Short circuits Doh!!!

[NZRMac]

Just reading the electrical problem jhoff310 is having on the layout page, I've just had a frustrating time too.

When I was leaning on my layout watching trains roll by they all of a sudden stopped and the Lenz display showed OFF, quickly checked for derailments etc none found. Took all rolling stock off, still the same, isolated reversing loops (just using clippy leads at the moment).

Finally went back to where I was leaning on the layout, there it was, I had leant on a roll of solder and had shorted a siding!!
It's funny the feeling one gets at the instant everything stops, sort of mild panic, then frustration as you can't find the short, then DOH!! as it's plainly obvious!!
Anybody else have silly short circuits?

Ken.[:I][:D]

[BNSFNUT]

Leaving a pair of wire cutters on the track triggers the same reaction.

[rexhea]

Hi Ken!
You betcha I've had the silly short.
I started up my track power and...beep. Oh, Oh!.. I must have an engine off some where. I removed one, then two, then...until all 10 were off the track. Still... BEEP! Gads, I must have a tool or something on the track....NOPE! Well, my eyeballs can't find it, now it's time to get out the meter. Sure enough there is a short somewhere.

Just before I got ready to start cutting track to isolate the problem, I looked and saw the problem.

The evening before I cleaned my entire track with Tony's CMX Cleaning car. I saw that the pad was worn, so I took it off and...well it was time to quit so I turned off power and placed the car on a siding track.....without a new pad. The pad holder, being metal, was the short. Time spent : 2 hours [:I][:I]

REX