Hello all.
I’ve recently added a reverse loop & yard expansion to an otherwise nicely running 9X8 loop, and now I’m getting no power to the track, and my KW is doing its loud growling & unhappy vibration indicative of a short. But after checking and rechecking the wiring several times I can find no faults. This is the first time I’ve made a loop using the O22 switch as the loop’s beginning and ending, & I’m wondering if I’ve overlooked something very basic.
I’m using tubular 3rail track. All track pins have been checked for tightness during assembly. Bus fed power & common drops are soldered to track every 5 or so sections. The O22’s have been cleaned up and checked for operation, and they are getting fixed voltage from a fazed 1033 transformer. They have insulated pins in their proper locations for the non derail function. The O42 switches that make up the yard have also been refurbished, but I’ve connected their lantern wires to 16 volts so they remain lit when track is powered off. The KW & 1033 have their commons connected, so I figured 16V hot only to the O42’s LED lamps...they’d get their common “ground” through the track. The O42’s also have fiber pins in their diverging center rails, in anticipation of having the yard spurs each powered through a separate toggle switch, but they are unpowered now.
So what am I missing? I thought everything was going to work, since unlike 2 rail track, 3 rail track doesn’t need any special insulated sections when the loop rejoins itself. Like I had said earlier, the original 9X8 ran flawlessly, but now it’s dead. It has to be something within the new addition, but what?
I’ve added some photos to show what I’m working with. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Tom
