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Two Cars Shorting On New Track
Ian posted this question:
“I operate DCC and just finished laying track and wiring a yard section, siding, and an extension to my mainline. I did this all before getting started on the new scenery and structures. I thought that was smart!! My locos run well on the new track, but I discovered 2 cars caused a short and breaker trip. No problem with the other cars. It happened on the new section of main and the yard, so it’s not down to metal on the track, and it’s the same 2 cars. I got an occasional faint reading on the meter when testing the wheels, so will probably need to replace the Kadee trucks and/or the wheels too. Not sure. Those cars haven’t caused a problem on the existing track, so I am a bit bamboozled why this is this happens. Have others had this problem?”
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9 Responses to Two Cars Shorting On New Track
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Look carefully at the wheel sets. You have a meter check continuity check the wheels, I think you have to flip one set of wheels around and you’ll be fine.
If the cars have metal couplers, use an ohm meter to see if it does not conduct electricity from the track to the coupler. I had issues like these with old Athearn blue box locos, where the two frames were different polarities and the metal coupler a conductor. The solution was to turn one loco around so that both frames were same polarity, or to replace metal couplers with insulated ones.
If the trucks on those two cars are metal, check to be sure that there is no excess metal flash on the bottom side of the trucks, I have had that problem before. If the cars have metal KD’s, and metal wheels and chassis, that can cause a short when the two cars might pickup current from the opposite sides of the track, and develop a current path through the couplers.
Check the wheelsets as it would appear that on one of the bogies the insulation on the wheel are possibly flipped causing a short.
In addition to the other suggestions, I have experienced a problem with cars short circuiting over turnouts. The problem was found to be excess ware in the truck journal, to the extent that the side frame was contacting the railhead. The other case was the axel to wheel insulation had failed. Just a couple of additional things you could check.
Took me 2 weeks to find the insulation on a Central Valley truck had given up. If possible remove the wheelsets and check each axle
Check the wheel spacing between the backs of the tyres with the standard spacing. They are some times less that they should be which can cause a short between the point blade and adjacent rail.
One other easy fix that I came up with, had the same problem with some cars, worked and worked, finally I insulated the truck from the frame, no more problems, used a very thin vinyl spacer and did not have to raise or lower the couplers. Just a suggestion.
I have had good luck with that so far. When we got two wheels connected with an axle, The axles have to be non conducting otherwise there would always be shorts. I would think that with wheels on both rails, a metal axle would be a dead short. I have not had any problem with that at all, I am very lucky I guess. I run kadee wheels and trucks and kadee couplers. DCC Ho Scale BNSF system. Aside from this subject of shorting but couplers mentioned. My bachmann coaches have kadee but the little piece that sticks down on the coupler, was too far down and when going through switches where it would cross over rails, that little tail would catch on the rails or my crossing boards. I just snipped a very little off just to solve the issue of that.