A friend gave me a box of N scale Peco turnouts and Peco switch motors. These must be very old as the current models look nothing like them. They are twin coil with two yellow wires on one side and a red and green wire on the other. The red and green wires are soldered to contacts with one to each of the coils. I want to use them for my staging yard but don't have a wiring diagram for them.
Can someone help with wiring instructions for these switch motors, what type of power is needed for them, whether I need a capacitive discharge system to activate several of them, what sort of electrical switches to use to control them and whether they're practical for DCC use? Any other ideas you have would be appreciated. Thanks.
i would guess they work just like the current peco snap type point motors. the 2 yellows will be the commons ( pair them together ) and the red and green the other side of the coils. passing a quick burst of 12-16 volts AC or DC ( preferably DC using a CDU ) down a yellow and red or green should see the pin get pulled to that coil ( if the coils are good ) don't leave the power to the coil on for more than a quick zap, using a passing contact switch will help stop keeping the power on, but if you use a CDU the current that bleeds through if it is left 'on' doesn't damage the coils for a long time, if at all.
This Image might apply to your situation.
Another gadget I like for twin coil switch machines is The Electronic Turnout Switch.
Perfect. Both replies game me exactly what I need. Thanks.
The switch machines do not really care whether you are on DC or DCC, and vice versa. Electrically, they should be completely isolated from the track bus.
Peco machines are designed for use with Peco turnouts. The turnouts have built-in springs to hold the points against the stock rails. You can see if yours have this by seeing if they "snap" into place when you throw them manually. The snap is the spring flipping over from one side to the other. The switch machines are designed to push the points against the spring's resistance until it gets to the flipping point. Then the spring takes over and holds the points.
So, since the machine and the spring are inter-dependent, you won't be able to use these machines very effectively on other turnouts. Atlas or Walthers turnouts, for example, have no spring. They depend on continued tension from the machine to keep the points firm.
Pushing against that spring takes more power than driving an unsprung turnout. So, I would recommend using a capacitive discharge unit (CDU) even for a single Peco. Voice of experience. A CDU is one of the best investments you can make.
Peco turnouts are prized for their solid, reliable construction and operation, by the way. You should be happy with them.
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