Wiring a Lionel 154 Railroad Crossing Flasher

[rrswede]

Thank you for the comment and especially for the original post.

 

Swede

[lionelsoni]

Congratulations!  I've been watching this topic, but didn't have anything specific to suggest.  I figured something just wasn't connected and that you would eventually find it.  I agree with your guess that it was a capacitor.  I'm glad to hear that the design worked for you.

[rrswede]

The flasher is working as it should! Although I can't say for certain which component was poorly installed in the circuit (I suspect a capacitor), I tore the circuit apart and put it back together using the same components and it worked.

 

Thanks again, John, and Rob

 

Swede

[rrswede]

Thanks for the response, John. I understand your statement, especially in view of what Bob Nelson had indicated in his 2003 post that adding additional capacitors in parallel with the original ones would slow the flashing down. The resistors and capacitors that I used are 3.3K ohms and 1000 microfarads from Radio Shack, the exact part numbers as Bob indicated in his 2003 posting, and identical to the ones I used on my first circuit board. I did verify that the resistors measure what they are supposed to but don't have a capacitor tester.

 

Thanks, again, Swede

[gunrunnerjohn]

Flashing very fast would indicate an improper component value I would guess.  Check the values of the timing resistor(s) and capacitor(s).

[rrswede]

Thanks for the response, Rob. I left both bulbs in the signal, removed the connection to terminal 3 and applied power. The bulb connected to terminal 2 lit solid. For fun, I then removed the connection to terminal 2, reconnected terminal 3 and applied power. The bulb connected to terminal 3 lit solid.

As an after thought, in my original post, I indicated that both bulbs flashed so fast that they almost appeared as burning solid. Perhaps they are alternating, but doing so so rapidly that they appear to be flashing at the same time.

Again, thanks, Swede

[ADCX Rob]

If they are flashing at the same time, there is probably a physical connection between both contacts of both bulbs.  Disconnect one bulb from the flasher circuit(leave it installed in the signal) and test again.

[rrswede]

Sometime back, I built a flasher circuit following a Bob Nelson posting from 2003. It works perfectly. I have now added a second 154 to my layout and built a new flasher circuit board, identical to the first one. Before placing the 154 and circuit board in the layout, I hooked up a spare transformer to perform a bench test. Both lamps on the 154 are flashing at the same time as opposed to alternating and at such a fast pace that they almost appear to be lit continuously. I have checked and rechecked the flasher circuit thinking I had assembled it wrong but don't see any errors. Could I have a bad component or did I make a mistake that I'm not seeing?

Thanks, Swede