Rokuhan Controller keeps shorting out

My Rokuhan controller worked great for a few months but now I cant run the train around the track without the trouble light coming on (it rarely moves more than an inch at all). I have already tried running the RC-01 with batteries and plugged into the wall. I have also cleaned the track and tested the engine on some old marklin track with a marklin controller without any problems. The engine appears to run fine on the other track. I cant try another engine on the track because I only have the one.

What else should I try? (I will try oiling the engine)
What could be causing the trouble light to come on? (I assume something is causing a short)

Thanks

Eric,
Let me try to make some suggestions. Excuse me if I seem to ask some newbie type questions, but all of us sometimes miss the obvious and it helps in understanding your configuration.
Can I assume that the trouble light doesn't come on when the controller isn't connected to the feed line? Does it stay off when connected to the track with nothing on the track?
What kind of track are you using? What type of locomotive is causing the problem?

I suspect that oiling the loco won't help much. Although using a small brush on the underside of the loco may help.

Mrk

The trouble light on the controller comes on to indicate there is a short in your track work or in the engine sitting on the track. If the controller were shoring out you would have a tripped breaker in fuse panel of the house. IF the trouble light comes on when no engine is on the track then the shore is in your track work and I would start looking at the switches first as that is the only place,where the track rails come close to each other. The other possibility is you have a reverse loop without isolation. A reverse loop will feed the left hand rail to the right hand rail at a turnout and will create a short at that point.it is also possible to create a short if your track wiring feeds several parts of your layout from the same power source

That trouble light in the controller comes on when the circuit breaker in the unit has been tripped by a short on the track or in an engine on the track. It is possible to have an engine that is faulty and the motor windings draw to much current, but in a case like that the motor would usually get hot and there might even be smoke and fireworks if your controller did not have a circuit breaker to prevent this from happening. My guess is the controller is fine but your engine track work,or track wiring, are creating the short.

Whose turnouts are you using,cause this could also be an issue if you are using Rokuhan Power Routing ones and do not have insulators between the frogs of turnouts that are facing each other and are not correctly.

regards Garth

Mrk/Garth,
Thanks for the quick suggestions.
The trouble light does not turn on w/o the train on the track.
I am using Rokuhan track and have a basic loop. I posted pictures of the layout here my first layout
The engine is a Marklin 4-6-2 Pacific. It does not look like there is anything on the underside of the engine that would span both rails.

Eric,
From the information you've provided, it suggests the problem is a bit of crud in the locomotive or a misalignment of contacts. The Marklin controller has no short circuit protection (unless it's a VERY bad short) so if you turn the power up high enough and the short is small enough, the locomotive will run. (Hope that make sense)
Go back to your Marklin instructions for the loco and remove the shell. Check for a short on the motor connections and around the motor contacts as shown in the instructions. Understand that the loco frame is electrically active so a piece of crud from a contact to the frame can also cause a short. You may also want to try to run the engine without the shell as it could be misaligned on the frame and cause the short. Unfortunately, I'm travelling at the moment, so all this is from memory.

Hope this helps,

Mark

some Marklin engines have had problems with oil in engine becoming sludge like or harder than normal and this adds a load to the motor and can elevate its operating power draw or in other words higher amperage requirements to move. if this load is high enough it will trip trip the internal circuit breaker in the controller. An easy test of the loco is to test with a new 9v battery disconnect the power pack from the oval of track and hold the clips down on the track contact one on each rail and engine should take off(run fast), if it has no problems.If the engine does not fly around the track then it has a problem and needs to have the lubricating oil cleaned out and re-oiled.If that is not something you are comfortable doing we can direct you to a couple in Florida that are experts in tuning up Marklin engines.

regards Garth

Eric,
You might want to check out www.zscale.org. They have some useful info on servicing Marklin locos if you want to do the work yourself.

Mark

Mark/Garth,
Thank you for all of your suggestions. I think the problem is the engine and I hope it just needs to be cleaned/oiled. I will try your ideas after I pick up some labelle 108 and a 9V battery (and maybe a magnifying glass).

Eric,
A magnifying glass is always a good accessory with Z. I don't know how easy it is to find, but if you can find a spray can of electronics contact cleaner, it works well for cleaning the locos and a can will probably last 20 years like mine has.
Good luck on the cleaning and let us know how it goes.
Mark

Some of the märklin motors can draw a lot of current! I have measured up to 400mA while free running in my hand! This may be one potential. Also, since they are Permanent Magnet motors, they will have lots of transient currents. Maybe the controller sees these spikes.

If it is only that loco, I would look at the motor itself.

Ok,
So I finally got around to trying some of the suggestions.
I oiled the loco with label 108
removed one brush and wiped it off. (it took me a while to get it back in again so I held off on the other one.)
I opened the "oil pan" on the bottom and lubed the gears. (lightly)

I then ran the engine on an oval of marklin track and it looked like it was running fine. It even past the 9v battery test.
I was able to get it to run around the rokuhan layout but it didn't run smoothly (so i probably need to clean the track).
However the next morning the engine didn't run as well. I guess I need to clean the entire engine and re-lube.

How do I do that w/out breaking anything. I haven't found good instructions anywhere. Do I just get some electrical contact cleaner and spray it on? or should i focus on the area where the brushes are?

Again any help is appreciated.

I use electrical contact cleaner on my Marklin locos. You want to make sure the electrical contact cleaner you are using is safe on plastics and non-lubricating. This is very important.

Remove the shell. The contact cleaner can remove paint and lettering. Also, remove the brushes from the loco.

I concentrate on the gearing. Most of the time, I find simply cleaning the trucks (for truck based locos) solves most performance issue. I remove the truck (one at a time) and clean the first. I put the trucks on a paper towel and spray the cleaner into them. You will see the old oil and grime accumulate on the towel. I rotate the gears and spray again. The goal is to have no more black grime and oil come out. You should find the gears rotate much more freely as you clean them out. If there is still binding, check the axles for fibers or other material wrapped around the axles. This can really slow a loco. After you are done, put the truck back in place and do the 2nd truck. Note, if the pin that holds the trucks in place is hard to get out, this is a good indication that HOS (hardened oil syndrome) may be occurring.

For steam locos, you will want to try clean the gearing without removing the gearing. Take your time and work the cleaner into the gears under the base plate.

If you want to do a complete cleaning, then spray into the motor as well and all gearing on the shaft (worm gear, etc).

Make sure to do this in a well ventilated area. The contact cleaner does give me headaches.

Let the cleaner dry completely. Waiting a few hours, if not overnight can be best. Re-oil very liberally with Labelle 108 or HTM's loco oil. The new clear Marklin oil is also suitable.

Put the brushed back in place, and test run. It will run a little rough at first until the new oil is worked in. Good luck!

Rob

Well,
I'm getting closer to being back up and running. The good news is after lubing the loco the rokuhan trouble light no longer turns on and the train "passes" the 9volt battery test. (it took of like a rocket)

The engine still runs a little "jerky," especially at realistic speeds, and sometimes needs a nudge to get running. Perhaps this too will get better after I give the wheels and track a decent cleaning.

I've learned not to use paper towels to clean the track. I just spent 10 min picking out little white nibs from where the rails join together. (i'm sure there are more)

Rob do you have any tips for how to get the brushes in and out? I'm not exactly sure how I got those things back in again but it took a while.

Thanks again for all the help.
Eric

Eric,

That is great news! I am glad cleaning the locomotive made a difference.

Yes, don't use paper towels. I learned that the hard way as well. I had paper towel between rail joints, on ballast, snagged on scenery... oh it was a mess. I use a very soft, lint free cloth. I also keep one of the newer micro-fiber cloths around. It is great picking up dust, debris and loose scenery.

Those Marklin brushes can be a real pain. I have a very good pair of tweezers that I work with. the key is to position the brush on the armature, and then the V notch on the metal post. Once you get the brush sitting in that position, I use the tweezers to move the spring arm into place to hold the brush. It is tricky... and frustrating. But after 27 years, I think I may finally be getting the knack.

Rob