Wiring Diagram For EZ Track DCC Crossovers and Turnouts

[Len]

Easier said than done with young grandkids.

Len

[jbrock27]

It's certainly a fair point.  But with proper instruction, understanding and respect for what is being conveyed, the chances of that happening are minimized.  Of course, for the ultra paranoid, there can never be too many belts and suspenders employed.

(this is seeming like deja vu, right down to the commentators or is it just me?)

[jbrock27]

To illustrate my above point, I consulted a friend of mine who is into O Scale and had a 4.5 year son he involves with their layout and their trains.  He said his son knows how to use and respects a hand held DCS remote as a result of his father coaching him that it is equipment to be handled gently.

[kdgrant6]

I've been out of town and partly out of touch for a couple of days.  Thanks for the input.

As Jim and Len recommended, I unscrewed the metal plate covering the solenoid mechanism, but found it was still sealed. Instead of coming off, the plate remained attached to the physical throws.  Len had warned about removing the plate that covered these throws (see above comment).  By that time, I had already removed it and had a bit of a challenge putting it back together.  (BTW, the top two holes on the housing appear to be rivets, not screws, rendering the unit sealed.)

Not wanting to go through that again, I screwed the metal plate back to the turnout housing.

I understand the way to solve the original problem posted in this thread.  Locate the two wires that control the solenoid.  Ah, but there's the rub.  I don't know which two wires out of the five sprouting from the decoder are the ones.

But I've narrowed it down to the gray, the brown, and one of the reds (the one not going to power the frogs, which seems to be the function of the orange and the other red).  See this picture:


Notice the orange and top red wires going to the frogs.

This closeup shows the decoder:


Check my logic.

The red and orange wires on the right power the frogs.

The other three from the top are gray, the other red, and the brown.  They are soldered to the L1, +, and L2, according to the stamped ID on the decoder.  My guess is that the other red (attached to the +) is the common?  The L1 (gray) and L2 (brown) control the throwing of the solenoid.

This is an upside-down shot that lets you see a different angle:
   

Does this reasoning sound right?

[jbrock27]

Ken, you could very well be on the right track. I only say it in this manner bc I cannot see the picture as clearly as you describe it.  There are 3 wires that go into where the metal covered box is (where the solenoid is) correct?  It is 1 Red, the Gray and the Brown, is that right?

If that is correct, I would desolder those 3 wires from the circuit DCC board.  Set your multi meter to the OHMs (resistance) setting).  Put one probe to the Red and put the other prob to either the Gray or Brown.  If you are correct about the Red being the Common, you should get little to no resistance.  Then to confirm, put your probes on the Gray and Brown-you should get infinite resistance.  This will confirm the Gray and Brown are the wires that provide the current to throw the turnout into it's 2 positions.  If you want to double check further, put the probes on the Red and the other color you did not first test.  Do you see what you are doing here by this test? 
If the first scenario does not work as described, then the Gray or Brown may be the Common and I would test the same way but by putting the probes on a different combination of wire colors until you find the ones that don't have any resistance between them and the ones that do.

I hope this helps.

[kdgrant6]

Jim, what you summarize about the connections is correct.  Thanks for partly confirming my reasoning.  But desoldering?  Yikes! That would require resoldering if I wanted to leave the turnout viable for both DCC and pushbutton operation.  Anyone getting a closeup of my soldering work on power feeds would have a good chuckle at my being turned loose on a decoder.  Do you remember the old commercial of a chimpanzee with a chainsaw?

I'm sure you're correct in these instructions, and I thank you for them.  I was kinda hoping someone who has Bachmann turnouts would know the color scheme.

[jbrock27]

You would have to desolder them anyway Ken to bypass the chip and set them up as a standard operating  turnout, as you had asked about.

I know you have the meter.  Don't you now also have a really super soldering station to work with?


PS-And no, I don't remember the one about the monkey and the chain saw.  How did that one go?  I know the one about all the monkeys on typewriters...

PSS-Always keep in mind, that not all things come easy to do the first time and can take some practice and patience to get better at them.  Not doing, will result for sure, in not getting any better at that some thing. 

[Len]

I think Ken wants to splice into the wires between the decoder and solenoid for the push buttons, so he doesn't lose any functionality. By splicing into the wires, he can operate either way, DCC control or push button control.

Len

[kdgrant6]

Jim, with chain saw buzzing, the chimp came out of the woods at the end of an old synergy ad, showing the genesis of the chaos that had begun the ad.  It was funnier to see it . . .

As to the typewriters, in theory, given enough pianos, chimps, and time, you would produce Beethoven's 32nd piano sonata.  Hard to believe that construct of probability theory.

I tried for a long time yesterday to contact Bachmann by phone, by email, and through this forum.  No response.  Someone there knows the color code. 

I know you're thinking, "So de-solder the wires already and move on!"  But I can't be sure the wires underneath the turnout I photographed are the same color as the other two turnouts and two crossover, which will require more disassembling of my layout to get to.  The crossovers are new, but the turnouts are older, used ones.  I would think they have kept the same wiring pattern over the last several years, but I'd feel better hearing it from Bachmann.

And Len is right that I'd like to keep from ruining the turnout, which is much more probable than the chimps channeling Beethoven.

[jbrock27]

Snyergy?  Who, what, dat?

I think Ken wants to splice into the wires between the decoder and solenoid for the push buttons, so he doesn't lose any functionality. By splicing into the wires, he can operate either way, DCC control or push button control.

Len

Ahhh, a sound approach.  My question: if spliced, will juice not also be sent in the direction of the chip, with a momentary push button?  Will this cause harm to the DCC end of things?   My thought process was to take the DCC component out of the equation in such a way, it can always be hooked up again the future if/when things change.

I know you're thinking, "So de-solder the wires already and move on!"

You certainly do, that was exactly my thinking

But;

But I can't be sure the wires underneath the turnout I photographed are the same color as the other two turnouts and two crossover, which will require more disassembling of my layout to get to.

..given this, which I was not aware of, adds other factors than just working with the one turnout and based on that, you make perfect sense to try and see what the Bachmann people can tell you.

[jbrock27]

One further thought before I go back to chores. 
If no answer is forthcoming and you are left with having to dissemble the plate over the solenoid of another turnout and the crossover, like you have here and the wires turn out (no pun intended)  to be different colors than this one, I still think you can determine which wires do what with the process I described.  Then, while testing, write down which colored wires, when energized, move the points to the through route and to the divergent route and then you can wire up your controls.  Of course, this would require desoldering of each set of 3 wires going to the solenoid.  If no answer comes, I don't know what other choice you would have.

[kdgrant6]

I finally reached Bachmann's Service Department this morning.  They closed last Thursday at noon and were closed all day Friday.  It would have been good to have heard that message when I called, but that's another matter.

I spoke with Rodney in the Service Department, who coincidentally had been working on a Bachmann DCC crossover.  He was friendly and informative.

This is the answer:

There's not really a color code to either turnouts or crossovers.  He told me you could tell based on position of the wires coming out of the decoder and going to the solenoid compartment.  On turnouts, the middle wire is the common.  For  crossovers, there are four wires.  The outer two control the solenoid direction.  He did not know which side controlled which direction of the solenoid, but that's not important for my original question.

So in my earlier picture of the turnout, the red wire is the common.  Incidentally, I checked another turnout and found the wiring the same.


As for crossovers, they have 4 wires.  The two on the end are the ones that throw the solenoid.  One middle is the common; the other, the link to the frog.

Here are two shots of the more complex underside of this piece of track.  The first shows the solenoid compartments to either side with the decoder in the middle.  Eight wires exit the decoder, with four going to each side.  The outer two control the solenoid.



This shot shows both the turnout (top) and the crossover.



So the color of the wire isn't important.  It's its position.

Of course, Rodney offered the big caveat: Check it first before you lock everything down. 

Well . . .

[kdgrant6]

OK, so it's been awhile, but I continued with this project with special help from a couple of you guys on the board.

First, let me say that Bachmann's tech department says that the turnouts can be converted to dual function (by that I mean controlling them either through the DCC controller or through momentary push buttons.)

So today, I finished one turnout.  I cut, spliced, and soldered the three wires that enter the sealed solenoid compartment (see earlier pictures in this thread). I put shrink tubing over two of the wires and pulled it back over each of the connections. 

I reattached the turnout to my layout and was satisfied that the DCC function wasn't compromised.

I had three wires coming out of the side notch of the turnout.  I experimented to find which was which by using my common and positive terminal strips that power my other non-EZ turnouts.  I figured out which was common, then I tried to determine which wire controlled which solenoid. 

I was surprised.  Both of the non-common wires switched the turnout from the divergent to the main position only! 

That shouldn't happen.  With the common established, one of the other two wires should switch the turnout one way.  The other wire should return it to the opposite position.

Or have I overlooked something very important? 

By the way, earlier pictures show 5 wires coming out of the decoder, but two of those apparently power the frogs.  Only three enter the sealed solenoid compartment.

Anyone have an idea what is going on?

[kdgrant6]

OK. 

Anyone reading my last response on this thread I began weeks ago, I'm sure had a good laugh.  I should qualify that by adding "anyone who also had adequate knowledge of how electricity works." (It is readily apparent through my posts that I do not, although a couple of this forum's very knowledgeable contributors have attempted to help me with that.)

Here's what I've found about these Bachmann turnouts (remember this is about the 44130 and 44131 turnouts).

The RED wire is common to both directions of the turnout's operation.  But it is connected to the positive side coming out of the Peco DCU.
(I say "but" because I thought commons were always negative.)
The  GRAY wire, connected momentarily to the negative side of the CDU, turns the switch to the straight position.
The  BROWN wire, connected momentarily to the negative side of the CDU, turns the switch to the divergent position.

As I said in the beginning of this thread, having the option of using momentary push buttons on a control panel to control turnouts is much easier than accessing their DCC commands.  In addition, by adding an Atlas Snap Relay to the turnout connection, you also have the convenience of adding signal lighting and panel lighting for the turnout.  If you know how to do latching relays, you can do that without buying the Atlas piece.

Please, if you find an error in this information, please post a correction.

I hope this information helps someone.

[Len]

I put together a quick diagram of what Ken's describing for future reference by anyone else doing this:



In the event the wire colors change, looking at the printed circuit board the connections are labeled 'L1', L2', and '+', with '+' being the common connection.

The "16V" label is there because the software I used to make the drawing requires a value as part of the label. As long as it's within the range allowed for your switch machines, any voltage could be used instead.

Len