Insulating pins

Insulating pins are used mostly in the center rail to make isolated blocks, such as a siding where you might want to store a train while the mainline is still powered.

 

Insulating pins are also used at the ends of JUST the control rails on older switches, and JUST at the ends of pieces of track that are used to operate accessories, either directly or using relays.

 

There would almost never be a time or reason, in general terms, where you would need to insulate all three rails at the same point.

 

Now, getting to your electrical problem:

 

You need to have a digital volt-ohmmeter handy. Do you own one? You can get a decent one for around ten bucks at radio shack or on Ebay.

 

When you say "trips out" do you mean that the circuit breaker operates? That would be caused by a short circuit somewhere in the wiring that goes to the track, or a problem (nail, screw, other metal part) stuck in the track, or a defective piece of track, or some or all of the above.

 

You need to tell us how you have the layout wired, how many tracks, what transformer you are using, what gauge wire, what color code you used (yes, this is important in trouble-shooting via a forum) how many lockons or track connections, are there any accessories powered directly from the track, does the failure occur when there is/are trains on the track, etc etc etc.

 

Yes I have a meter from Radio Shack. No visible apparent shorts in track. All brand new track except for 5 uncoupling sections. They are from the original set from the 50's. Switches all have their own power and don't run off track power. Set up is main track loop with secondary track loop inside with 2 sidings off the inner loop to the center of the layout. My question was should each switch be completely insulated from the rest of the track since I have them wired each with their own power source? 2 sides are already insulated from the factory, should the 3rd side be also in this scenario? What about the uncoupling sections. Should they be insulated in any way or should I use all metal pins? This is my first time wiring trains of any sort. I inherited this set from my dad and the last time it was set up was in 1958! By the way, do you know how to take apart a KW transformer? The arms on top seem to be keeping it together and I don't know how to remove them without damaging them. Thanks!

The arms of the KV lift off. But to do it correctly, you must be very careful not to break them. A pair a screwdrivers used in two hands will do it. Sort of "wobble" them upward, gently.

 

If you are using separate voltage for the switches, please tell us what switches you are using. 027? 0 gauge with the optional separate power pins?

 

If you insulate all three rails, the trains will stop, and not go further. There is no reason to use any insulated pins on uncoupling tracks.

 

How many sets of wires are there? What colors are you using? How are they connected to the track? Are you using the KW transformer? What binding posts are the tracks hooked to? Are you using multiple feeders or just one set of wires?

 

Does the circuit breaker operate immediately, or after a few seconds?

 

Until we get those answers and we can visualize what your wiring scheme looks like, here's a suggested method: Use the ohmmeter scale of your meter. Remove the wires from the transformer. Put the two leads of the meter on the two wires going to the track. Do you see a low resistance or a direct short? If so, you need to divide the track wiring, or the track itself, into parts that can be checked separately.

 

I am going to guess that you have the hot and return wires reversed, assuming that there are more than one set of wires. Or, you have the constant voltage wires to the switches powered incorrectly.

Greg,

 

You say your switches have "2 sides are already insulated from the factory," this is probably for the non-derailing feature of the switches.  This feature does not need the center rail to be insulated.

 

Insulating pins are used to isolate sections of track so you can power them separately.  Doing so or not doing so would not in itself lead to shorts that would trip your transformer.  It is likely that your short is not related to the use or non-use of insulating pins. 

 

You also say that you are using "All brand new track".  You don't say what type or brand, so this is a shot in the dark, but I spent many hours assembling new MTH tinplate tubular track and NOT being able to find my dead shorts.  Finally, I closely inspected the fiber insulation where the center rail attaches to the ties.  I had a whole batch of this track, maybe 30 or 40 pieces, both straight and curved, where the machine that crimped the tabs on the tie against the center rail, punched right through the fiber insulation and shorted the rail to the tie. This was brand new right out of the box. 

 

In my case it was always an end tie: none of the middle ties on a given piece of track were affected.  When the tabs were pried up and the fiber removed, there was an obvious hole in the insulation where the tab had punctured the fiber.  Solution was to replace the fiber insulation in these locations.  I cut a lot of little squares of cardboard until I found out that USA Track sells bags of them for pennies.

 

Maybe the power source for the turnouts is somehow connected to track power source through the turnout and not in phase with the transformer? If the turnouts are electrically connected to the rest of the track this will produce an electrical overload situation and trip the transformer circuit breaker. There are some 5 pin turnouts where one has the option to use track power or aux power. I have never used these so am not sure if you need to turn off the track power portion on the turnout when using aux power source.

Joe

If you're using the 14 volt accessory posts on the KW for your swithes, that a big problem if  the switches have a non-derailing feature.   With A KW you're goping to have to use track power or the other handle on the KW . I know vthis is short but I have to go.

Thanks for all of the replies. I found my problem. 1 section of track had defective fiber insulation on the end of a curve. That was enough to shut down the entire operation!! Glad I found it. In the meantime I have powered the switches with an old AC adapter from an old modem. It puts out 14volts and seems to be the perfect solution for fixed voltage for my switches. I plan on using that same power source for all of my other attachments as well such as my forklift platform and rail crossings. Thanks again guys! This is a great forum and I am learning a lot. This is my first time working with toy trains and I think I am developing an addiction!!! Is there a forum for that? Lol. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

Note that if you're using tubular track switches like the 022, they consume a bit of power just to light the lamps.  Be careful not to overload your AC adapter, I'm guessing an old modem model wouldn't supply more than a couple of amps.  Figure about .3A for each switch, and a surge of a couple of amps when it switches.