Wiring crossover turnouts

[aceofspades]

Yesterday I added a DCC single crossover turnout to a loop to create a two loop connection with a single DCC control module. However during testing the locomotive would stop upon reaching the turnout, and when I tested it again on a loop without the crossover, I came to the conclusion that it was the culprit. I assume there needs to be some special wiring so electricity can flow and provide power to the turnout. What would be the most efficient way to go about this?

[Ralph S]

First make sure that the EZ track connections to the DCC switch track are made up correctly.
The DCC crossover as you may already know has two connection points for the movable section of the track.
This track one movable section is broken, rivet failed
You can get more details from this forum message:
_{"EZ Track turnouts NO power on inside rail" Started by wfletcher, February 16, 2023, 10:56:40 AM}

In the image (see above), that movable section may not be electrically connected to the fixed portion of the track via the rivet.  Either both rivets or one rivet is not passing current to the movable section of the track.   Using a voltmeter, you may be able to determine if voltage is applied to the movable section.  Another way is to test the resistance of the movable connection to the fixed connection.  A high resistance or even a little resistance other than zero resistance indicates an issue with the movable section of the track.   Note that this is just one possible issue with the switch track.  Other problems could be dirty track, frog issue due to a long locomotive, warped rails causing the locomotive wheels not making rail contact, to name a few.

Hope this helps.

[trainman203]

That photo shows one of two aggravating flaws in EZ track switches.  The surface under the pivoting point rail will oxidize very quickly and cause the point rail to become deader than Abraham Lincoln.

The other major flaw is that the metal frogs sit a molecule higher than the adjoining rails. On longer wheelbase steam engines, the center driver will get on top of that frog and the whole engine will sit on top of the frog like on a pivot on a seesaw, breaking contact with the adjoining rails. You can power that frog via a jumper under the switch, but I found that those metal frogs oxidize extremely quickly, and you have to keep cleaning them all the time to truly function. Sitting on top of the seesaw breaks the driver contact on that side, and unfortunately, the tender truck picking up from the same rail will always be on the dead point rail detailed in Item 1 and the photograph. Net result: predictable stalling every time.

I've had to grind about 10 of those raised frogs down with a dremel grinding tip. It helps, but you can never get the surface as smooth as the factory finish, which speeds up the oxidation even more. 

My current layout is completely exposed to outside coastal air all the time, which exponentially increases oxidation issues everywhere. If I ever build another one, I don't think I can use EZ track in such a setting, even though it's fine inside.