Turnouts

[donandjudy2390@gmail.com]

Why does my turn out electrically respond to only One Direction as powered by the slide switch, but will not return to the opposite direction. This occurrence has just started after the switch has worked properly One month when new. - also in general, my other 10 turnouts  work, but occasionally are unreliable is this characteristic of Baughman and scale turnout?

[jward]

Try flipping the connector from the switch at the control box. If the switch throws the other way, but not the original way you have a bad control box. Of the problem stays exactly the same as before, then you've probably burnt out one side of the switch motor.

burnt out switch motors are one of the inherent hazards of the twin coil type of switch motor. This problem isn't a Bachmann issue. When operating the control box you can't keep the button pressed for more than a second or two before you overheat the motor coil. There is an aftermarket device that uses a capacitor discharge circuit to provide an instantaneous shot of electricity to the switch motor, regardless of how long the button is pressed. Once the capacitor is discharged, it won't recharge until the button is released, preventing this overheating and burnout issue. If you are having this issue it may be worth looking into. The discharge unit is expensive, but not as expensive as replacing entire switches because of a burnt out coil.