Please Delete - Problem Solved - Thanks!

Which manual, the one for the signal or the 153IR ?

How exactly do you have it wired?

Dave

How are you powering it?

Is the sensitivity adjusted correctly? (should only affect the transition between GRN and RED)

Is the power selector switch in the correct position?

Dave

Zach: My 153IR units were built in the last decade (2006?) but I can't believe they'd change the basics over a new production.

The "green" light/wire would go to the "NC" (normally closed) claw post; the red wire/light would go to the "NO" (normally open) claw and the black ground wire goes to the ACC GRD claw. That should do it as I run similar signals + a 450-type double signal bridge off the same units.

D&H is correct, that's all there is to it.

You may have a bad 153IR.

Richard

Did you independently check the 153IR's outputs with a volt meter? You could also connect two regular bulbs (suitable for your bus voltage) into the outputs, then check for correct operation of all its functions.

How do you know that the sensitivity is correct, if the signal does not function?

There is a possibility that the Green lamp section of the signal is defective, resulting in a dark signal.

Not knowing what your complete set-up is, try flipping the two wires from your "accessory power bus". The later 153IR manual shows them swapped for some reason. It shouldn't matter with AC, but there is no circuit diagram to look at.

Dave

Zach, you stated that you are using the signal's hook-up diagram with the later 153IR. This would basically connect everything to ground, without any power.

Note the differences between the two versions of the 153IR. On the earlier 153IR (4-02), power comes from the NO and NC terminals, to the signal, then to the GND terminal. With the newer 153IR (3-15), power comes from the PWR terminal, to the signal, then to the NO and NC terminals (for ground).

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6-14099 Mainline Block Target Signal

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153IR (4-02)

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153IR (3-15)

Dave

@T1Titan_ZachF posted:

Well I figured the signal out, turns out I got a bad 153IR unit. I have another signal, which I use with another 153IR so I tested the target signal. Seems like the 2nd IR unit I have can't sense anything in front of it, its sensor must be busted. I put a dark object over it when it was all wired and I didn't hear the indication sound of a little "click," that shows the sensor was activated and that the reflection mechanism worked. 

In my experience, the IR controllers are sensitive to the color and distance of the object being passed in front of them. Black and other dark colors may not trigger the controller, so I'd be wary of trashing the controller just on the basis of putting a dark object over it. I have an IR hooked up to an MTH Gateman and it won't trigger when a black engine or dark boxcar passes by - it waits for a lighter colored boxcar. So try passing a lighter colored object in front of yours, like your hand or a light colored freight car, and try fiddling with the sensitivity, too, just to be sure before trashing it.