I have a crossover on my layout. I wired the tortoise machines, so when I flip the DPDT switch they both operate at the same time. That way I wont forget to switch them both. I experimented with a red and green led, wired per tortoise diagram, but only the red will light, which makes sense to me.(dc + & - are always the same on two switches, because pin 1 on one tortoise jumpers to pin 8 on other tortoise,and vice versa) . How do I wire the leds so the red shows when I switch to crossover and green shows when turnouts are in main line position? May have to seperate the tortoise motors. Hope you can understand this.
Thanks in advance
Charlie
If I understand what you have now, one or two LED's wired in series with pin one or pin eight of the tortoise.
OK, here is what you need. First, both of your LED's need to be wired together, cathode to anode. That is, in parallel, but in the opposite polarity from each other. Then one wire from one end of the LED pair to 'pin one or eight'. And another wire from the other end of the LED pair that goes to your panel switch with power.
What happens is that to run the tortoise one way, the voltage is one direction, say positive. To run it the other way, the polarity to the tortoise changes. With the change in polarity through the LED's, one lights up in one direction, then the other lights up in the opposite direction.
To get them to light in the correct direction, you may have to either swap the pin 1 & 8 wires on the tortoise, or swap the wires on the switch, or turn the switch around on the panel; or a combination of all of them.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Thanks for the reply Mac. That is the way I have the leds wired right now. In parallel reversed, and in series between panel switch and pin 1. They work fine on one turnout. What I have at the crossover turnouts is the tortoise machines power jumpered from one to the other. Pin 1 of one tortoise connects to pin 8 of the other tortoise. that way both tortoise machines change position with one dpdt switch.
It is when I connect the leds to these switches that only one led will light. After I posted this I think I have figured out the answer. I might have to use the tortoise contacts and resistors on these 2 tortoises to light the red and green led. Hope I have made this more clear now.