Oops, for the record, it was terminal 2 on my photo. Getting late...
Hopefully, here is my last chapter on this issue: SUCCESS! Thanks to all the excellent advice and guidance from the posts on this forum, I was able to achieve my ideal goal: gateman light stays on and is on separate circuit from gateman; gateman and accessories activated by insulated rail; system incorporates the Insulated Rail Signal Driver (30100 -IRSD) to avoid contact bounce. This was after many more hours of frustration. Got one gateman unit and accessory to function as I wanted; on 2nd gateman unit, accessories would activate, but not the gateman. Good grief! After hours of troubleshooting (triple checking wiring, exchanging gatemen, then IRSD relays), finally found that power wire to IRSD had faulty suitcase connector from bus wire feed, therefore, the IRSD was not functioning. What a relief. Resolved the wiring issue and now all is good.
Now there is one quirky issue, but I am not concerned with it: when I turned off the power to bus line that supplies power to the IRSD, the gateman activates. Strange, but a feature I can live with, b/c that particular bus line is a constant 14 v for the switch tracks on the layout. I will seldom cut that power, and if this becomes an issue, I'll just insert a switch for the gateman.
Thanks again,
Michael
Success is good! You also discovered the number one reason suitcase connectors are not the best choice for connections. Terminal strips, wire nuts, and Wago connectors are all more positive ways to get the job done for the next project.
John,
Yes, I have learned so much at the various stages to date on building this layout, and except for the frustration of this saga with the gatemen, this 3-year journey to date has been fabulous. Just ask my wife!
And as to electrical connections, somewhere I learned about Posi-tap connectors, ordered and used them before I began using the suitcase connectors. They are easy to use, and much easier to remove when necessary. Come in various sizes. When I ran low, I switched to the suitcase connectors, which are readily available. They seemed to work fine, until this experience. I'll be very careful when I use these in the future. I have also used the Wago connectors, although did not know them by that name. Only issue there is that wires can not be removed if want to do this, and not easy to tap into existing wire.
Thanks,
Michael
