Either: (1) there is a short thru the insulation between the ties and the rail in one track section, or (2) there is a short in the track clip you are using, or (3) there is a problem in your rolling stock; possibly some piece of your rolling stock is riding differently on the k-line than on your other track and shorting out (both side frames of a truck may be touching the rail for instance), or else (4) the problem is in your transformer..
This can be a very tough short to find. i had one like it on my holiday layout. I narrowed it down to a few possible track sections and replaced them all, but on the workbench it took 2 weeks to locate the short! Let's Sherlock Holmes it, i.e. use deductive logic. There are two ways to test the track: test each piece individually with a continuity tester. The piece that shows continuity between the rails is the culprit. If that doesn't work, set up a loop of the K-line with no rolling stock on it. start with a few pieces. Apply track power. If there is no short, keep adding track one section at a time until you get a short,or the circle is complete. If you get a short only when the circle is complete, turn off the track power and quickly run your bare hand over the entire loop, including the track clip and wires to it. The place where the short is occurring should be warm or hot. Short circuits often occur at the track clip or the wires that lead to it. This is how I finally located the short in my track. If you get a short only when the circle is complete, and opening a gap between any two sections in the circle eliminates the short, then your transformer is probably no good. Try another one. If you are able to complete the circle with no short, yet when you add a loco and cars a short occurs, add the rolling stock one piece at a time and eyeball it carefully. Try several different locos. Perhaps one piece can be identified as the culprit. Also try a different transformer and see if there is still a short. If none of the above tests solve the problem, we both should stop messing with s gauge trains and take up shuffleboard. Tom Jarcho S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
