Sparks at turnout

SeattleSUP-

I would look to see that the train wheels are also clean, and the switch has good electrical connectivity to the adjacent track sections.

-John

It sparks no matter which car I put on. The odd thing is if I take a car and put it right behind the locomotive it doesn't spark. If I then put 3-4 cars in between that car and the locomotive it does spark. That tells me it likely isn't the wheels (though I probably should clean them so thanks for the reminder!)

I have a power feed going to the O36 curved section right before this turnout and another feed at the 90 degree crossover which is 15" further down so there should be plenty of power. I'm going to convert the switches to run off a constant voltage as Lionel shows in their videos. Not sure if that will help.

It's only doing this in one of the 8 turnouts I have. The sparks happen at the point on the turning section of the turnout just past where the plastic/steel guide rail is at. Not sure of the correct term but it's the extra rail between the middle and outer rail. 

That sounds like more of a wiring issue. Can you post a picture of the turnout and indicate where the sparks are occurring? I'm not a Fastrack guy but others who are could help you better with an image.

The sparks are happening where the last wheel is in this photo. I've used this switch and these cars for over a year without any issues which tells me I did something to the track when I moved it. I didn't touch the wiring at the track, it's exactly as it was from the factory. I did double check to make sure that all the wires were still properly attached. I was thinking I might have dented or bent one of the rails but when I run my fingers over the tops of the rails I'm not feeling anything unusual. There's a 1/4 O36 curved piece coming off the switch and I swapped it out wondering if maybe there was a bad connection. Didn't have any effect. 

Is it shorting out? or simply sparking?

Are you using multiple power sources? Are you crossing power divisions at this point on the track?

Recheck the remote connections and the closest power connection to be sure they are secure. Rule that out.

Have any of the rails become loose and raised in the track in this area?

Lay a straight-edge on the area(no power on) and check. It could be touching the uncoupler button

Sometimes, turning the track over and applying light pressure and then tapping on the tabs tightens the rail down to the roadbed.

Try putting a strip of electrical tape over the guide rail and see if the sparking stops. If it does then the wheels are bridging the gap between the outer rail and guide rail causing the spark. I'm not familiar with Fastrack but can think of two possible reasons this could happen. First, the guide rail was moved outward or the outer rail was moved inward very slightly when you disassembled your old layout, or second, and less likely in my mind, the wiring beneath the switch has become disrupted so the guide rail is getting power when it shouldn't be. In either case, a wheel touching both rails at the same time will generate a spark.

I don't know if it is possible to gently open the gap between the guide rail and outer rail without breaking the plastic base of the switch but that might solve your problem. Folks with Fastrack experience might be able to give you better direction in regard to this or what to check for with the wiring underneath.

If covering the guide rail with electrical tape stops the sparking, you've isolated the problem and hopefully others will chime in with solutions.  

OK the black tape trick worked. Put some down, no sparks. At least now I have an idea of what specifically is wrong. Thanks!! I'm guessing some rails got tweaked when I took things apart. They're hollow on FasTrack so it makes sense they could get slightly bent. I'll measure the distances on my non-sparking turnouts and compare them to the offending track. 

Problem solved!! Took some calipers measured the distance between the outer rail and the guide rail on 3 properly functioning turnouts and got readings of 3mm. The sparking turnout measured 2.5mm at one point. I wrapped some electrical tape around the tip of a screwdriver and gently pried the rails apart until they measured 3mm. Ran the trains through and no sparks. Woohoo!!

Thanks for letting us know what the solution was, it's great that there was a simple fix.

I wish everything could be that simple.