PWR-56 Question

[Wayne]

Okay gang. I have replaced the first 34 feet of bus wire, now 14g with 20g feeders. Now the PWR56 is shown RED (short). I have checked the feeders and all are correct.
Any Ideas?

[G8B4Life]

We'll get you through this....

I didn't think it was possible to get 14 gauge wire into the terminals on a PWR-56 so first off, check that there are no strands from the wire that didn't make it properly into the terminals and are touching.

Secondly, Red could mean two things so we'll try some trouble shooting from the manual.

First, disconnect one of the track bus wires from the PWR-56. If the LED turns yellow once you disconnect one of the wires then you do have a short in your wiring somewhere which you'll need to find.

If it stays red, then check the info page for the PWR-56 on your controller. I doubt that's it's an overtemp issue but it's worth checking.

- Tim

[Wayne]

I found a feeder from the old buss that did not get cut.
Now I have a green  light.
I tinned the wires before plugging into the pwr56.
Now to continue adding feeders in this section before moving to the next.
Will keep you posted.

[Alan]

I found a feeder from the old buss that did not get cut.

Something doesn't add up here. The old bus and the new bus should be the same polarity. You may want to examine all of your bus wiring for correctness.

[Wayne]

I have isolated one room from the others (disconnected track and old bus). Ran the new 14g bus (red & black) in that room. Ran 20g feeders (inside rial=yellow to red bus / outside rail=blue to black bus). yes I double checked it. Powered up the pwr56 get red light. ran over track with magnet looking for loose track nail wire anything that will short it, Zip tied wires away from track. Check and get green light. Put loco on track get track under voltage and red light on pwr56.

[nodcc4me]

After you ran the magnet over the track did you do anything different to get the green light? Did you try another locomotive? Maybe the locomotive is shorting it out.

[Wayne]

Hello Group, Just wanted to post an update on my wiring issue. Taking bits and pieces of everyone's suggestions this where I am at.
1. Using a 14g buse with 16g going to the PWR56.
2. 20g feeders from track to buse. After trying suitcase connetors, I found that they just did not cut through the wire insulation. I found stripping the insulation, wrapping the wire and soldering worked best.
I am happy to report that I am done with the first room, no red lights about 20% motor current, voltage is in the good range and temp is good.
I want to thank the group for their support and help.

Wayne

[Alan]

Glad to hear you are having success.

While IDCs work for a lot of folks, your situation is one of the reasons why I don't use them. Although, I am inclined to ask if your IDCs have the necessary wire gauge range for the wire you are using and if you are closing them with actual IDC pliers. Assuming both, needing to verify a connection was made inside them each time is necessary and often a PIA. IDCs are convenient, and people sure do love convenience, but as you have found out they are sometimes not as foolproof as they seem. Soldering on the other hand, is 100% reliable. No need to verify a connection made.

My feeder connect system. IDC users, you wish you had this level of reliability.