All is working and reconnected to the DCS and all working perfect together.
Ok so Rob, you put me in the right direction. I wired everything as your diagram which as I stated was exactly how I read, and thought it should be. The ONLY exception was that all the posts, videos and readings stated that the Neutrals ( Blacks ) on the transformers should be wired together to make that " Common ground. " I wired all as the diagram that Rob posted. Powered up the transformers one at a time, with no blinking, no shorts. Turning on the PH180 put power to the track, then turning on the CW80 the gateman light went on, and man was inside, BUT, when I pushed a car into the accessory activator section no man appeared. Just nothing. Well at least no short I said. LOL.
My thoughts were that the hot was there to both the track and the gateman as I could run a train fine and the gateman shed light was on, so I figured there was no common getting to the gateman from the track rail. In short meaning, no common ground. The only thing I thought to try was to connect that missing wire, ( as referenced above ) from one transformer to the other. Changing nothing from Rob's diagram. I just additionally attached a wire from the PH180 neutral to the black (U) terminal on the track power side of the CW 80. I honestly though that doing this was going to make the CW 80 blink shorting again as soon as I turned it on, but it did not! With this wire between the two transformer blacks connected there was still no short with both on, and then when I pushed the car across the Activator section the gateman came out and all worked as it should. Track getting power from the PH180 and all the accessories including the gateman from the CW 80.
So, the wire from black to black or Neutral to Neutral ( U ), however you want to refer to it, seems to be needed between both transformers obtain a common ground to have the Accessory Activation track make the accessory work.
I wish to conclude and be definitive and hopefully clear:
- Yes you can indeed use the PH180 to just power the track and then use the CW 80 to power accessories and in conjunction with the Accessory Activator track ( Fastrack Piece ) to activate an accessory, BUT there needs to be a wire connecting the neutrals ( Blacks ) of both the transformers.
- Yes, it will work using the Power from the CW 80 to power an accessory through the insulated Accessory Activation track. Nothing else is needed for this scenario just as Rob stated. Just to repeat, it needs the additional wire connecting both transformer neutrals ( Blacks) together.
- Remember the PH 180 6-22983 has a Molex connector. You can cut off and put wire connectors or use the bare wires to attach however you choose, Lock-on or whatever, or make your own Molex from parts, or you can buy, as I did, part 6-14194 which has the female Molex to mate, then spade connectors which I used to attach to the DCS.
Now also to be very clear on the title of this post: I was indeed told it could not be done by Lionel FIRST OFF. It was ONLY after politely insisting that there had to be someone in tech that could help me with two of their most popular transformers, that I was then put on hold, multiple times, with the final reply being they could not give instruction on how to do it, and also saying "to try to get another transformer." Which I again politely questioned, and then was told " I have to go because others are calling in, and the phone queue was backing up." Humm, not even to recommend just what that other transformer could be! Oh yes, there was one recommendation. That I could email my question to talktous@lionel.com or something like that. I own a family business running since 1948 and if I gave new clients who bought our products an answer like that, we would not be in business this long. In all fairness I was not misleading in any way nor did I mean to be. Customer support was low at best, in all fairness. The DCS never entered the conversation as it was irrelevant to the phasing question. Adriatic you were spot on in your assessment. Thanks for the support.
I wish to contribute to this forum to the best of my limited ability. If anyone has questions or would like a diagram I will be happy to make it up and send or post.
I want to thank all that gave constructive assistance and especially Rob, and hope that this post helps anyone thinking to try this way to power their layout. The CW 80 alone I think can handle a reasonable number of lights/accessories, and the PH 180 should handle 4-5 trains without issue. The CW80 came with a NY Central Flyer starter set and I bought the PH180 from ModelTrainstuff.com last week for 81.94 including shipping. I saw though they just raised it this week. I think this would work for a small to med-size layout for a minimal outlay of $$.
Bottom line: It can be done and works perfect. Thanks again Rob.
