran OK.
I ran as many as two dual motored diesels, 8-10 freight cars each, no sound, no smoke, no passenger cars. No blinky green light.
At three trains, however, the cw80 started to struggle.
At three trains, however, the cw80 started to struggle.
My engine ran, the RailSounds were all over the map.
quote:Originally posted by Jeff T:
So try the ZW and see how the loco responds? Would the lack of appropriate current also contribute to the RailSounds not functioning? The sounds were sporadic at best.
Is it Railsounds or Trainsounds? The latter is sensitive to dirty track, dirty axle and ground strap, etc...
You can always have the engine checked out to ensure no wiring fault that is causing high current draw, but it sounds like your CW is operating correctly. G
The CW-80 I have here would flicker the green lamp while running my old post war 2036. Those transformers cannot handle much current draw.
Rob
Rob
I have run a K-Line Big Boy and a Lionel Dockside switcher with the same CW at the same time no problem. They are great little transformers.
Do newer engines (ie: legacy engines) draw less amperage?
I only ask because so many people knock the CW-80 and yet I ran two legacy diesels (SD 70ACe's) and a tmcc steamer (jr mikado), while powering a few accessories at the same time from one CW with no issues.
I've even powered 3 legacy diesels at one time with one CW.
I only ask because so many people knock the CW-80 and yet I ran two legacy diesels (SD 70ACe's) and a tmcc steamer (jr mikado), while powering a few accessories at the same time from one CW with no issues.
I've even powered 3 legacy diesels at one time with one CW.
quote:Originally posted by jrmertz:
Do newer engines (ie: legacy engines) draw less amperage?
I only ask because so many people knock the CW-80 and yet I ran two legacy diesels (SD 70ACe's) and a tmcc steamer (jr mikado), while powering a few accessories at the same time from one CW with no issues.
I've even powered 3 legacy diesels at one time with one CW.
Any of the newer engines (tmcc and legacy) with can motors will draw less current than the old open frame motors. Length/weight of train and tightness of curves will also affect current draw. My o36 curves are pretty tight and a few of my engines struggle through them a little.
Any cw80 should be able to run two modern TMCC locos no problem. Maybe not all cw80s are created equal? Or maybe some are getting the cw80 confused with a cw40?
quote:Posted January 18, 2012 09:32 AM Hide Post
Do newer engines (ie: legacy engines) draw less amperage?
Yes, and THAT is why these guys say they have run big engines with it. They are CAN MOTORS.
Rob
Put a postwar duel motor train on a 80 watt you see the green light blink..
The new trains do not draw the volts the old trains did.. The print boards are low amps/volts.. When i had a zw the volts would get over 22 who knows how many amps it was .If you powered a mth or a new lionel with that with no breaker protection it was a fire waiting to happen...
The new trains do not draw the volts the old trains did.. The print boards are low amps/volts.. When i had a zw the volts would get over 22 who knows how many amps it was .If you powered a mth or a new lionel with that with no breaker protection it was a fire waiting to happen...
quote:Originally posted by jojofry:
Put a postwar duel motor train on a 80 watt you see the green light blink..
Not so. Read above posts.
quote:The new trains do not draw the volts the old trains did..
What does this mean?
quote:The print boards are low amps/volts..
What does this mean?
quote:When i had a zw the volts would get over 22 who knows how many amps it was .
10 amps. Higher for short durations.
quote:If you powered a mth or a new lionel with that with no breaker protection it was a fire waiting to happen...
What does this mean? Breakers protect the transformer.
I may have to agree with FLASH and maybe it's been confused with a cw-40, my cw_80,s will run anything i own with no problems i run alot of post war too ans some dual motored train masters no problems the cw 40 however is a sorry excuse for a transformer.
Dave
Dave
Random musings:
1. Some flickering of the green light on the Lionel CW-xx series of transformer/controllers is not only normal it should reassure the operator that the self-protective "fold-back" circuit is working as designed. When the load approaches 5 amps this circuit gradually cuts back the power to prevent the device from exceeding 5 amps. This is designed to protect the transformer itself and the associated wiring of the layout. It is not designed to protect the solid-state circuitry in modern locomotives and some modern accessories.
If the flickering really annoys you (some people are quite sensitive to it) cover the lamp with tape, paint it black, or locate the device on a ledge under the train table, etc. I am one of those normally bothered by flicker but I find I can easily ignore it on my stable of CW-80s.
2. To protect the solid-state circuitry in the locomotives and other devicesyou need to deploy one or more Transient Voltage Suppressor diodes (aka TVS diodes)as close as possible to the device you want to protect. This may mean carefully* opening the locomotive and placing a TVS inside it, although one tvs across the "hot" and "ground" terminals on the transformer or across ** the center and outside rail should certainly help. Remember. it is high voltage that zaps solid-state circuits. Such voltage spikes may be generated by the onset of or recovery from a derailment, but they can also be generated simply by walking across a rug and touching the locomotive, or wrapping it in the wrong kind of plastic wrap, etc. (You have probably experienced (especially in the relatively dry atmosphere of winter) that if you walk across a rug and touch a door-knob you will fell a jolt. What may supprise you is that this static-discharge could easily be several thousand volts. The current is small, however, and thus is generally harmless to you, but a similar voltage spike can instantly kill solid-state devices. How many times have you seen posts that say something like "My thousdand-dollar locomotive worked fine when I stored it last spring, but when I tried it this Christmas, it was dead." Does that suggest anything?
3. Fuses can be great for protecting transformers and their associated wiring. I use them myself, ALONG WITH TVS diodes. However, investing in "high-speed" or "instrument" fuses is generally a waste of money. Even the fastest of these will NOT protect your solid-state circuitry. What they will do is blow far too frequently in normal operation. Keep in mind that the circuit-breakers that Lionel and others used for years often took several full seconds to react. All they needed to do was to cut off the current before the insulation in the transformer core and/or the wiring on the layout got too hot and began to melt, potentially resulting in a fire; and that is still true today both with post-war and modern equipment. Or so I understand....
*As you would a computer, using a wrist ground-strap or similar anti-static device and procedures.
** Across (in parallel with) as you would with a capacitor.
1. Some flickering of the green light on the Lionel CW-xx series of transformer/controllers is not only normal it should reassure the operator that the self-protective "fold-back" circuit is working as designed. When the load approaches 5 amps this circuit gradually cuts back the power to prevent the device from exceeding 5 amps. This is designed to protect the transformer itself and the associated wiring of the layout. It is not designed to protect the solid-state circuitry in modern locomotives and some modern accessories.
If the flickering really annoys you (some people are quite sensitive to it) cover the lamp with tape, paint it black, or locate the device on a ledge under the train table, etc. I am one of those normally bothered by flicker but I find I can easily ignore it on my stable of CW-80s.
2. To protect the solid-state circuitry in the locomotives and other devicesyou need to deploy one or more Transient Voltage Suppressor diodes (aka TVS diodes)as close as possible to the device you want to protect. This may mean carefully* opening the locomotive and placing a TVS inside it, although one tvs across the "hot" and "ground" terminals on the transformer or across ** the center and outside rail should certainly help. Remember. it is high voltage that zaps solid-state circuits. Such voltage spikes may be generated by the onset of or recovery from a derailment, but they can also be generated simply by walking across a rug and touching the locomotive, or wrapping it in the wrong kind of plastic wrap, etc. (You have probably experienced (especially in the relatively dry atmosphere of winter) that if you walk across a rug and touch a door-knob you will fell a jolt. What may supprise you is that this static-discharge could easily be several thousand volts. The current is small, however, and thus is generally harmless to you, but a similar voltage spike can instantly kill solid-state devices. How many times have you seen posts that say something like "My thousdand-dollar locomotive worked fine when I stored it last spring, but when I tried it this Christmas, it was dead." Does that suggest anything?
3. Fuses can be great for protecting transformers and their associated wiring. I use them myself, ALONG WITH TVS diodes. However, investing in "high-speed" or "instrument" fuses is generally a waste of money. Even the fastest of these will NOT protect your solid-state circuitry. What they will do is blow far too frequently in normal operation. Keep in mind that the circuit-breakers that Lionel and others used for years often took several full seconds to react. All they needed to do was to cut off the current before the insulation in the transformer core and/or the wiring on the layout got too hot and began to melt, potentially resulting in a fire; and that is still true today both with post-war and modern equipment. Or so I understand....
*As you would a computer, using a wrist ground-strap or similar anti-static device and procedures.
** Across (in parallel with) as you would with a capacitor.
Assuming your engines aren't asking too much of your CW80, if you remove the accessory load from the accessory terminal of your transformer, you may see an improvement, as I have.
