Controller 46605a

[Newtotrains]

Have had two of these controllers lose power to one direction anybody have an idea what might be going on?  We are using the Santa Fe engine.  HO scale

[richg]

Sounds like a defective direction switch.

Rich

[Joe Satnik]

What happens if you turn the loco around on the track?

[Newtotrains]

It will run full speed it that direction. After putting a meter on the tracks. One direction shows 17 volts when we switch the directions it reads 2.5 volts.

[jward]

have you tried contacting Bachmann service? it sounds like the circuitry is bad in that one direction. not being familiar with just what the circuit is in the Bachmann packs I can't offer more. but if it were merely the direction switch being bad you'd read zero in one direction, full voltage in the other.

in some controllers, there is one speed control circuit, whose polarity is changed by the direction switch. it sounds like the Bachmann controller is more sophisticated with dual circuits, one for each direction.

[jbrock27]

Ok NTT, I did a GOOGLE search (I hope this makes RichG and other folks proud ) and this is a $20 power pack.  I have no idea how old your power pack is as you have not said, but I agree with Jeff in that you can try contacting the B'Mann first and see what he says.  I would suspect, that unless you just bought this, like yesterday, it is going to cost you something to look into getting it repaired or replaced.   As RichG is astute to point out, the B'Mann frowns   on taking these apart to attempt repair.  Plus he fears for folks safety when doing so.  
If putting more money into it to get it fixed, shipping, service fee, etc, becomes your proposition, may I be so bold as to suggest just replacing it with a new power pack made by MRC?
Depending on how your locos are set up, you may or may not want to get a power pack that has a "pulse" feature.
Good luck to you my friend.  
And don't forget to turn your clock back tonight (unless you are in Arizona (exception being the Navajo Nation) Hawaii, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa and certain parts of CANADA).  GOOGLE again  

[Joe Satnik]

What are your voltage readings with no loco on the track?

[jward]

joe,
that would be the 17v the op referred to. that would be the output voltage to the track without load.  with locomotive on the track drawing power the output should be much closer to 12v.

[Joe Satnik]

NTT,

Do you mean that your controllers worked both directions when new, but eventually lost one of the directions?..

or do you mean that they were both bad new? 

Was it the "forward" direction of the loco that was lost in each controller's demise?

Joe

[drafter55]

Almost sounds like an auto reverse issue. Do you have an auto reverse circuit on the layout? Check settings in command station as well regarding auto reversing.

Just a thought from someone new to railroading.