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Friday, May 2, 2014

A quick wiring tip

When wiring two motors together in a locomotive, if the two motors are facing opposite directions (one faces forward, the other faces in reverse) be sure to wire the motors so that when one runs forwards, the other runs backwards, which will make the wheels turn the same direction.  Since that sentence was a bit confusing, here's a circuit diagram:


So here we have the locomotive.  The two electric motors are facing away from each other, so to get both motors to spin the same direction it is important to wire the "+" and the "-" together  between the two motors.  So if the motor on the right is fed current to go forwards, the motor on the left is fed the opposite current, but since it is in reverse the rear motor is helping to propel the locomotive forwards.  If both motors were wired the same, then each set of wheels would be spinning against each other and the locomotive would simply stay put

***Please note that this is only for locomotives that use the same gear system on both the front and rear trucks.  If the gears are geared opposite each other, then the two motors should be wired to the same polarity instead of being opposite.***

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