Stay alive Capacitors

[Tricky Dicky]

I have been told by Hobby-trax if a loco is stubborn that you can fit 2 Capacitors which works even better. I have not got that far with the testing yet yet.

Remember wired in parallel.

Richard

[sandy]

I have been told by Hobby-trax if a loco is stubborn that you can fit 2 Capacitors which works even better. I have not got that far with the testing yet yet.

Remember wired in parallel.

Richard

Thanks for that Tricky. I did not know that......... sandy

[508035]

Can I ask please if by connecting in parallel means that all the +ve terminals are connected together and all the
-ve terminals are connected together ?

It's been a while since I even remotely dabbled with electronics but that was using circuit boards that were pre- made and supplied to my secondary school back in the 1980s but we didn't do anything about capacitors.

Many thanks for any explanations given

[Tricky Dicky]

Can I ask please if by connecting in parallel means that all the +ve terminals are connected together and all the
-ve terminals are connected together ?

It's been a while since I even remotely dabbled with electronics but that was using circuit boards that were pre- made and supplied to my secondary school back in the 1980s but we didn't do anything about capacitors.

Many thanks for any explanations given

Yes, connect positives(+) to positives and negatives(-) to negatives

Richard

[RogerB]

I looked up a diagram for you. Does this help? R-

[bone]

If you are fitting these to a straight DC NOT DCC locomotive then you need non-polarised capacitors; otherwise running in reverse you will maybe end up with a dead short across the motor or the capacitor will rupture (this may be dramatic - bang!) as the polarised types are not meant to have reversed voltage applied to them. This one would be suitable https://cpc.farnell.com/unbranded/np35v ... dp/CA05958 .

[Walkingthedog]

Sandy has already fitted the capacitors and they work. A good result, should help a few people, particularly on small
0-4-0 locos.

[brian1951]

I have never needed stay alive in any of my locos.

[508035]

Many thanks for your replies, they most certainly are very helpful.

I have previously had a capacitor explode, it was rated for 16 volts ( not sure of thr microfarad rating ) and I fitted it into a parcels coach that I was using to assist a tender driven loco with power collection, the result was definitely a bang which was new to me as I have never blown up a capacitor before.

Shortly before the capacitor exploded, the wires which were connecting the capacitor to the tender motor ended up glowing and melted the outer coverings resulting in a bit of smoke, fortunately I avoided setting off my fire alarm as the room was well ventilated. The vehicle body was blown open but to be honest it wasn't much of a loss as it was a plastic kit which was the most annoying thing I have ever assembled.

As a result, I have a number of low voltage capacitors that I cannot use and currently have no ideas for what they could be used in but hey, the experience I will slowly gain as I progress will help me to learn what can and cannot be done with them.

Thank you once again.

[Walkingthedog]

This is why sandy purchased the items from a dealer who said they would work on DC.