harold I think you have the circuit correct you may have a bad led if it works in one dir and the led lights when you try the oposite dir does the led light if not try to jumper across that led and see if the tortoise moves that circuit you are using is posted on tonys train exchange and it does work I just think you have a bad led
http://www.tonystrains.com/technews/tortoise/wiring-leds.htm
Some people are ok with on LED, others want an LED in each leg on the schematic - that's why I used TWO bicolor LEDs LOL. That way, the selected route was lit green, and the blocked route was lit red.
Actually, it IS a bit easier, one less thing to wire. What you are doing by taking an individual red and green LED and wiring them to each other in reverse parallel is creating a 2 lead bi-color LED. What's electrically inside a 2-lead bi-color LED is exactly the same as the individual red and green LEDs wired anti-parallel.
If the LEDs are clear instead of diffused, the other way to tell which end is which is to hold them up tot he light, and you cna see the innards. One lead will attach to a chunk of metal, the other will have a tiny whiscker of a wire that contacts the top middle of the big chunk - that fine wire might not be visible unless the case is truly clear, not see-through red or green. But you can definitely see which lead is the big chunk - in this case just connect that lead to the one that is NOT the big chunk of the other LED, and you'll have it right for this application.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
OR, what I use are bi-polar LEDs and simply insert it in one side of the circuit going to 1 & 8 on the tortoise. I just make a quick test before I solder and heat shrink to be sure the red/green orientation is what I want for that turnout.
Out of maybe 100 bi-color LEDs I only had one fail and what happens is what you are experiencing, current only flows one way.
Glad you got squared away, Ed
Thanks Randy
That seem simple enough. I slip a piece of colored insulation from wires over the leeds to remined me the long and short of it. That way I just solder Red to Black I might have put them on the wrong leed.
Harold
No need to do that - and also to do that you MUST add resistors.
The way he has it is fine, just one of the LEDs is backwards. Reverse the wires on either the red or green LED - just one of them - and it will work fine. It's shown in the diagram correctly - long lead of one LED to short lead of the other, or lead on the flat side to the lead on the round side of the other. But not all LEDs are marked the same way, and if the leads have been cut to fit a panel, you can't use that as an indicator.
retsignalmtr Put the control wires from the toggle switch on 1 and 8 and use the other auxiliary contacts to control the LED's.
Put the control wires from the toggle switch on 1 and 8 and use the other auxiliary contacts to control the LED's.
Connect DPDT 3 to Tort 8
Connect one leg of Red LED to Tort 5
Connect one leg of Green LED to Tort 6
Connect Tort 7 to one side of DC
Connect other two LED legs to other side of DC
If LEDs don't light, reverse DC connections from Tort and LEDs.
If the Red and Green LEDs light the opposite of intended, reverse Tort 5 and Tort 6 connections.
Rich
Alton Junction
Your LED's are wired incoreectly. You must turn one of them around because the polarity going to them is reversed when the switch is thrown. The short leg is Negative, the long leg is positive. When you throw the switch your reverse the polarity to leds. Since they are in series with the machine when you reverse the current, none flows to the machine because of the reversed polarity of the LED.
This is how the LION does it:
LION uses a common ground, and only a single wire from the control to the turnout.
Him does not put them in seres with the switch motor.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
If you don't mind please show a drawing.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd51/Hwolf_photos/Ski%20Lift/wiring-leds_zps0c8f92b1.jpg
I am having a problem with the wiring on one of my Tortouse switches. Here is the problem. The switch will only throw in on direction. Same for the LED.
Wired as of the drawing above.
When the switch is in one position reading across 1-2 3-4 5-6 all are at 9.45 DCV
When switch is thrown here are the reading
1-2 9.45DCV 3-4 0 DCV 5-6 9.45 DCV
I can not find any broken wires and solder joints are good.
Thanks in advance