# Thermal bugs



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, I never encountered this before. It's high 80's, sunny and humid today. When you start the train it runs for a bit (4-5 loops) and suddenly stalls... go give it a push, it starts again... sometimes -- and sometimes it acts like the tracks are dead for 5-6 feet.


and then sometimes it stalls then re-starts all by itself.

I'm thinking I have 2 problems, both heat related.
1. the sun on the transformer case is tripping the thermal overload.

and
2. The heat from the sun is causing some of the rail joiners to loosen just enough to only make intermittent contact.


So, I'm wondering if mounting the transformer inside a model house/shed with a confuser cooling fan would help #1. And if conductive paste might help #2. I have 1 rail clamp per joint, the other side is a joiner. And I simply don't have money to buy more right now.


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

Put a fan on the transformer case, a regular table type fan will do for a test. Assuming that this doesn't work, the put ANOTHER loco on another part of the loop and see if they start and stop together. If so, it's the power pack or it's wiring. If not, then it is rail joiners.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Got annoyed, went inside, leaving everything as it was when the trains quit.... 1/2 hour later I looked out the window and the train was GONE!.... I was just a tad bit concerned (or perhaps about to have kittens), when it came trundling into view. Yep, restarted all by itself again.... It's been fine for the last hour.


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