help please

[thatboy37]

ok i had 2 mainlines hooked up and running perfect. being this said that i have five mainlines that will be running on the bottom level, and you can get from each mainline to the next without removing the train from the track. now that i have maineline 3 hooked up and wired ut i dont have any power hooked up to it. i'm trying to run my train on the 2 lines that are already hooked up . i try to turn the power up one mainline 1 once it gets to ten volts and as i give it more power the volts start to get lower and then eventually short circuits out. ok then i turn on power for mainline 2 the volts go 19 volts just fine. then i turn the power to mainline 1 up it does the same thing again. ok i do this again but turn mainline 1 up to the point of where its about to shut off and stop the power right there. i get the trains to run on mainline 2 but where it hits the switch thats an interchange to mainline 2 & 3 it shorts out, but i dont have power ran to mainline 3 but it is wired up to have power ran to it.
now all this being said my question is why is my train shorting out when it hits the switches and why when i try to turn the power up on the z4000 on mainline 1 it only goes to 10 volts and shorts out to.
if im thinking correct i think it is doing this because i dont have power hooked up to mainline 3. if this is not the problem could you please help me figure out what the problem or tell me what i need to do to get my trains up and running again. or do i need to just get all five lines wired up first and then run power to all the tracks. i have the power hooked up to the middle rail and the ground to the inside rail on all the mainlines and i have one tap for tmcc control on the power wire of one of the mainlines. thie is my problem what its doing and ow i have it wired. if you know what i'm doing wrong could you help me please.

[chuck]

Since the first two lines were fine, the issue is in how the third line is tied in.  Since you are getting a short, likely culprits are a crossed feed to a section of track?  First try running just the third line by itself.   If it's ok, the trouble is in the crossovers between the third line and whatever it connects to.  If it's not OK, try breaking the third line in half and only connect one half to your "power grid" and see if it works.  If it does,  disconnect that side and hook up the other half.  If you can isolate the "half" with the problem, then start breaking that half down into approximate halves to narrow down where the trouble exists.

[fifedog]

Reggie, I went back and looked at your layout progress II post, and your trackwork appears bullet proof.  If you were using older Lionel or K Line switches I'd tell you to check the insulator pins, but that doesn't apply here.  One photo showed your z4000 and other wiring on the floor. Double check the terminal posts on the back of your Z4000.  You may have a "floating" wire that may be causing your short to Main 1.  I'd start there where it's simple.

[chuck]

Another thing re the Z-4000's.  Are you using more than one?  Have you checked to make sure they are in phase?  All Z-4000 are SUPPOSED to me manufactured in phase, but a few have made it through with the polarity of the plug reversed.   Also, make sure that track power supplies (like the Z-4000's) are all plugged into the same house circuit.  It is often tempting on a larger layout to set up some of the power on one side and some on the other to ballance things out.  The only issue is that half of your house circuits are on one side of the center tapped 220 volt feed and half on the other.  This means that half of your outlets are out of phase relative to the other half.

You can test the phasing with a small section of track and a lighted car to provide an electrical load.  Set up two "test" tracks like this and hook up the power supplies, one to each.  Set voltage to around 10 volts on each track and then use a voltmeter set to a 0-20 volt range.   Measure track voltage from center rail to outer rail on each track and you should see 10 volts.  Now take a reading from center rail to center rail on the two sections.  It should read zero, or close to it.  If it reads around 20 volts, the units are out of phase.  Z-4000's are not user servicable and you may need to contact MTH to get this resolved.

[thatboy37]

thanks for info will try this in the up coming days.