Peco electrofrog frog feed wire missing

[bescotbeast]

I purchased some secondhand Code75 medium points that had the live frog feed wire missing (looked as though they'd been pulled off), I carried out the modifications detailed here http://www.peco-uk.com/imageselector/Files/Instruction%20sheets/Code75ConTurnoutInst.pdf regarding option 2 as I run DCC on my layout , my larger locos run over the points fine but my Jocko shunt engine stalls owing to it's short wheelbase. I tried adding a feed wire between the Insulated join and the frog but this resulted in a loco shorting when it crossed over the insulated join. Are these points useless or can I do something to get them fed without shorting?

                                                            Thanks in advance for any help

                                                                                Simon

[RFS]

These frog wires are quite fragile and as a matter of course I removed them from mine and soldered on a more robust connection.  But whichever way you connect up the frog, it must be via an accessory switch linked to the point motor.  In the Peco documentation it shows the use of the PL-13 switch connected to the PL-10 motor.  I actually use Tortoise point motors which have two built-in switches and one of those is wired to power the frog.

[bescotbeast]

Thanks for replying RFS, so if I basically wire both of the legs of the frog to the same wire i'll be replicating the missing wire? I wasn't sure if the peco wire connected both rails, then as you say control the feed via a switch?.

                                                           Simon

[RFS]

The frog in these turnouts actually consists of 4 pieces of rail which should all be connected together with wires underneath.  Therefore you should only need to attach the feed wire from the switch to one of these rails.  But I'd check that's OK: when I reused all my code 75 turnouts for my current layout, I checked connectivity with a multimeter before laying, and a couple of turnouts needed an extra wire.

[bescotbeast]

Thanks RFS, i'll persevere with them as I was all set to rip them up and waste money on some new ones, money which can be better spent on wagons  .

                                                 Simon

[Ray H]

Simon

 

As has been mentioned above, assuming that no other damage has been done by the removal of the wire (and you can check the four rails are electrically connected using a test meter), all you should need to do is to solder a wire to one of the two rails that come together at the apex of the frog - these are probably the easiest two of the four rails to solder to. Take the soldered wire to a switch to which you also connect a wire connected to each of the two running lines such that you can position the switch to link the wire soldered to the frog via the switch to one (and only one at a time) of the two wires connected to the running rails. The switch needs to work in unision with the point setting and is often a micro switch operated by the point's tie bar or an inbuilt switch on the point motor.

 

Unless the points are out of gauge or have some other material defect I can't see why you should need to throw them away.

[BR60103]

If your track plan will allow it, you can solder the feed to the next rail beyond the frog; that's if you don't need to put the insulated joiners in. A bit less delicate than soldering to the frog.

[RFS]

Take the soldered wire to a switch to which you also connect a wire connected to each of the two running lines such that you can position the switch to link the wire soldered to the frog via the switch to one (and only one at a time) of the two wires connected to the running rails.

As this layout is DCC, these two switch wires need only connecting to the DCC bus - no need to go to the trouble of soldering to the running rails.

[bescotbeast]

Many thanks chaps for your help, the points will not be thrown out and the money saved has been earmarked for some more wagons to fill the sidings up.

                                                                                  Simon