I watched a video of David Popp wiring a Tortoise switch machine to power his frog and he indicated that the two wires going from either #2 and 3 or #6 and 7 has to be connected to the correct bus wire based on which way the track turnout point rails are facing. Said you have to test it using a multimeter (I don't have one and never used one). He said you had to test it as you never know how the Tortoise is wired inside.
I'm just wondering if I incorrectly wire it and a locomotive passes over it will it damage the loco or will it just cause a short and therefore my PSX4 circuit breaker would then protect the loco decoder.
I used Acculite Snap connectors for my Tortoises so switching the wires around if there not right would be simple, but I just don't want to damage anything.
Has anyone experienced Tortoises that have the those connectors differently wired. Just by looking at the video I think I know which connector to connect to which bus wire if the Tortoise is wired like shown in the video.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Gary (Coastie71)
Gary,
It will either work or not. If not, then it shorts and your DCC system will shut down, If that happens, swap the power leads to the track around and it will be good.
What I think David was trying to do with the meter is to check for continuity between the rails. There should not be if it is wired correctly. If you test the two rails at any point through the thrown path of the turnout, it should not show continuity if wired correctly.
Another way to test is to set a sound-equipped loco idle on the tracks as you hook things up. If you connect the wiring and the sounds continues, you're good. If the sound stops because the connect shorts things out, then swap the power leads and you should then test good, i.e. the sounds continues uninterrupted.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Coastie71Said you have to test it using a multimeter (I don't have one and never used one).
You will inevitably find you will want a multimeter, to test for continuity if nothing else. It does not need to be expensive. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, they start at about $7.
7 Function Digital Multimeter (harborfreight.com)
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
You need an ohm meter also.
Tortoise have 8 pins.
The two outside are the motor.
2,3, and 4 are one SPDT switch, and 5,6, and 7 are the other SPDT switch.
4 and 5 are always the common (pole) on each of the SPDT switches.
Lets assume you are going to use 2, 3, and 4 for the frog. The frog gets a wire to #4. run the tortoise so the switch is thrown to the normal route. Use an ohm meter, only one of the terminals 2 or 3 will have continuity (zero ohms) to terminal 4. The other will be open (infinite ohms).
Wire the terminal that has continuity to the bus wire for the stock rail that is not on the normal route. Then power up the layout and use the volt meter. You should have voltage from the frog to the stock rail that does not go through the points, and no voltage from the stock rail to the divirging route.
Then hook the other terminal 2 or 3 to the other bus wire.
I hope that made sense.
Yes, there have been two circuit boards for Tortoise switch machines. Every one I have bought in the last 10+ years have been the same.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
peahrensYou will inevitably find you will want a multimeter, to test for continuity if nothing else.
The question adquate voltaage or a good connection always comes up as to why something isn't running or it is running poorly. It's a must have tool and I agree a cheap one is adequate.
Watching 5 min of a youtube video should tell you everything you need to know at this stage about turning it on and measuring voltage or continuity.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
I appreciate everyone's advice and help. It looks like I should buy a multimeter that tests ohms. Also, it looks like I should be OK if I do hook up the wires wrong and can switch them around without burning out a decoder.
I have never been good with electrical and have always been unsure what a multimeter would tell me that I can understand. Even watching Dave's video would require multiple reviews before I understand enough what should give a continuity reading (I guess that means 0 ohms) and what should not. I know you guys tried your best to explain it, but my brain has a hard time comprehending it completely.
To give you an idea on how reluctant I was when building the layout I made sure that I had no reversing loops, wyes, turntables, etc. so that I could keep the wiring as simple as possible.
I'm also hoping that the brass bus bar and screw that I bought from Atlas will allow me to solder the #4 connector wire and have a good connection to the frog. I know the longer Atlas turnouts I have already have that connector on the outside of the rail that I can solder it to. I bought the bus bar as everything I read up on about soldering to the frog would require tap drill and brass screw as the pot metal doesn't take solder very good or at all.
Again, thanks for everyone's help.
Greg, yeah I saw that wiring diagram on the Tortoise site, but was unsure if they where saying to wire #2 and #3 to the turnout rails or did that mean the bus wires. If it implies to the bus wires that are feeder wired to the corresponding rails on the layout, but not necessarily to the turnout rails (I did not add feeder wires to any of my turnouts, just the Atlas flextrack) then I guess I would wire #2 to the bus wire feeding the track rail shown in the diagram and the #3 to the other bus wire feeding that rail side, but I guess that the point rails would have to be aligned as shown in the diagram.
Thanks, but still confused.
Coastie71but was unsure if they where saying to wire #2 and #3 to the turnout rails or did that mean the bus wires.
it doesn't matter whether to physically connect to the rails or the bus, they're both connnected together somewhere. wire the switch machine to whichever most convenient.
Coastie71but I guess that the point rails would have to be aligned as shown in the diagram.
i wouldn't go by the diagram since it depends on how you mounted the switch machine.
for your situation, figure out if #4 is connected to #2 or #3 and connect #2 and #3 to the correct rail/bus.
if you're that unsure, have feeders connected to the switch machine pins and use small wire nuts to connect them to the rail/bus feeders. if it's wired wrong just undo the wire nuts and swap the wires.
After you do a few, you will see which pin of the Tortoise, 2 or 3, needs to connect tot he bus for the straight through rail just by looking at which way the arm in the Tortoise is lined up to make the points push against the straight rail of the turnout.
That's what the meter, in continuity mode, is for. With the Tortoise arm to the left, with the arm facing you, it's going to connect either 2 to 4 or 3 to 4 - I don't remember which. But this shouldn't vary. If it connects 2 to 4, then moving the arm to the right will connect 3 to 4. Once you know which is which, you can get the feeders connected the right way every time without using the meter each and every time.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Again, I want to thank everyone and sorry I'm so dense when it comes to this, but let me see if I understand Kevin, Gregg and Randy.
I remembered I had one of those cheap continuity testers that just light up when you have continuity that I bought from MicroMark awhile back.
I stuck the tester into 3 and 4 on the Acculite Snap/Tortoise with the turnout arm to the left with the arm facing me (in this case the points where set for the normal or straight thru route) and it lit up, 2 and 4 did not. I went to another Tortoise facing the same direction with the turnout points set for the diverging route and arm to the right and 2 and 4 lit up and, 3 and 4 did not. Both turnouts are straight left turn turnouts facing the same direction and bus wires for the rails are the same for both.
So based on the above, I would connect the wire from the Tortoise connector with continuity (#3) with points set to the normal/straight thru stock rail to the bus wired to the straight thru stock rail or is it the diverging (opposite) route stock rail that I thought Kevin was indicating.
Again, I'm sorry for not understanding everyone and I really appreciate everyone's help, but I find this hard to clearly understand. I know some of my Tortoise's are mounted in opposite directions and I have both curved and straight left and right turn turouts, but of course my bus wires are connected to the same direction rail throughout the layout as I have no reversing loops, wyes, crossovers, etc.
Thanks again everyone.
In the case of the first one, you say you have continuity between 3 and 4, and the Tortoise is positioned such that the points are lined for the straight through route.
In that case, 3 should connect to the bus line of the straight through rail, and 2 should connect to the bus line for the diverging rail. 4 of course is the frog itself.
On the second one, you said there is continuity between 2 and 4 witht he Tortoise set so that the points are set to the diverging route. This matches the first one, so again 2 would go to the bus wire for the diverging route, 3 to the bus wire for the straight route, and 4 to the frog.
The only way it might be different is if you have a left hand turnout like these, but you install the Tortoise facing the other way. But now you know how to check with your continuity tester, so you should be good to wire the rest of your layout.
Randy, thanks that really cleared it up for me. I appreciate your patience with me and the help you've provided me in the past also. I sure am glad that there are fellow model railroaders who are willing to give their time to those of us getting started in this hobby. I also want to thank everyone else also for their input/help and Gregg's patience also.
I'm sure I'll be asking alot more questions when I get to doing scenery as the last time I did anything with model railroading was a 4x8 N scale back in the 1980s using plaster of paris and metal screening. My biggest challenge will be the long river I'll need to build to go from one of my double track arched Truss bridges to the two double track arched Truss bridges about 20' feet away and the two 12' or so tunnels.
Thanks again.
I was wiring up a tortoise this weekend, and after I had connected #2 and #3 to the rail bus, I got a short. My Digitrax command station kept beeping at me. I disconnected those two wires, and the short was cleared. I swapped the two wires around, reconnected, and no short - so I was good to go. No fried decoders or anything like that, just trial and error.
Scott