 Joined: 12/08/2022(UTC) Posts: 2 Location: Auckland, Auckland
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I am a complete novice when it comes to the wiring on my layout. I have a mate helping me and every time we finish a section we find that the lights on the points are lit up at all times. He has decided that is being caused by a short in the wiring but as every thing else is working he takes the bulbs out. I have just finished a section by myself and am unable to find any wiring fault but the lights on the points are as usual lit up. My question is "is this a fault or are the points supposed to remain lit up to make it easier to determine which way the points are set.". Any assistance would be appreciated thank you.
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 Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,422 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Originally Posted by: mitchnz  I am a complete novice when it comes to the wiring on my layout. I have a mate helping me and every time we finish a section we find that the lights on the points are lit up at all times. He has decided that is being caused by a short in the wiring but as every thing else is working he takes the bulbs out. I have just finished a section by myself and am unable to find any wiring fault but the lights on the points are as usual lit up. My question is "is this a fault or are the points supposed to remain lit up to make it easier to determine which way the points are set.". Any assistance would be appreciated thank you. Hi Mitch, Welcome to the Forum! Yes, traditional M-track points have lights that stay illuminated. It has nothing to do with a short in the wiring. If you take out the light bulbs the points will work just as well, they just will not have illuminated directional markers. On our older M-track layout I removed one of the lights that was inside a tunnel entrance since it was more or a distraction than a help. Other points I had inside tunnels I left the lights working. Its all just a question of personal preference. Cheers - Mark |
DB DR FS NS SNCF c. 1950-65, fan of station architecture esp. from 1920-70.
In single point perspective, where do track lines meet?
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Joined: 12/08/2022(UTC) Posts: 2 Location: Auckland, Auckland
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Thank you. That will make life a lot easier.
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 1 user liked this useful post by mitchnz
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Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,422 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Originally Posted by: mitchnz Thank you. That will make life a lot easier. I should add that some M-track users take out the lights because they are quite bright and might not be the look they are going for but also they do require more consumption of power which may be an issue on a larger layout. Removing the lights helps conserve power. However, you would need a layout of substantial size to make a difference. (Anyone who has done this already and can address the issue?) Some others replace the bulbs with LEDs but that is too much work for me. |
DB DR FS NS SNCF c. 1950-65, fan of station architecture esp. from 1920-70.
In single point perspective, where do track lines meet?
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Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC) Posts: 3,994 Location: Paremata, Wellington
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The lighted turnout lanterns are a bit of a nostalgic thing for many - if you have a layout that you like to run at night, ie lights in the houses, street lights etc, the turnout lanterns just give another feature to add to the overall effect.
Personally, I like them but they are not to everyone's taste. The older M-track ones are large and chunky and hard to miss.
Then they reduced them in size quite considerably with the release of the curved turnouts, and K-track, and even more-so with C-track.
Because they are now an option with C-track rather than built in, not so many modellers would bother.
Steve |
Cookee Wellington  |
1 user liked this useful post by cookee_nz
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 Joined: 17/04/2003(UTC) Posts: 997 Location: Netherlands
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Originally Posted by: Mark5 Some others replace the bulbs with LEDs but that is too much work for me.
You can buy LEDs with the appropriate fitting and suitable for 24V. Installing them is just as much effort as replacing the normal bulb when it's time is over.  I use these in some of my tinplate coaches as well to bring down the power consumption. Best regards, Gregor
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3 users liked this useful post by Gregor
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 Joined: 02/02/2017(UTC) Posts: 694 Location: England, South Coast
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I am often amazed by how long the old bulbs last.
Not long ago I got a package of old rusty M track that had been in someone's damp shed for years. Of the twelve sets of points the lights still worked on eleven even though some appeared quite blackened.
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1 user liked this useful post by Michael4
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Joined: 09/08/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,919 Location: Auckland,
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Originally Posted by: mitchnz I am a complete novice when it comes to the wiring on my layout. I have a mate helping me and every time we finish a section we find that the lights on the points are lit up at all times. He has decided that is being caused by a short in the wiring but as every thing else is working he takes the bulbs out. I have just finished a section by myself and am unable to find any wiring fault but the lights on the points are as usual lit up. My question is "is this a fault or are the points supposed to remain lit up to make it easier to determine which way the points are set.". Any assistance would be appreciated thank you. Hi Mitch, Glad you got a quick answer. If you find yourself stuck at any stage, there are a few of us here in the Auckland region who can offer advise. Cheers… Mike
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 Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 3,559 Location: Paris, France
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Originally Posted by: Michael4 I am often amazed by how long the old bulbs last.
Not long ago I got a package of old rusty M track that had been in someone's damp shed for years. Of the twelve sets of points the lights still worked on eleven even though some appeared quite blackened. Hi Michael It is not a matter of these lamps being old but rather a matter of how long they have been lighted. The bulbs being in a very small space have a very short life (on a normal use, you would replace them once a year or so. Same with 7039-7043 signal. I replaced the bulbs with high quality LEDs and they last forever with little current draw. What is a high quality LED replacement for 60000 Märklin lamps? - socket is firmly attached / molded with the LED - the LED includes a bridge rectifier so that it works with both polarities or in AC Look for them in German ebay for LED ms4 19V (not always there and holiday time is not the best for this). Avoid regular LEDs flimsily attached to an MS4 socket w/o rectifier. Avoid also Viessmann LEDs (real s..t quality) https://www.ebay.de/itm/38424661...1ffdc:g:b5sAAOSwjKtg2Z0XCheers Jean |
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1 user liked this useful post by JohnjeanB
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