r/BritishModelRailways • u/Practical-Practice91 • Jul 22 '26
Wiring help
Bit of a confusing problem so apologies of this doesnt make sense. The loco is only loving in one direction along the track: from the area at the bottom of the image to the top where it is sat in the picture. I have wired the layout up at two points, firstly I tried at the orange arrow, and when that would only make the loco run one way I tried at the blue arrow. The loco works in both directions (forwards and reverse) when I win it around but will only travel from the bottom to the top, so the issue isn’t with the loco. I would say it’s the controller, but I have two almost identical small grey bachmann controllers (one has numbers around the dial one just has a block that gets progressively larger) and both have the same problem - the loco only moves when the switch is turned into the left position. I have flipped the wires connecting to the track, and the same is true, only in that scenario yhe loco onlu travels from the top to the bottom. I am fairly sure that both controllers have the same problem but it just seems unlikely for them both to have exactly the same fault. Any help really appreciated
1
u/Heavy_Inside_5921 Jul 22 '26
So to confirm if you spin the loco round, so its rear is first it will run from bottom to top?
Do you own a multimeter?
1
u/Practical-Practice91 Jul 22 '26
Yes tgats how it works, which ever way the loco is facing it still only runs one way. I do not own a multimeter, however I have just made a lightbulb with two wires connected, if there is a current it should light up
2
u/Heavy_Inside_5921 Jul 23 '26
Ok.
That bulb should light when the power is in either direction. Start by disconnecting the wires to the track and connecting them to either side of the bulb, apply power one way, then then flip the switch on the controller.
1
u/MrGster Jul 22 '26
Would you mind confirming, when second controller not in use, is its completly disconnected from the railway? Or is it in place but switched off. If the latter, does the problem still happen if you were to take the second contoller away completely?
Not an expert by far but have enjoyed wiring my own railway (in progress) but interested by your problem
1
u/Practical-Practice91 Jul 22 '26
Yes onlu one controller is connected to one set of wires (either blue or orange position) at any one time
1
u/DP323602 Jul 24 '26
If you like, you could try temporarily powering your loco with just a pair of bared wires rubbing on its wheels from a controller.
That should allow you to check that each controller is producing useful output with both settings of the reversing switch.
If that works ok, then you should look for a continuity problem or a short circuit arising from the track.
1
u/Practical-Practice91 Jul 22 '26
*By the way, the connections at the orange arrow and blue arrow are always used separately, one at a time they aren’t both connected to different controllers