Addendum to 2020_05_04

2020_05_04  A few hours later.....


Well I never actually found the cause, however I have decided it was one of these plugs

 These plugs make a nice solid connection, however the Tortoise machine decided to use a narrower non standard plug, didn't they? Here the plug is centered and operates ok.

 This plug is off center, which shorts out the power wires

 These plugs come in many variations. However 8 years ago,this was the plug available and I bought sufficient to operate my 30 Tortoise switch machines.
I do believe a new "blue" plug can be purchased now that fits the Tortoise snugly and cannot create these problem shorts.

I removed all the plugs from the local Tortoise's and reset them, and when I reconnected the one that burnt my wiring, the short was gone.

All fixed and trains running on this section once again
Cheers
Rod

2020_05_04 How to waste time!

2020_05_04  a seconds distraction can cause a pulled wire that takes two days to fix :(

And so. Behind this scenic block, I had a pair of points (switch).

It lived here, and note the point actuator has been cut to just hold the throw bar and not interfere with passing trains.

The dropper had to be disconnected from a bus no longer related to that circuit. , and when I  used pliers to pull it free from the connector,  I slipped and pulled the wire off the point.
Could not fix that without removing the point.  It took a millisecond to pull the wire and two days to try and fix it.

Ok point is back in with new wires fixed firmly in place. About 30 minutes work, this far.
However no matter what I did, I could not get the throw wire through the throw bar. And on my own, I just had to remove the point motor, mount a new longer wire and lay on my back underneath to try and feed the wire through the throw bar. Even with a light on top, I had a lot of trouble finding the hole in the throw bar.. damn!!
Finally I walked away and went inside. Gave up for the day.

Next day I tried again. This time I cleaned out the hole in the baseboard and re-positioned the light on top, and after bending myself underneath again, and trying about 20 times to push the throw wire through and using double sided tape to hold the tortoise in place. Then getting out and looking at the point to find that I had missed again....
I finally decided to remove the point, again and relay it after placing the wire through the throw bar. You of course realize I am standing on a stool, looking over the  scenic block and I have 4 insulated joiners on the point to feed into place all together??  Ok so you know, why I don't want to do this.

So I re-positioned the light and used a board and a cushion to save my back, and finally got a better view and got the damn wire through the throw bar. And as well the double sided tape still held after pulling it free once or twice to align the tortoise with the existing holes drilled. I screwed it in.

Great stuff ! So I connected up all the wires and tested the point motor!   Look at the picture!!  Its hard to see but that is smoke blurring the shot...

Goodness gracious me!!   This is the first time I have ever turned good wire into smoke. (at least on this layout, hmm I do remember wiring up a box trailer a few years back)
What I have done is beyond my comprehension. No idea what I did wrong. Just hope the damage is local :(

It is the point power supply that has shorted out (12v at 25 amps)  It feeds from the main DCC transformer and I might change this now. I probably could run it on a 2.5 amp plug pack? It does not have a fuse and the power supply did not trip.

It appears to have reached that joiner and not gone further?

So two days of work and still not fixed. In fact I am digging a bit of a hole here, for myself :(
The smoke should have cleared by now, and so time to go and see what I did wrong, and how to fix this new stuff up... sih!!
Hope the filters in air conditioner do not hold the plastic stink too long

Cheers
Rod