Sparking between couplers

Jay:  Without actually being there, I'd suggest you check to see if the coupler is hanging a bit low, or at least the "thumbtack" might be striking the middle rail.  Other than that, I don't think there is a power pickup roller under the car, is there?  Only other thing it might be is something in the engine applying power to the coupler.

Paul Fischer

Jay,

I agree with Paul,

It sounds as if there is a short, which is energizing the coupler in question.

I had that with an older Lionel '40's. car that had electro couplers.

A wire from the sliding contact shoe was slightly loose and when the car was energized over a remote track the wire came into contact with the rear portion of the coupler body, energizing the coupler and heating the coupler.

Careful, not to touch the coupler, due to an electric shock and a burn from the hot coupler.

Ralph

Yes, look for a loose or shorted wire in the Milk Car. It runs off of track power.

Thanks for all of the replies. I will check it out and let you know.

Jay

OK guys,

So I did a thourough check over of the milk car (it is the K-Line by Lionel remote control one) and found no loose wires or other problems. I used my volt meter and found that there is full track voltage going through the couplers.

Is this a problem or should I just keep this car away from the engine? It doesnt spark with any regular cars...just the loco with electro-couplers.

Thanks as always,

Jay in Ottawa

Your electro coupler on the loco appears to have a short from the coil to the coupler shank itself.  You can run a car attached to this loco with a plastic coupler, or replace the loco electo coupler.

You may be able to confirm this probability of a short by using an ohm meter to probe the coupler shank to the 3rd rail collector on the loco.  Should not be connected.

There shouldn't be any voltage on the coupler. It is connected to the common(ground part) of the truck. The pick-up roller (voltage, center rail) is insulated from the truck. Test from coupler to outside rail for voltage. It should be zero.

SantaFeFan gave you the answer.

a long shot is the wheels on your loco are dirty and not picking up the ground so the ground is coming from the milk car through the couplers. Make sure your wheels are clean along with your track.      Lenny J

Hi Guys,

Again thank you for all the responses. I have checked everything and there doesn't seem to be any issues with the loco and its electro-coupler. The issue seems to be with the milk car only.

I have checked the milk car by itself on a test track and the voltage is present through the couplers when checked with my volt meter. I also checked my other K-Line operating cars that have the same type of trucks and none of them register any voltage through the trucks.

I also cleaned the wheels and track and the issue continues.

Any more ideas?

Thanks again,

Jay in Ottawa

Take the milk car apart and see why it's putting voltage on the tracks.

I've included a couple of photos this time. You can see the part that is reading voltage is the K-line version of a thumbtack and the manual release on the side. The large metal portion of the truck is not showing voltage. Everything looks identical to my other K-line operating cars but they are not showing voltage on any part of the coupler. I removed the shell and can see no reason that this portion of the coupler is not insulated.

Does anyone have one of these milk cars they could check to see if they have the same issue?

Thanks as always.

Jay in Ottawa

I'd see if the roller wiring is shorting to the coupler, the voltage has to be coming from somewhere.

It sure seems like the roller or wire is touching the frame. Also it looks as if the assembly is pushed to far down on the one side of the truck. It should be flush with the bottom of the truck.

Bill

Are you sure the insulators under the rollers are there or are not damaged?

It may be a reflection, but it sure looks like the insulation is worn and the ground(common) wire is touching the collector roller spring.

That wire is a jumper, it is used so the spring is not used as the conductor. With dirt and grime on the rollers or the unit draws to many amps the spring will over heat and lose tension. So the wire was added to save the spring.

Bill

Thanks for all the replies. I will double check the jumpers and the insulation this weekend when I'm back at home.

Jay in Ottawa