Can't find problem with switch wiring

my apologies but I have to make a correction.  it only does it on the curve part of the switch right when one of the wheels is at the last inch of the curve part of the switch.  for instance, if a car has one truck on the curve part of the switch right at the tip of the curve and the other truck is out of the switch and on a piece of track to the switch, it makes the spark and buzzing.  it does not do it until the last inch or so of the curve.  hope this makes sense. 

What is a "O31" switch?

Is it one of these?

put the switch in the position that gives the problem,then disconnect all wires to/from the controller if this corrects  it is in the wiring or controller. Hope this helps

yes, your picture is the lionel 031 switch that i am having the problem.  i am going to disconnect the controller and see what happens.  i am using the DZ1002's from z-stuff and didn't think of it.  i also have another 031 switch in my layout that i could swap and see if the problem stays or moves.  i will let you know my results after i do some more "testing" this weekend.  thanks for the help.

In the switch picture, the short curved rail into the frog is the insulated part of the non derailing circuit corect? It should not make any difference where the wheels are along it. Does the switch throw fine in both directions? Have not used one of these, are all the connections correct?

Mechanically operate the switch to see that every moves freely.  Since your other 12 switches are working okay, you may have to disassemble the switch and check for shorts and/or mechanical interference.  There may be a "marble" interfering with the solenoid.

Olsen's Toy Trains 022 Switch Repair Info is very helpful if you need to repair the switch.

Not this switch.

You also cannot turn the lantern to move the switch points.

If it is one of those switches a Lionel 6-23010 or 6-23011, you will end up replacing it or replacing the electronics inside as they fail quite often. Also never use this switch with a Williams engine!

That series of switch, the 6-23010, by Lionel is why I have gone over to Gargraves track and switches.

Lee Fritz

On the original 022 switches you could turn the lantern housing to change direction, but on the 6-23010 you must use the little slide that Lionel built into the switch or you break the switch housing and/or lantern area.

Lee Fritz

I disconnected the controller and still same problem so I pulled another LH 031 switch from elsewhere in the layout and the swapped the two switches.  The problem is the switch not the wiring.  Luckily, i have another 022 LH switch that i was going to incorporate into my layout but i guess i will have to use it to replace the 031 switch that is not working.  Kind of a giant pain in the a** but i think i have finally figured out the problem.  I took the bottom plate off the switch and everything looked fine but what do i know.  is it worth pursuing a repair of the switch of should i just "retire" it?

You can fix the 2300/2301 switches if you open them up, you should be able to fix it.

Electricity always follows the path of least resistance,is the car acting asa conductor? Do you need an additional path[wire] to carry current thru the switch or around the switch

If you are going to take it apart, look at the micro switches, one is probably stuck closed or shorted. Also check the wiring going to the micro switches. I have to agree with Lee, these are not the best of switches.

Bill

They're not the greatest, but I like the capability of chopping off the lantern section and also the short track sections.  It makes for a nice compact switch package for switching in yards.

That was the design and intention. You don't have to "chop", either, the lantern housing was designed to be on either side of the switch or left off completely.

Au contraire, that's exactly what the manual says.  You need the center section for the switch to work.

I forgot that option was permanent. There should be an easy work-around for a home brew substitute baseplate if you want to keep the lantern option available. I thought these were great switches when they came out, but I never bought any. No regrets, though.

These switches needed a little tweaking to make them reliable, but they can be tuned.  I liked the fact that without the lantern they were really compact and made for closely spaced yard tracks.