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Outer And Inner Track Switching
David has a question for readers with a knowledge of switches and asks:
“I have an outer track and an inner track. Trains run well on the outer track. When I add electronic switches to move to the inner track, the switches move one way only. In moving to the other position, it tries to move but bounces back to straight position. If I disconnect the switch and add a straight section on track to hook the power to, the switch will work well. I have checked the voltage and there seems to be no problem. Any thoughts?”
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Unless I am reading your question incorrectly, it almost sounds like you are using track power to operate your turnouts. You should be using the ‘fixed’ AC or DC power supply terminals on your power pack depending on the type of switch machine your are using. The terminals should be clearly labeled on your power supply as to what they are.
If you ARE using the proper terminals, it could be a hidden short circuit where two wires are in contact that shouldn’t be. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is just to strip out the wiring in question and start over again.
The other possibility is that the switch machines themselves have a burnt out coil, the result of the examples I gave above. If you can, remove the switch machines and, using short wires, hook them up to the power pack and switch machine control as shown on their instruction sheet. If they operate correctly in this fashion, then you may have crossed wires out on your layout somewhere. If they still operate incorrectly connected in this manner, then the machines are probably no good and will have to be replaced.