So have you discovered what was causing your problem?
rjh3,
From your description, it appears that you have wired something incorrectly. Reread the instructions. Either your fiber pins are missing or in the wrong position or your controllers are not hooked up correctly.
phillyreading ...For a control device to be switch specific, it would have to have some kind of an electronic chip inside it and the switch as well. I doubt that K-Line would have gone to that expense, just to market a switch for O gauge trains. Lee F.
...For a control device to be switch specific, it would have to have some kind of an electronic chip inside it and the switch as well. I doubt that K-Line would have gone to that expense, just to market a switch for O gauge trains.
Lee F.
The controllers for the low profile switches are polarity sensitive & L/R specific, and they did gone to that expense just to market a switch for O gauge trains(actually was a cheapening from the older large housing solenoid operated switches). The controllers are labeled for L & R.
Rob
ADCX Rob These are K-Line switches marketed as/by Lionel. Very different in operation - the controllers are left/right specific, eg. The low profile switch motors have tiny red & green LED position indicators, and the controllers have corresponding LEDs.
These are K-Line switches marketed as/by Lionel. Very different in operation - the controllers are left/right specific, eg.
The low profile switch motors have tiny red & green LED position indicators, and the controllers have corresponding LEDs.
I know a little about K-Line switches but never heard of a controller being switch specific. Maybe the wire position is what you are thinking about, a ribbed wire may be on the right hand side verse being on the left hand side but you can hook up the controls normally to either switch, by reversing the wires, from what I have seen with Lionel and K-Line so far.
For a control device to be switch specific, it would have to have some kind of an electronic chip inside it and the switch as well. I doubt that K-Line would have gone to that expense, just to market a switch for O gauge trains.
A properly working 022 switch should not use any power (except the lamp) any time but when it's actually switching. The clatter is almost always the non-derailing feature shorting. The most common issue is not having the insulating pins in place.
I have overhauled about 70 of these, you'll see lots of interesting stuff in old 022 switches.
Like Rob mentions, I think you have a switch problem.
If you were to supply too much power(voltage) to a switch it would probally start smoking and catch fire. The bus line should not be causing any problem, your switch is 99.9% the culprit.
Disconnect the switch controller and try the non-derailing feature with a metal-wheel piece of rolling stock.
Try with track power & aux power. Remove the track power jumper when using aux power.
You may have the wrong controller. There are "Right" & "Left" controllers for these switches. The "overpowering" argument doesn't really hold water.
Lee: Been using the Lionels because of the auto derail ease, but will go b ack to a Grafgraves if I can't find the problem. i'm wondering if I'm overpowering the switch with my additional wiring from my bus possibly being to close?
Tnaks for the help
rjh3
Rob: Thanks for the reply-- yes the pins are in place. Powered switch from track, no clatter but no switch either. I think maybe I'm overpowered when going to a set post plus the track feeds every so often. Going to eliminate some of the feeds and see if that reduces too much power to the switch. Does that make sense
Thanks
RJH
I don't have that particular Lionel switch in question but had the 6-23010 series O gauge switches and had to sell them off as they refused to work with my Williams trains. The control piece for travel direction would move rapidly about 35 to 40 times a second when any Williams engine got within two track sections of the switch, incoming or outgoing sides, this didn't happen with Lionel engines, so location of the insulating pins were not the problem.
I would recommend having the switch power from the same transformer, and it shouldn't matter about having another brand of switch hooked up to the same power source. You may want to go to Gargraves or Ross Custom switches for better switches, as I have found Lionel switches lacking in quality.
Are the fiber/plastic pins in place?
Try powering the switch from the track to eliminate that as an issue.
Just installed a 042 lionel switch #6-12081 and have unctrollable clatter and hun. Can't get the darn thing to switch, although there is power to it. This is a switch that completes a loop. Engine seems to pass over it okay, but with the calletr involved. The power to this switch is from one transformer while the power to the track is from another. Is that what's causing the problem? The problem doesn't exist for my other 081 and 082 switches. Also, the switch in question leads directly to a Gargraves switch that creates an outside siding. Is there a problem here? Any help out there?
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