[StuBeeDoo]

(If I have posted this in the wrong section, would a mod. move it to a more appropriate section, please?)

Some of my track sections regularly suffer from loose rail joints.  This is, in part, due to the fact that being a rally loop the base is considerably uneven in parts.
I would best describe my layout as semi-permanent, so it doesn't have to be taken apart often - I think the last time was at least 5 years ago, and I have no plans for it any time soon.
The proper solution is probably to solder jumper wires between each track section on the underside, but has anyone tried running solder into the rail joints (ie from the top)?  If so, how successful was this?

Thanks in anticipation.

[Kevan]

I tried jumper wires, wire down the gap between the rail and plastic, soldering joints...in the end I bought el cheapo adhesive copper tape and went right round the track and got rid of the problems.  Still going strong 2 years later.

...and it isn't so called 'conductive adhesive' backed copper tape which I think is a bit of a marketing gimmick to make you pay more

[JasonB]

No, I've never tried that. I'd be concerned about melting the plastic, but I guess you could test it out on some spare track.

But if the joints are actually physically loose, then it's probably worth tightening up the lugs under the track, as that's your basic problem. A pair of pointy nosed pliers will allow you to push both lugs down and tighten them up simultaneously. A little squeeze on the vertical bits at the female end also helps to tighten up the connection.

I've found that cleaning the joints can also help to avoid power drops, which I'm assuming is the problem. The outside of the male joints can be cleaned with a fine steel wool, and the inside of the female joints with a cotton bud doused in something that won't leave a residue (meths, IPA etc). A lot of gunk can accumulate inside those joints.

I have heard of people soldering jump leads between each track section, but it always sounded a bit over the top to me, and with proper maintenance it shouldn't be necessary. A power tap or two, maybe, but not between every track piece. My track is about 20m in lane length, and is made up of 15 year old Sport track, and much older Classic. I don't have any power taps, but there is just one small area on the track where there is a noticeable loss of power, so a power tap or two might be necessary, next time I get the track out.

[Graham]

No, I've never tried that. I'd be concerned about melting the plastic, but I guess you could test it out on some spare track.

But if the joints are actually physically loose, then it's probably worth tightening up the lugs under the track, as that's your basic problem. A pair of pointy nosed pliers will allow you to push both lugs down and tighten them up simultaneously. A little squeeze on the vertical bits at the female end also helps to tighten up the connection.

I've found that cleaning the joints can also help to avoid power drops, which I'm assuming is the problem. The outside of the male joints can be cleaned with a fine steel wool, and the inside of the female  joints with a cotton bud doused in something that won't leave a residue (meths, IPA etc). A lot of gunk can accumulate inside those joints.

I have heard of people soldering jump leads between each track section, but it always sounded a bit over the top to me, and with proper maintenance it shouldn't be necessary. A power tap or two, maybe, but not between every track piece. My track is about 20m in lane length, and is made up of 15 year old Sport track, and much older Classic. I don't have any power taps, but there is just one small area on the track where there is a noticeable loss of power, so a power tap or two might be necessary, next time I get the track out.

I have a mixed track Hillclimb and Rally track made from Scalextric Sport and classic SCX/ Scalextric track. Always had poor connectivity problems with the Scalextric Sport track, and have resorted to replacing these sections with the new SCX style track. The connections are much better and the track locks together really firmly. The problem is you can only get it through Gaugemaster in this Country.

[StuBeeDoo]

I'm glad someone else has/had similar problems to mine.  Although, I have to say I don't relish the thought of replacing all my 45mtrs of track.

[MrFlippant]

Solder is not flexible, and will break after enough flexing of cars running over the joint, and temperature fluctuations. Same with tape. Tightening the joints has a similar life span. That's why I finally decided to do the little jumper wires. They allow the flex and expansion, and the quality of the joint of the rails is more or less unimportant. It's a lot of work, and I would not recommend it to anyone who is still changing their layout, or otherwise not ready for it to remain the same for a long time. But, once you're at that point, the work is absolutely worth it.

[StuBeeDoo]

That ^^^ is more-or-less what I was thinking when I asked the question.  I was just wondering about soldering the joints because I'm too lazy to take all the track up to do the jumper wire mod.

To be fair, I (currently) only have the problem on 2 areas of the track, both consisting of about 6 track pieces.  I guess I need to bite the bullet.

[Kevan]

Soldering the joints might sound simpler but it doesn't take solder very well at all.  You can make up jumper wires using spades on the little tabs underneath.

[Gpa113]

That's exactly what I've just done on my new 50 foot 4 lane layout, and as Kevan says, it is so much easier.

I used decent quality wire, attached small spade terminals onto each end ( which were crimped nice and tight), then placed a small bit of duct tape to keep them firmly in their place!  

I went from the adjoining straight to where the power feed comes in, directly across to the mid point of the layout.  It has made such a difference to the power issues I originally encountered. 

The most important thing with Scalextric Sport Track is to make sure all the tabs are really tight, even new track requires checking.   I had missed one on the Green lane,  and the rails were not in permanent contact.  Remove the straight,  tighten the tabs, problem solved.  I also had one radius 4 bend which dropped power.  It didn't matter what I tried it wouldn't improve.  As it was a used piece of track I simply swopped it out for a new piece.  Problem solved! 

Once in a while I run a cloth with a bit of GT85 on it around all the lanes, makes a huge difference. 
Also from reading other posts on the forum about similar issues,  I have been converted to the magic powers of Innox, courtesy of Woodcote.  This stuff is impressive,  it improves the conductivity big time, but you only need a little (tiny!) amount,  otherwise its a bit like rallycross 

[Kevan]

If you're going to put Inox on your tyres give it half an hour to soften the rubber first