Crimp Failure at Braid Contact on Scalextric cars from 2016 onwards

Introduction For a scalextric car to operate the electrical current must flow into and out of the car. That's two discrete electrical connections. To do this the slot rails in the track are the two conductors. The electric current connects to the car via the flexible woven braids fitted to the guide blade, then to the braid contact plates and then through wires to the motor. The rotation of the guide blade for corners and the like is managed through the use of the flexible wires. The wires need to be securely fixed to the braid contact plate to make the electrical connection and to withstand the regular rotation of the guide blade.
Recently (we believe sometime in 2016) Scalextric introduced a change in the way the wire is crimped to the braid contact plate. This is the silver coloured plate that makes contact with the braid. There is a very serious problem with this new design of crimp. There is insufficient length to the crimp fingers to fully secure the outer insulation of the wire. With the action of the guide rotating over time the wire pulls out of the crimp. This breaks the electrical connection between the wire and the braid contact plate. Once the crimp has failed the Scalextric car stops on the track.
	Here is a close-up picture showing the failed condition. As this is a design based problem the repair is not as simple as it might appear. Option 1. Simply re-make the crimp. This will last for a short while until the crimp fails again. Option 2. Just crimp onto the conductor wire strands. This will last for a short while until the wire strands break through the action of metal fatigue. Option 3. Solder the wire to the braid contact plate. This doesn't work as the latest braid contact plate is plated in a material that doesn't take solder. There'd also be the strain relief problem.
As shown in this picture to make the electrical contact the insulation is removed and the end of the wire strands are tinned with solder and bent back over the insulation. That's why the electrical contact fails once the crimp fails. As this is a design based problem the solution must also be design based. That means a new design of connection.
	The solution is to use a new braid contact plate made from a slightly stronger steel that is plated with a thin layer of brass. This will take solder. To overcome the lack of strain relief with this soldered solution a short length of ultra-flexible silicon wire is used. This wire consists of 128 strands of 0.05mm diameter copper and a silicon insulating layer. This is flexible enough to easily withstand all the movement of the guide blade.
Here is the repair complete in the Scalextric car. The original green and yellow wires are shortened to make the room for the silicon wire tails. The joints are soldered and a length of insulating tape covers the exposed joint. We freely admit this isn't pretty but it does use the right materials in the correct Engineering environment. Stronger brass plated steel braid contact plates. Solder joints. Ultra-flexible wire where the wires are needed to move regularly.
About the author: Gary Harding has been working with Scalextric cars for over 35 years and now operates Scalextric Car Restorations in the UK. Scalextric Car Restorations is a Worldwide internet based business that offers for sale high quality Scalextric cars and Scalextric parts from the 1960s to the present day. All the restoration work is carried out to the highest standards with the highest quality parts available. Only the best cars are selected and the final result is a car that is genuinely like new. Further help and advice relating to this article or Scalextric cars in general can be found at: http://www.scalextric-car.co.uk

Scalextric G2 Loop braids for vintage Scalextric cars

These NEW Scalextric loop braids were used from the early 1960s Scalextric cars.

Ref.	Description	Comments
C54	Lotus 16	Early types
C55	Vanwall F1	Early types
C56	Lister Jaguar	Early types
C57	Aston Martin DBR	Early types
C58	Cooper	Early types
C59	BRM P25	Early types
C60	D-Type Jaguar	Type 1
C61	Porsche Spyder	Type 1

The Scalextric spring plates are also available without the braids attached.

More Scalextric spare parts from Scalextric Car Restorations

Now available – pick up braids for new Scalextric Drift cars

The newer range of Scalextric drift cars use larger than normal guide blade that rotate through 360 degrees allowing the Scalextric car to rotate on the track also through 360 degrees.  This adds a great extra dimension to racing Scalextric cars.

In order to do this the Drift Scalextric cars use a unique and larger than normal guide blade which is fitted with longer than normal pick-up braids.  The pick-up braids and the woven metal wire that actually make electrical contact with the metal track conducting strips.
These pick-up braids for the Drift Scalextric cars are 42mm long and are not available from Scalextric as a spare part.  The standard shorter braids are but not the longer Drift car braids.
Scalextric Car Restorations have re-manufactured the 42mm long Scalextric Drift car braids allowing for a low cost solution to worn out pick-up braids.  Why Scalextric themselves haven’t done this, well, who knows.
Another great solution from Scalextric Car Restorations.

Choosing the right diameter Scalextric pick-up pins

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Scalextric cars used little metal pins or rivets to connect the pick-up braids to the wires that go to the motor.  The wire passes through these hollow pins and the conductors are bent back on the outside of the pin.  Originally the pick-up pins were brass in colour and had a diameter of 1.95mm.  Later, during the 1990s, the pins were changed to a silver colour and the diameter was changed to 1.75mm.



The two pins are very similar to look at apart from the colour.  However, the modern service part for the 1.75mm pin is now brass too.  So it’s now impossible to look at a pin and decide its diameter.  The only way to tell them apart is to measure the diameter with a micrometer or try them in the guide moulding.
The only really certain way to ensure a match is to replace the original guide and pins together as a complete guide assembly.

Another great insight from Scalextric Car Restorations