EZ Track Pack Model: 44596

[NerdlyNate]

I purchased the Bachmann EZ Track Pack 45 piece Model: 44596, after unpacking it, I've found the instructions are sparse at best. There are red and gray wires with connectors, and switches for the turnouts, but no directions on how to wire the turnouts. I'm assuming the turnouts are manual and not DCC capable. I haven't been very impressed with Bachmann literature so far, having purchased the Thunder Chief set initially.

Any help or links to online support articles would be greatly appreciated.

[Yard Master]

Hi Nate,

Out of the box, the turnouts in the E-Z Track First Railroad Track Pack are manual and not DCC compatible. However, you can convert your manual turnouts to DCC with the Trackside Turnout Decoder or the DCC Control Box with Turnout Decoder, sold separately.

There should be green wires included in the box to connect the manual turnouts to the control boxes. The red wire connects the terminal rerailer track to your speed controller (not included.)

[jward]

First a bit of semantics here.

Manual control generally means you have to flip something connected to the switch itself to move the points.

Remote control generally means the switches are wired to a control box or other type of electrical switch, which powers the points. You do not have to be close to the switch to control it.

DCC control generally means the switch motors are controlled by selecting them on your DCC controller, and selecting which way the points are thrown.

Given these descriptions, and the descriptions of both the Bachmann website and Yardmaster, it appears what you have are remote control switches. You can use them as manual switches if you want by simply flipping the little lever on the side of the switch. But the wire pigtails they have, and the control boxes included with them mean they are actually remote control. Wiring them is straightforward. You plug the pigtail into the top of the control box, and connect the two conductor wire (not the one for the track) to a 12v AC or DC power supply. Once connected they operate via the control boxes, by momentarily pressing the button to activate them. It is important to only hold the button down long enough for the points to move. Hold ing the button down for too long will burn out the switch motor.

I have seen two types of control boxes. One has two buttons that correspond to the direction the switch will throw. The other has a single button that you slide to the left or right before pressing it. Regardless of which you have the wiring should be the same.

You do not have to convert these to DCC (by adding a decoder) if you don't want to. Even though I run DCC I prefer to control my switches with the buttons.

[NerdlyNate]

Thanks for the response Jeffrey. The switch control appears to be a simple slide switch one direction or the other, not a momentary switch. They have this label: TRAIN+PCB32 Rev:A 2019/10/11.  It has connectors on 3 sides, each end has two terminals, and one side has three terminals. There are green wires coming from the turnout. The turnouts are labeled: H Manual Switch Left/Right and have a 3 conductor wire with a female connector on the end. I've tried to attach a photo here but:  The upload directory is full. Please contact an administrator about this problem. 0.2 MB.

[NerdlyNate]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X3nGvV7Rlr7EEGYufhrsjeUpGrPWO0DV/view?usp=share_link

[jward]

I couldn't access your link, but the EZ track wiring follows conventions that have been around since before I was born. The main difference is that EZ track uses plug in wiring instead of screw terminals. Everything else is the same. The switch motors are of the twin coil type, which dates to at least the 1950s. they have 3 wires, one is a common which connects between the two coils of the motor. The other  2 wires connect to each of the coils. Only one coil is activated at a time, which is why your control box slides left or right. Guaranteed that it works by first sliding the button left or right, then pressing it. The coils must never be powered more than an instant, or they will overheat and burn out. This is why normal slide or toggle switches must not be used here. They must be momentary or they will destroy the motor coils.


This link illustrates the basic wiring. It shows Atlas components but like I said EZ track is the same. It also shows how the control boxes can be ganged together to control more than one switch.e
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/5e/dd/3f5edd6579e523431928a4213b2d130b.jpg

[NerdlyNate]

I think I see the issue, I just need to get the power to the switch, but since I have the EZ command controller, I have no extra terminals on it, and to get to the powered derailer I would need a different connector.

Hi Nate,

Out of the box, the turnouts in the E-Z Track First Railroad Track Pack are manual and not DCC compatible. However, you can convert your manual turnouts to DCC with the Trackside Turnout Decoder or the DCC Control Box with Turnout Decoder, sold separately.

There should be green wires included in the box to connect the manual turnouts to the control boxes. The red wire connects the terminal rerailer track to your speed controller (not included.)

[NerdlyNate]

So after figuring out how to get power to the turnouts, all I get is a quiet buzzing from the turnout when using the supplied switch, no actually movement. I don't think all 4 new turnouts would have the same issue.
Any ideas?

I think I see the issue, I just need to get the power to the switch, but since I have the EZ command controller, I have no extra terminals on it, and to get to the powered derailer I would need a different connector.

Hi Nate,

Out of the box, the turnouts in the E-Z Track First Railroad Track Pack are manual and not DCC compatible. However, you can convert your manual turnouts to DCC with the Trackside Turnout Decoder or the DCC Control Box with Turnout Decoder, sold separately.

There should be green wires included in the box to connect the manual turnouts to the control boxes. The red wire connects the terminal rerailer track to your speed controller (not included.)

[NerdlyNate]

So I visited my local hobby store today with my turnout and wiring and verified it does indeed work. So the issue must be that the EZ Command controller isn't putting enough voltage out? They of course had a transformer to run power to my tunout.

I wouldn't think powering a turnout would take that much voltage?

So after figuring out how to get power to the turnouts, all I get is a quiet buzzing from the turnout when using the supplied switch, no actually movement. I don't think all 4 new turnouts would have the same issue.
Any ideas?

[Terry Toenges]

I never thought about powering turnouts that way. Now that you have tried it, I see it doesn't work but I give you an "A" for the creative thinking.

[NerdlyNate]

Thanks, so this is all new to me. I just figured if the E-Z Command® Control Center would power the track, it should power the turnouts. I have been communicating with Bachmann via email, and they said that the turnouts aren't controlled by DCC and need their own power.

So next question: what kind of power supply do I need to control my turnouts?

I never thought about powering turnouts that way. Now that you have tried it, I see it doesn't work but I give you an "A" for the creative thinking.

[Len]

Like I said over in the 'General Discussion' forum where you asked the same thing, any 14-16V AC or DC wall-wart power supply rated at least 1 amp (1000ma) will work to power the switches.

Len