Stuttering Analogue cars

I was trying this as you were typing, no difference.

My next guess is that is is a combination of the poorest track location and the poorest conducting cars i.e. the weakness in each brings out the weakness in the other.

300SLR

Thanks that sounds like an area worth investigating.

The key factor is that a few of my cars stutter at exactly the same places so it has to be a track problem which some cars are more sensitive to than others.

Regarding the electrical tests, I have tested the voltage with a volt meter, throttle fully depressed, no car on track and the reading is the same as all other parts of the circuit 15.64 volts. For connectivity I set my meter to ohms(?) and just checked either side of the joints in each rail but again this is done with no car on track and no throttle.

The stuttering can be more pronounced when using full throttle which suggests that there is a problem that my tests are not identifying due to my lack of knowledge about the relationship between volts/amps/connectivity.

QUOTE (RichD @ 2 Jun 2012, 15:18) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>poor connections act like resistors and the voltage drop across a resistor is proportional to the current flowing through the circuit.

Does this explain the fact that the stuttering seems worse with a full throttle?

I have noticed that the rails often sit lower in the track compared to Classic, but my test removing the front wheels suggests this is not the source of the problem unless the guide plate itself is riding on the black plastic.

Are you saying that I need to check the voltage with a car on track (but supported) with the throttle full? So far I have only measured the voltage for each section with throttle full but no car on track. Testing Classic track seemed easier, it was simply a case of checking to see which joint had an open connection on the track section where the car stopped.

Thanks for the suggestions, you clearly have a better understanding of electrics than me.

This looks similar to what you are suggesting

http://www.slotcar.org.uk/trackbuild/maintpower.htm

I will get busy.

Your point about breaking the circuit so that the current can only go one way is very important. It can't hurt to twist the braids a little too.

I will report back here with the results for future reference.

Looks like the stuttering was braid/rail depth related.

Some (but not all) of my recently purchased Sport straights have rails sitting below the black plastic so certain cars were prone to losing connection on these track pieces.

Drift cars were especially bad as the guide plate is particularly wide and the braids are fixed at both ends and do not trail.

Thanks to all those who made suggestions.