PECO N turnouts poor conductivity at the points

[DMK]

Now that I have converted all of my Atlas turnouts to PECO, to supposedly solve my "picking the points" derailment issues, now I am encountered poor electrical contact issues with the PECO turnouts. Although the closing spring force is better with the PWECO turnouts, several are troublesome. I have seen PECO turnout improvements identified on line and will give them a try. Anybody experiencing the same?
DMK

[nicki6]

If you paint your rail you must clean ALL PAINT OUT BETWEEN THE POINTS AND CONTACT RAILS.

[NtheBasement]

I masked the points when I painted the rails and didn't have any issues until I ballasted. Turns out dried glue and loose ballast bits can make good insulation but a quick scrape with an Exacto fixes it. Note the swivels can also come into play as a place that can get gummed up.

[MRLdave]

Our club had issues with the tips of the points getting bent and losing contact. We had to put something (small screwdrive, exacto blade,ect. ) between the point and the rail and VERY carefully bend the tip of the point towards the rail......doesn't take much. If you got anything in that gap (glue, ballast, ect. ) and you cycled the turnout, it's enought to bend the point away from the rail. They can also bend if you leave the turnout set for the diverging route for too long (probably the clubs problem since the modules sit for long periods) Most of the time, we couldn't see an issue, so it doesn't take much to screw up the conductivity. Hopefully yours just need cleaning.

[revpatnscale]

I had the same problem with my Peco turnouts especially after ballasting. I have heard a small bit of graphite might work to improve the flow of electricity. However, when my layout was operational, I wired my points. This was very troublesome though. I am in the phase of building a new layout and the thought of electrical issues at the points, especially with 4 axle locos, has crossed my mind. I don't think I will use anything but Peco since I own a box full.

[DMK]

Tips on where to add wire feeders and rail gaps.

DMK

[donzi]

@DMK

Which turnouts do you have?
Insulfrog?
Electrofrog?
Unifrog?

And what exactly are you trying for?
Insulfrogs are power routing.