# Cleaning Track Joint Connections on Max-Trax



## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

I'm considering taking apart my 6 lane Max-Trax layout for cleaning of the joint connectors. In taking each track joint apart I plan to clean the lane rail tabs with fine sandpaper
and use a cleaning brush in Dremel for each push in connector. I'll use a spray electrical cleaner for both the rail tab and connector wiping with a cloth. Is a light coating of 
di-electric grease on each surface upon re-installation a good idea or is di-electric grease non conductive???? All additional suggestions are welcome!!!!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

You may be wasting your time with that. I got my MaxTrax in 1998 and the joints are still as good as new. I have tested them by disconnecting one end, putting a 150 watt floodlight as a load and checking the voltage. The drop for my 50 foot track was only a couple of tenths of a volt. From time to time I convert my road course to an oval and I do have to take part of the track apart to do that. When I did that for the first time the track was 12 years old and the connecting keys were still perfect at that time. I have a dehumidifier in my basement and I suppose that helps, in addition I never use water based cleaners on my track. It would be best to avoid using anything less than 1500 grit sand paper on the rail ends, coarse grit sand paper would leave scratches and that would tend to promote corrosion. You can buff the keys with a Dremel with a wire brush. Using a little contact cleaner or Rail-Zip when you re-assemble the joints won't hurt. You should be aware that dielectric means non-conducting. The only value to dielectric grease is that it would help to keep moisture out of the joints. You would want to keep the grease off of the track surface.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

@Rich Dumas does your research or resources mention goo gone? I was just reading about cleaning model rail way track and joints and they mentioned goo gone as an effective cleaner. :lurk5:


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Rich, I do hope that there will be improvement as the track has 47 joints with 12 keys per joint. I have checked all joints with an ohm meter and had no loss. Also, in taking a few track sections apart for visual inspection they appeared to be clean and good. Thanks for the input on the fine grit sandpaper for the rails, will do. I have round wire brushes to Dremel the keys for grits of 80, 150, 240 and 300, would the 300 be OK??? I was thinking of using a fine film with brush of "NO-OX" on the keys, now not so sure.  Recently I've been reviewing track cleaning info, is Denatured alcohol better for track surface than Naptha??


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

IIRC No Ox was one of the newer products that the model rail roaders mentioned. As a (mild) solvent be careful with the Naptha on the plastic sections and your saturation levels. One of the cautions they mentioned to the model railroaders is that sandpaper is not ever recommended because even the very fine 'scratches' from 300 grit will still attract more dirt.

It was interesting that they mostly okayed the dremel brush techniques over the sandpaper/abrahsive stones.

One area they often mentioned was to also clean (replace) the wheels sets at the same time. Is that also a recommended standard practice for slot cars and their pickups and brushes? (Alot of locomotives also have pick ups on the inside of their wheels that need cleaning at the same time that are often overlooked.)

:lurk5:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I would not use 300 grit paper to clean the rails. I tend to stay away from mouse milk and snake oil type products. CNC contact cleaner is made just for electrical connections and is plastic safe. MaxTrax sections are made of Sintra, which is expanded PVC. I clean my track surface with naphtha once in a while and that does not harm PVC according to this database: https://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance
Before you go crazy why not do a test? Providing that the track does not have jumpers you could disconnect the last section before the power strip. You must put a load on the circuit, open circuit voltage measurements will only tell you if there is continuity. You could put a high performance car with its rear axle removed on the last section, but I use a 150 watt light bulb, those draw 0.45 amps at 18 volts, about the same as a modern inline HO car. You can power up the track and pull the trigger for that lane to apply full power. You can then compare the voltage at the power strip to the voltage on the last section, if they are close you are good to go without any cleaning.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

My track is in a finished Basement room with independent baseboard heat and a heat pump ductless unit which provides both cooling and additional heat. The layout has four power taps with a 30V adjustable 30Amp power supply. Unfortunately, there are long periods of non-use simply for lack of time which is when the situation is most prevalent. 
I clean the rails with a hobby eraser block and vacuum (the room has a port for central vac hose). I have tested the joints w/o load, when placing car anywhere on track with rear wheels up the car powering from controller all is well. Putting car in slot and applying power doesn't move. I have taken track joints apart and visually seem fine.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

So the situation you are having is that with a car sitting on the track layout - it will not go. Especially after long periods of non use. 

I remember having that issue on my slot car layouts back in the day. Seems you could bump the car and it would go and then stop, but eventually would start running and keep running with longer runs and less time between sessions.

Are you also cleaning the rail pickups on the car before use? Or after prolong non use?

Is the hobby eraser a rubber based product or an abrasive stone? I do agree with the follow up of a film like NO OX following the hobby eraser and vacumn.

I also seem to remember having to turn the car over and jump directly to the pick ups and break in the car again if the no-go problem didnt resolve itself on the track. ( I did this with locomotives as well.)

:cheers2:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

yeah, many surfaces can get light oxidation which is not immediately apparent.
all connections in a the electrical circuit can get a little "dirty" thereby causing resistance, which, when combined cause problems running.
at a retail location I visit, we "clean" the rails by running an inline car a few laps to get good consistent times. 
we also stop in various sections to see if the car will start moving on it's own again.
that gets the "no-see-um" oxidation off the rails.

the contact surfaces in the car need to be addressed too maybe.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

If you run your track on a regular basis you would be less likely to have problems of this sort. The problem is corrosion on the tops of the rails, not in the joint connections themselves. If I want to do some testing and I want the track to be in perfect shape one of the things that I do is to run a fingernail buffing block over the rails. I get those from a beauty supply place, but drugstores usually have them.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Incredible, the problem appears corrected and easier then I imagined. :smile2: THANK YOU to Al, Milton Fox Racing and Rich for your replies!! :thumbsup:
The hobby eraser I use is a rubber type for HO RR track, then vacuum. I've taken notice of the rails on other tracks I frequent and have been puzzled that their rails appeared to have dull spots and not as bright as my rails which are shiny full width.
The obvious differences being the other tracks are used far more often than mine and most importantly, work well. My prior attempt of cleaning was Thanksgiving weekend and have not done anything since.
Recently I visually checked the track, rails were still bright and wiped a top portion of the rail with a fine fingernail block. I was surprised the block showed a dark residue and there was my culprit, as Al called it 
the "no-see-um" oxidation which was the barrier between top rail and P/U contact. I sprayed CRC Contact Cleaner onto a micro fiber rag and cleaned one of 6 lanes. The yellow lane I did seemed to look the same as others I didn't do but upon sliding my finger across the rail of yellow lane it had far less drag. The true test was turning on the track power....and the car ran effortlessly.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

so glad you were able to solve that.
and we can refer others in the future to this thread.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Yes, Thanks again! As per suggestion by Rich, I'm certainly glad I cancelled the plan to take the entire track apart for joint cleaning.


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