i have searched and read many posts in this forum about this track cleaning car. i was hoping someone here could tell me why when i put my car on my track(DCC) i get a short, and my command station goes crazy until i take the car off the track, then all is well. i do not have a decoder in it, and would really like to know how to do that, any info would be helpful. just for the record i cannot change the voltage on my system, i have a digitrax zephyr. help me, i do not want have to tell the wife i blew 60 bucks on this cleaning car.
Do you get a short when the car is turned off? You will need to install a decoder as the car is rated at ONLY 12 volts.
UPChayne: Welcome to Trainboard. You can run your Atlas track cleaning car on your DCC layout without a decoder if you set your track voltage to 11 or lower. If the voltage is over 11, it will short out your system. Stay cool and run steam.....
thanks for the welcome, i guess that is why my system keeps shorting out then. i will have to wait until this weekend coming up to get a decoder as my closet hobby shop is over 100 miles away. i wished atlas would have thought to make two differemt types of track cleaning cars. many people have DCC and this would have been nice. Oh, well, if it wasnt this it would be something else, thanks guys.
that is a great site for the install of a decoder into the Atlas Cleaning car the only issue i have is teh decoder ends up in the vaccuum dirt compartment. If you carefully slice off the top of the weight in the switch compartment the decoder can be hidden from view and out of the vaccuum area. That said I never completed my DCC conversion i just run mine right on the track no decoder. Steve
I installed a dz 123 in mine. no issues, it works great. the nice thing is i can run a loco slow speed and crank the cleaning car up to full speed. Great for vacuuning up small junk on the tracks. it took me 30 mins to install the decoder and being in the vacuum area is a non issue. Paul
So far I have found these far and few between in the UK. As I am planning to come back to the US in April I was thinking of getting one. Is there anything else on the market that is as good, or better, in case I cant find one? Cheers, James
I am very happy with my Aztec Crayex cleaning car. True, I still must vaccum but my PC keybooard vacuum does a great job of that. I do it after the cleaning car pass, because the cleaning car has a brush and magnet that picks up any small metallic as it passes. I find this a very satisfactory method. The vacuuming seems to only be necessary after I have been doing work on the layout. A little natural dust is "prototypical", eh!? And, I might add, the vacuum on the Atlas car does nothing about debris in other locations - so the vacuuming step is still a necessary evil. Passing it over the tracks is hardly a noticeable additional effort.
