# Car Draining Power From Other Lane



## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

I have a friend who set up an AW dragstrip and all was fine for a month or so until one car wound up draining power from the other lane. My question is would professionally wiring the track like an hoslotcarracing.com set up with a 2 prong double sided terminal block and having 2 or 3 power taps per lane eliminate the problem. If so how/why,if not what would one reccommend? Please not to techincal I'm a novice when it comes to wiring. Thanks in advance


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## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

You have one of these:

1. Car is causing a short.

2. Your power supply is going.

3. Your power supply is not large enough.


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

He has an AW dragstrip. He's only running stock 3 and 4 gear cars and he's using the Tomy tri-power pack.


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## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

Have him try a different car. If that does not work, have him try the power supply that came with the drag strip. What setting does he have the tri-pack set on?


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## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

You high amp draw at start up with all electrical motor(s)

If You have some other parts to try
TOMY works with AW track
or
8998 Dual Power Pack Terminal Track for individual lane supply
Laptop power supply or an HP printer supply (30v) for some DRAG RACIN'


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. The 8998 Dual Power Pack Terminal Track for individual lane supply is out of stock at BSRT. Would professionally wiring similar to an hoslotcarracing.com set up and using two powerpacks in a series and use a 2 prong double sided terminal block and having 2 or 3 power taps per lane be best since one powerpack could be weaker than the other and would allow for more than one power track and the added powertaps would allow for equal power down the indidivdual lanes?


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## tasman (Feb 17, 2007)

One power pack per lane should solve the problem of a car in one lane affecting the car in the other lane. I'm not sure additional power taps are needed for a 13 foot drag strip. Multiple power taps can't hurt, I just don't think you should have to do that for such a short track length.

Just take care to make sure your connections between tracks are good.


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

Thanks Tas, but with seperate power packs for each lane how could I ensure that they'd be powered equally even with the 8998 Dual Power Pack Terminal Track for individual lane supply?


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## tazman052186 (Oct 19, 2005)

I would check it with a volt meter. That should tell you if they both have the same power goin to them both. If not then try different controls.


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

Wouldn't professionally wiring the track like an hoslotcarracing.com set up with a 2 prong double sided terminal blocks and having 2 powerpacks wired in a series eliminate the problem?


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## rbrunne1 (Sep 22, 2007)

sjracer said:


> Wouldn't professionally wiring the track like an hoslotcarracing.com set up with a 2 prong double sided terminal blocks and having 2 powerpacks wired in a series eliminate the problem?


It depends on the cause of the problem, which has not been identified, yet.

slotcar58's first post listed the potential causes...

If one car has a problem, rewiring the track won't help.

If the power supply is going, rewiring the track won't help.

If the power supply is not large enough, rewiring the track won't help.

Since it worked fine for a month, we can rule out #3, so, test using a different car. If the problem still exists, it sounds like the power supply is cooked.

IMO, "professionally wiring the track" won't solve your problem. After ruling out a problem with the car, simply invest in a better power supply, like one of these:

http://www.trackmateracing.com/shop/product.php?id_product=12

http://www.professormotor.com/product-p/pmtr1400.htm

If you don't need adjustability, there are plenty of inexpensive, fixed voltage, power supplies on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-2A-3A-5...arts_and_Accessories&var=&hash=item3a7adbbfcf

To connect it to the track, cut the plug off the "walwart" and connect to the new power supply.

Bob B.


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

As I stated earlier it's a friend's track not mine. From what I've been told and what has been stated it would appear to be a car with a short in it. However, he seems to want to be able to "bulletproof" the track from this sort of problem. Will a stronger power supply eliminate the problem?


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Darryl,your best bet would be to overpower each lane,then dial the power back under load using voltage regulators.
The regulator set-up is very easy to build,and if you start with something like a 30V laptop supply per lane,you'll have enough leaway on voltage to dial both lanes to the same output using the regulators.
You'd want to set the regulators under load using a multi-meter.
That's gonna be probably your cheapest bet,to get identical power to each lane,while isolating them from each other

Make sure you fuse things,hard to bulletproof a track from a shorted armature,other then fuse it

Rick


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

I am not sure I fully understand the issue.

is one lane always faster than the other and if so which has more power, left or right as you are looking in the direction of travel ! ?

have the controllers been switched between lanes to determine if there is a problem with one controller?

likely a failure of a power supply would result in both lanes losing power equally under most circumstances when only one power supply is being used.

if this is an issue of just one car out of more than three having a serious disadvantage, then the course of questioning changes.
however if all cars run slower in only one particular lane, than most of the advice already given is dead on.

?


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