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Tony, being a complete novice with "these things" makes it all the more important that you read up on the proper use of a meter and the terminology involved. At the very least a mistake could cost you a chunk of change due to fried electronics or it could cost you dearly health wise as a result of a reaction from a shock.
16 volts AC doesn't sound like much but it only takes a small amount of electricity at the right time to stop your heart. I enjoy reading your posts and would hate to see them come to an end prematurely so please become familiar with the safe and proper way to use your meter.
Thank you for your very kind words and yes, I am reading up on the meters proper use. Actually, an acquaintance of mine is a qualified and professional electrician, I might approach him and see if he can't drop in and check the wiring , power etc for me. Might cost me a few dollars, but better than frying something, including myself.
So, with that being said and as I use an Elmers/Water mix for my ballasting, how would you suggest I get into the insides (and outsides) of the rails to clean them, meaning what would suggest I use to run along the rails?
Elmer's is water soluble. So warm water would be good, the catch is that normally it needs to soak for about 10 minutes before it begins to soften. So about 50% warm water and 50% white vinegar on a rough rag or abrasive dish washing pad, and blotting with a dry cloth. Work slowly helping the softening process with the roughness. Don't want any getting down into the ballast to begin to soften it.
If you want to be more aggressive you could scrape the inside with a hobby knife, before the water.
Another thing that might be worth checking for Wombat are loose or dirty rail joiners.
If you have sections of track that do not have feeders connected directly to them and are hence relying on the metal rail joiners to carry the power, all it takes is one or two of these to have a poor connection and you can experience problems. You may have gotten some of the glue from your ballasting into the rail joiners that has resulted in a high resistance across the rail joint.
Sometimes with these types of faults, they will only become apparent when you place a load (e.g. a loco) on that section of track. You can sometimes measure the track voltage on the affected area with nothing on the track and it will appear to be fine but when you place a loco on the section and try to run it, the current being drawn by the loco will cause the high resistance join to drop the available voltage to that section of track and your loco runs slower (or stops). Different locos can also display different degrees of being affected by these types of faults as each loco draws different amounts of current - this will affect the degree that the voltage will drop on the affected section of track under load.
Also, double check the solder joints of your feeders to the track. A "frosty" looking solder joint may be another source of a high resistance joint that will exhibit the same problems when you place a load on the track
I have had a couple of instances like this myself - even before ballasting the track - purely from slightly loose fitting rail joiners. The cure was having a feed to every individual section of track. That way you are not relying on any rail joiners to carry the current. Since adding these extra feeders, I have had no issues at all.
Thank you and the longer this goes on the more I am inclined to add more feeders as you recommend, even if it is dirty track that is causing or contributing to the problem.
I just recently finished ballasting my track, and after I finished each 4-5 foot section, I ran Q-tips soaked with 91% isopropyl alcohol over each rail until there was no longer any visible residue on the Q-tip. I made sure to also wipe part of the inside "corner" edge of the rail as well - this is the part where the loco wheel or flange makes contact. Tedious perhaps, but works like a charm!
