SignalTraffic Forums

by **3Mfanatic** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:21 am

Hello all,

Tonight while hanging out with a friend in the garage we both noticed the yellow indications on the 'cross street' phase on my EF-20 were flickering for two to three seconds before going solid again. I popped open the box and threw the dial into stop and advanced the cam manually. Upon making contact and activating the yellow, the contact under the finger began to crackle and spark. I pulled the cam assembly forward and can find nothing visibly wrong with the wiring so I'm beginning to wonder if some maintenance is required.

Any help is greatly appreciated. :hello:

by **steven1981** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:47 am

Sounds like there is a minor problem. The amber indication's contact point might simply be dirty. Clean off any carbon residue, and then check to see if the amber indication flickers again. Carbon residue tends to interfere with the actual connection of the corresponding signal indication, typically causing minor arcing and flickering.

You might also want to make sure that the cam finger is in place like so, and check the tension of the spring, too. Just my two cents.

Let us know what happens.

by **3Mfanatic** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:02 am

Thank you, sir. There is a fair amount of buildup on the contacts so it appears a cleaning is very much overdue. Any tips on what to use for cleaning them?

by **steven1981** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:13 am

3Mfanatic wrote:Any tips on what to use for cleaning them?

Sandpaper is generally helpful, but, if you can't access it at the moment, then use an ordinary flat-end to scrape off the residue.

by **3Mfanatic** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:18 am

Yeah. That helped somewhat but as my signals routinely get next to no use during the workweek, I'll pick up some sandpaper sometime this week and do it after work. Many thanks! :hello:

Looks like I'll need to bag the signals as 'OUT OF SERVICE' and put in some temporary stop signs. :crazy:

by **mcha9797** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:43 am

3Mfanatic wrote:Yeah. That helped somewhat but as my signals routinely get next to no use during the workweek, I'll pick up some sandpaper sometime this week and do it after work. Many thanks!

Looks like I'll need to bag the signals as 'OUT OF SERVICE' and put in some temporary stop signs.

Pick up some very fine sandpaper, nothing too course. You want to clean and somewhat polish the contacts, a rough surface will burn quicker and you will have the same problem again.

Also check out this thread, viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12927 TacomaJoe mentioned some great EF-20 maintenance tips. Good luck!!

by **2070** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:06 am

When you take all the "Fingers" out. Use a clean, dry paint brush to clean the Bakalite part.

by **TheHOODLUM** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:02 pm

Don't use harsh abrasives on contacts unless they are really badly pitted. I like to use a standard pink eraser to polish contacts it does a nice job of taking the black grime off and leaves a nice polished surface, then wash the contacts off with rubbing alcohol. I've used this trick on the contacts on old Seeburg jukeboxes and wallboxes and I've been able to bring 50 year old machines back to life.

by **3Mfanatic** on Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:17 pm

I gave Joe a quick call earlier today and he suggested using an emery so I picked up a pack after work and gently filed down the corrosion which was really bad but I'm still getting a pretty substantial flicker and at the same point in each phase. It pops up about 10-15 seconds into the main street green and on the initial second or two of the cross street yellow. This problem has me well and truly stumped :rob:

because it just appeared out of nowhere and though I love the thing, it makes me seriously consider jumping ship and going to NEMA so I can fight it out with conflict monitors. :crazy:

by **NKS_Signal** on Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:54 am

I would suggest also checking the contacts on the flash transfer relay, I had a similar flicker issue where that was the cause.

SignalTraffic Forums

EF-20 Flicker Issue

EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Re: EF-20 Flicker Issue

Who is online