Lionel O72 Wye Track Switch Question

same issue for me-- I look forward to the answer!!

Are you phased?

John H posted:

Are you phased?

I am. I run both my track power and accessory power from two different legs of my Lionel ZW so I share a common throughout the layout.

The Jumper & AUX terminals are wired wrong internally.

To test this, don't use the ground connection, rely on the common return through the track, or for testing connect the ground to an outside running rail(not a trigger rail) of the switch. Remove the jumper and set it aside. Connect/touch the accessory voltage(set to about 12 volts for testing) lead to each of the three terminals(AUX IN, TRACK JUMPER, & AUX GND) one at a time in order. Your results should be, in order, 1)switch powered, no power to track 2)track powered, no power to switch 3)short circuit.

If you get these results, but in a different order, the reason is that the switches were wired wrong internally. There have been reports of this with samples of O-72 FasTrack switches spanning several production runs now. If this is the case, you will have to ignore the labeling and go with the terminal that provides power to the switch, no power to the track.

ADCX Rob posted:

The Jumper & AUX terminals are wired wrong internally.

To test this, don't use the ground connection, rely on the common return through the track, or for testing connect the ground to an outside running rail(not a trigger rail) of the switch. Remove the jumper and set it aside. Connect/touch the accessory voltage(set to about 12 volts for testing) lead to each of the three terminals(AUX IN, TRACK JUMPER, & AUX GND) one at a time in order. Your results should be, in order, 1)switch powered, no power to track 2)track powered, no power to switch 3)short circuit.

If you get these results, but in a different order, the reason is that the switches were wired wrong internally. There have been reports of this with samples of O-72 FasTrack switches spanning several production runs now. If this is the case, you will have to ignore the labeling and go with the terminal that provides power to the switch, no power to the track.

Rob,

Your response makes perfect sense. That would explain the voltage feed back to the track. I'll give it a try and report back. Thanks for your assistance.

EricaAnn posted:

ADCX Rob posted:

The Jumper & AUX terminals are wired wrong internally.

To test this, don't use the ground connection, rely on the common return through the track, or for testing connect the ground to an outside running rail(not a trigger rail) of the switch. Remove the jumper and set it aside. Connect/touch the accessory voltage(set to about 12 volts for testing) lead to each of the three terminals(AUX IN, TRACK JUMPER, & AUX GND) one at a time in order. Your results should be, in order, 1)switch powered, no power to track 2)track powered, no power to switch 3)short circuit.

If you get these results, but in a different order, the reason is that the switches were wired wrong internally. There have been reports of this with samples of O-72 FasTrack switches spanning several production runs now. If this is the case, you will have to ignore the labeling and go with the terminal that provides power to the switch, no power to the track.

Rob,

Your response makes perfect sense. That would explain the voltage feed back to the track. I'll give it a try and report back. Thanks for your assistance.

Rob,

You were correct when you mentioned the mix up in the internal wiring for this switch. I once again removed the switch from my layout, removed the jumper for track power and connected a wire to the "Track Power" terminal. Reinstalled the track switch, turned on the power and lo and behold, the track switch lite right up with no back feed of voltage into the track. It's working GREAT.

Many thanks Rob for some real sound advice!

Mike Wyatt posted:

same issue for me-- I look forward to the answer!!

Mike,

ADCX Rob was kind enough to provide the answer to our mutual question. Took his advice and the track switch is now operating very nicely on 14 volt accessory power.

Switch your accessory power hook-up to the "Track Power" terminal and hopefully you'll have the same results.

As a side note, Erica, are you the famous person in this hobby that does model train engine restoration work? 

Google is your friend. Here

Dennis LaGrua posted:

As a side note, Erica, are you the famous person in this hobby that does model train engine restoration work? 

Dennis,

I don't know about the famous part, but yes, I do that type of work.