BigT new to digital carrera 1/32 &1/24 all help wanted.

[b.yingling]

Keep the magnets if that's what you like! But running 6 D132 cars at >15 volts with full magnets in place is going to draw more power than the system was designed for. So overheating is a good possibility.

[BigT]

Isn’t the track capable of running 8 1/32 cars at 14.8 v ?

[dw5555]

They advertise you can run 6 cars, but they never said for how long. I've never seen this either mainly because I've never had this many racers running this many laps. I would tend to agree with Bruce that it's an overheating problem. I know it's not a solution but try running just your 50 lap race with a short break in-between and see if it still occurs.

[carlosinseattle]

Hey BigT, I've also never experienced the one light problem you described. But it does sound like overheating to me too. I've run 6 D132 cars for a couple hours constantly a few times and never had this problem. Maybe it's because the guys who I ran with were crashing all the time so we didn't have this problem...LOL.

[b.yingling]

Isn’t the track capable of running 8 1/32 cars at 14.8 v ?

Sort of. Although it may be assumed the pace car isn't running continuously- and that other cars are slowed down when it *is* running. And ghost cars and pace cars have much lower power requirements than a raced car.

[BigT]

That can’t be it Carlos the yahoo’s I’m running with can’t complete one lap at race speed :-). . I’m leaning towards overheating to. I’m going to run lower voltage 15-16 v remove all my magnets and see where iam . Might have to upgrade my PS. Any suggestions on one that can deliver the power needed for hours of running 6 1/24 cars. ?

[carlosinseattle]

BigT, when you first posted this I forgot you were using the aftermarket PSU. My first thought was the actual CU is overheating and shutting down. The output FET in the CU has a thermal limit of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There is thermal overload protection built into the CU but I don't remember exactly how it works. Does your CU get hot to the tough when this happens? I've literally never found mine running hot.

What about your PSU, does it feel hot to the touch when this happens. It could become unstable at higher temperatures and that could be the problem. But I will just say it, go ahead and get the better PSU; it will serve you a lot better than the one you have now. I can just about guarantee you'll be happy with the benefits.

[BigT]

No CU not the ps feel hot or real warm to the touch. And if I turn the cu off and on it starts working no problem. I had two chips in a cpl cars fail so I wonder if that caused it to. I have a cpl new drivers who launch cars off tables a few times. Thinking that’s what happened to there chips. I’m sure a more stout ps won’t hurt.

[dw5555]

I was referring to the CU overheating also, not the power supply. If you're turning off the CU and turning it back on and it works then the issue is there, not the power supply.
Dave

[carlosinseattle]

I was referring to the CU overheating also, not the power supply. If you're turning off the CU and turning it back on and it works then the issue is there, not the power supply.
Dave

HI Dave, I agree with you to a degree. Problem is both these guys are having the kind of problems I've never had and you've probably never had, I'm referring to BigT and Spikes914: https://www.slotcarillustrated.com/f...power-problems

The common denominator is the cheap aftermarket PSU. That PSU isn't regulated so who knows what it's throwing at the CU. The CU can see all kind of stuff, AC ripple, reversed polarity, voltage spikes, voltage, troughs, etc. And it has a built in clock cycle so after some "weird" activity it might go into protection mode. That's why a quick off and on fixes it. If it was a basic short circuit the CU shut would shut down and restart automatically after around 3 seconds. You're right, it could also be overheating but it doesn't sound like something that should tax the system. I'm not convinced either way.

[BigT]

I think your correct that’s why I was asking what the one light that remains on the cu means. Ps is still on when track shuts down.

[BigT]

Well I wish it was my track that’s on order, but hey it’s something:-) baby steps

[carlosinseattle]

Can anyone tell me what it means when you lose power and the CU has the last light to the right on? This has happened twice now while driving, no noise just lose power to track and accessories and one light on Cu is lit. Is it a over heat issue or some safety shut off designed into the CU?

When this happens are the headlights on the cars still on or do they turn off too? And just to be sure, you say all accessories turn off too, right. If the headlights turn off on the cars and the accessories go dark then I suspect all power is cut to the track. Have you put a meter on the rails to see if any voltage flowing at that point? You could also test for voltage be using an analog car to see what happens.

[BigT]

You know I believe the cars go dark also, I’ll have to see next time. My tower ,starlight and CU other then last red light on top all goes off.

[dinglebery]

Get yourself a Good Regulated DC power supply like the one I use or like the other stand up guys use - I have a TekPower TP3010D