Author Topic: Wiring Help Needed  (Read 1229 times)

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StewRRFan

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Wiring Help Needed
« on: January 13, 2013, 05:00:25 PM »
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Thank you in advance.  I am in need of some wiring assistance.

I build a portable yard which will connect to a yet to be built layout.  In the meantime I am trying to connected it to our Craigslist special.

The top entrance (closest to the white brick wall) to the yard connects to the layout fine with no issues.  The yard is isolated via the plastic connectors and wired for DCC via a central buss.  All ladders are individually wired as well as other key points.  The #4 switches are Kato #4 with power routing.

I have connected it into the main layout and the main layout continues to function with no issues.   When I attempt to have an engine enter or leave via the front connection, the DCC shorts.  I beleive I have reversed the polarity of the tracks through the yard.  I have wired the AR-1 on both sides of the isolated break near the front entrance.  The A/B is coming from the yard side and it is not working.  I also tried it from the layout side with no luck.

Thanks again and please let me know if you have any suggestions/questions. - Ross

Picture 1 - http://www.jrj-photos.com/-/jrj-photos/gallery.asp?LID=&cat=96676&pID=1&row=15&photoID=13648434&searchTerm=

Picture 2 - http://www.jrj-photos.com/-/jrj-photos/gallery.asp?LID=&cat=96676&pID=1&row=15&photoID=13648435&searchTerm=

NARmike

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Re: Wiring Help Needed
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2013, 05:25:15 PM »
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Looks to me like you've created a wye if the right and left sides of the yard are connected below where the photo ends... If that's the case you would need to wire a reversing section on the "Craigslist" section to avoid the short. I'm no wiring expert so hopefully someone else here can point you in the right direction on that one.

Mike
Mike Maisonneuve
Modeling the Northern Alberta Railway's Peace River subdivision in N scale
http://nscalenar.blogspot.ca/

PAL_Houston

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Re: Wiring Help Needed
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2013, 06:01:10 PM »
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Looks to me like you've created a wye if the right and left sides of the yard are connected below where the photo ends... If that's the case you would need to wire a reversing section on the "Craigslist" section to avoid the short. I'm no wiring expert so hopefully someone else here can point you in the right direction on that one.

Mike

I agree.  You should isolate both yard entrances from the main layout, then connect the entire yard via the autoreverser.  That should resolve your issue.
Regards,
Paul

StewRRFan

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Re: Wiring Help Needed
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2013, 10:15:04 AM »
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Paul -

So you are saying that I place insulators on both legs of the wye and also the connecting points?  Where would the AR-1 tie in?

Thanks

Ross

TiVoPrince

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Re: Wiring Help Needed
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2013, 11:52:44 AM »
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Insulate  
both rails where new section connects to original layout completely isolating the yard electrically.  Connect inside/outside, north/south, red/black wires from the main layout to AR1 and the output of the AR1 to the yard tracks. 

The connection to the yard becomes polarity insensitive as it is reversing after all so don't use the same wiring scheme.  Just try another nomenclature to describe the yard wiring (yard inside/outside, reversing north/south or blue/white) reducing confusion.  AR1 will reverse polarity within the yard, any decoder equipped locomotives or cars there will simply 'go with the flow'. 

If you are planning DCC controlled turnouts it may be helpful to wire those to the main buss, no reason to introduce potential confusion when the reverser trips...
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