Hi Vernon, Thanks for the reply back. Initially I took over the copper part to test to see any spark. When the copper part was put back I had it too close to the pickup roller. When it first started to spark it was not touching. I will definitely move the strip away. But what about the sparks? Is this normal you are saying? I think during my testing I also blew up something because the lights no longer come on inside.
Since I have a ground wire to my rail that's what is causing the problem? I am a noob to all this train stuff. It's really my son's hobby. I am just the repair man :-)
Thank you!
Couple of housekeeping things: I use the word common to describe what you are likely calling ground. There is an important reason for that-#1 we intentionally use transformers that are fully insulated on the output side and are not connected to earth ground. We do this for safety reasons because the track might be sitting on the floor and more importantly touched by children. If it was true hard grounded with wire in the transformer and wiring to earth ground- well it could be a chance to get a shock between some other source and it. So long ago, it was decided to fully insulate, and that has kind of been the standard. Again earth ground- the 3rd round pin on an outlet is earth ground, and our typically train transformers use 2 prong plugs not earth grounded, but even further- again there is no connection between the AC power line side and the fully insulated low voltage (~18VAC). Further, TMCC and command control exploit this insulated fact.
So again, we call the outside rail connection common and it's called that so when you add accessories or other items that use cut insulated rail sections to sense when the train is present, or just use the common of the track to make that one less wire to run.
Back to your caboose:
But what about the sparks? They seem to indicate high current draw- aka a short, or just a bad dirty connection making and breaking contact.
Is this normal you are saying? No, typically not normal for just a caboose with a light. The light should typically not be enough energy to create a lot of sparks even with a dirty roller or wheels.
I think during my testing I also blew up something because the lights no longer come on inside. Well, you are correct to question why the light is not working, and there typically may not be anything electronic to blow up. The incandescent light(s) are directly track powered. Again, the general state of things with no light, you replaced the bulb, sure sounds like you have a short. That's why it's not lighting up, the power is shorted.
