Today I spent more time in investigating the cause of one of two problems with points on the LMS service: the set which would switch in one direction only.
I decided to simplify the wiring by moving the spare points motor across to the control panel – so that the there was only a single connecting block from the motor to the controlling switch. The problem persisted and that surprised me because I was using a ‘new’ motor and a ‘new’ wiring harness – and the wiring was as simple as it could get.
I decided to use another new motor and also another new wiring harness. This combination fixed the problem – the motor switched in both directions. Hooray – I had found something that worked.
I then exchanged the latest motor for the previous one and tested it – it worked in both directions. This led me to the conclusion that the harness must have been causing the problem!
So, I reconnected the original points motor (on the LMS circuit) to the control panel via the ‘working’ wiring harness and retested – bingo! It worked straight away. I decided to throw away the original harnesses that had been used on the layout as well as the one I had used in my earlier testing of the problem.
Hopefully I will not see that problem again. On to the next set of points giving me a problem…
Model of 1960s Leamington Stations 