Is there anyone of the forum who routinely does electrical repair on K-line passenger cars? In my limited knowledge of electronics I've checked for loose or broken wires on the Patrick Henry Observation car which now doesn't light up at all.....no interiors, markers or observation deck lights will operate. I'd be willing to send and pay for any repair work.
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Chances are you have a frayed wire on the roller pick-up below. did you check the wire attached to each truck?
Yes, one of the first things I did. Though very limited view unless I pop up floor.....which I can't figure out.
This can't be too difficult, I'd disassemble the car and look under the floor piece. There is wiring there that could be disconnected. I've converted a bunch of these to LED's, so I ripped all of that wiring out, but I can see where it could cause the lights to be dead.
I have not seen this problem with the heavyweight cars in K-Line but have seen it with the Golden State passenger cars in the collector series, the center roller spring will break causing the center rail roller to free wheel or not make constant contact with the track. Turn your K-Line car upside down and see if your roller wheel still sticks up or is down, if down you have a broken roller spring.
Lee Fritz
No, the springs on the roller are ok....did a continuity check on the wires leading out and into the upper light board....appears to be an open circuit. Would love to remove floor board to check wiring as John suggests, but can't figure how to on these K line models. Afraid to break something trying to pop them up.
Do these have Stream Lighting by K-Line?
It looks like the floors are glued in but I am not sure.
Lee Fritz
Yes, it is stream lighting. The ends seem immovable when I use a jewelers flat blade, while the middle doesn't.
light board picture....some bulbs have dark spots, but filaments appear intact..are these series type lights?
Have you checked the wires from the truck assemblies with a volt meter? May have to use small jumper cables to do this, or insert a pin into the wire and see if you have voltage to the upper lights.
My problems with K-Line lighting have usually been in or around the truck assembly. I have three K-Line heavyweight style cars, two are interurbans.
The floor insert may have to be popped off with a putty knife or a small flat-tip screwdriver by putting it between the plastic and the metal frame, as it looks like it is glued in.
Lee Fritz
The streamlighting board is 2 traces of bulbs in series. Just like a set of christmas lights, one bulb goes, it takes the rest of the trace with it. So if you had one bulb blow in each trace, then the whole car goes out.
Some cars came with spare bulbs, start unsoldering and resoldering in new bulbs until they come back on.
Some cars came with spare bulbs, start unsoldering and resoldering in new bulbs until they come back on.
Or if you can apply a jumper wire to both ends of a bulb you may find out which, if any, bulb is bad. You might have more than one bad bulb which may require more sets of jumper wires to narrow down which are burnt out. A thorough process of elimination should help.
Mark
no spare bulbs....where would I find replacements should I need them?
Check your Christmas light spares.
Convert them to LED lighting, problem solved! 
"Some cars came with spare bulbs, start unsoldering and resoldering in new bulbs until they come back on."
I would respectfully suggest that that's a very inefficient way to trouble shoot any circuit.
Take your ohm meter and test each lamp for continuity. Then either replace the open lamp with a known working one, or bypass it with a short piece of wire until you can acquire a spare.
Is there anyone of the forum who routinely does electrical repair on K-line passenger cars? In my limited knowledge of electronics I've checked for loose or broken wires on the Patrick Henry Observation car which now doesn't light up at all.....no interiors, markers or observation deck lights will operate. I'd be willing to send and pay for any repair work.
Took my K-Line Heavyweight passenger cars to English's Model RR in Montoursville, PA. Vern (the techie and all around nice guy) went over them all, fixed some electrical issues, checked for the problem associated with the spring/truck recall, and rewired the observation car (which was the only car with significant issues) all for under $30.
When ohm checking the bulbs, start with the ones having black spots.
This is often a signal the bulb had oxygen in it when sealed and this can cause the filament to be weaker as they tend to burn the oxygen out of the bulb.
In the old days the bulbs had a sacraficial filament that burned first to take the oxygen out. Modern bulbs are supposed to be filled with a stable gas instead.
I've got a package of 6 bulbs that came with a K-line set that I'll mail to you for replacements if you're not going to go the LED route. I won't need them as I'm planning to put in LEDs.
Scotie
It is a couple bulbs....open circuit on continuity check. Thanks so much for the offer of the bulbs Scotie....I'll email you if you don't mind. Would like to check into possibility of LED replacement.....since this is an old K-line set and expect bulbs to eventually be a problem. I understand someone on this forum sells strips of pre-made led boards for passenger trains? Thanks for everyone's input and help. That's what makes this hobby so much fun and rewarding; even for the technically challenged like me.
Check out this thread on Passenger Car LED Lighting. I've converted a bunch of cars to LED lighting, and all the remaining ones I have will get the same treatment as soon as I get to them.
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