# lane direction issue



## Hoganflagle (Sep 21, 2019)

Hi while testing out my set that has been in storage for over 50 years I discovered I can't remember how it was set up. I connected power to just the terminal section of the track to test my cars and discovered that the car wants to run the opposite direction of the other lane. Looking at the schematics I found in this forum didn't help as I have an older three connection type terminal. I have the older HO track that uses side pins and center couplers. My terminal track has three wire connection screws... inner lane/common/outer lane. Turning it over you can see the common is connected to the two center metal rails with the two outer metal rails being a lane rail. I have a transformer with two 22VDC screws and two 20VAC screws since it was designed for trains also. Right now I only have one non reversible two wire controller.

I have run a wire from the common track screw to one of the 22VDC screws. I have run one of the controller wires to the other 22VDC screw and the other controller wire to one of the lane screws. When testing each lane I notice that the slot car goes in one direction for one lane but the other lane it goes in the opposite. Swapping the controller wires around two the same screws has no effect on direction. If I change the common track wire to the other transformer screw it changes both lane directions so I still have opposing traffic flow.

Tried reading this online schematic tip:

Using Non-Reversing Controllers 
If you are using non-reversing controllers then one terminal track screw is wired directly to the transformer, the other terminal track screw connects one wire from a controller, the other wire from the controller connects to the other screw on the transformer.
You can change the direction of travel for BOTH cars by swapping the wires attached to the transformer.
You can change the direction of travel for ONE cars by swapping the wires for one lane attached to the transformer or swapping the wires for one lane on the terminal track. Driving in opposite directions can be very dangerous for cars that fishtail on curves. Meeting on a squeeze track or lane change track causes a head-on collision. 
Can anyone simplify the following statement as it does not make sense to me as I only have two transformer screws to attach to? " You can change the direction of travel for ONE cars by swapping the wires for one lane attached to the transformer or swapping the wires for one lane on the terminal track"
Is the fact that my only having one controller connected causing these problems and it will be sorted out once I have two Non-reversing controllers connected? Or the fact that I have not connected my track in a complete circuit yet?


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

simply get a newer terminal track section with 4 screws.

what brand of track?
I have extra Aurora terminals I can make available.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Welcome to the boards @Hoganflagle !

I seem to recall a set that the cars ran against each other, but maybe it was just wishful thinking back then on my part. :freak:


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## Hoganflagle (Sep 21, 2019)

Here is the really strange part. I know we had racing flow VS traffic flow because we even have a track section where the cars are set with free rollers for the rear tires and a manual lock plate where two cars are running and you pull the switch and off they go racing each other. My father was the one who had the set put together so no clue if there had been a 4 terminal section that has since been lost.

Purchased a 4 terminal and a second transformer. Thanks everyone.


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## Hoganflagle (Sep 21, 2019)

*Aurora Model Motoring?*



alpink said:


> simply get a newer terminal track section with 4 screws.
> 
> what brand of track?
> I have extra Aurora terminals I can make available.


Hi; I had already ordered a 4 terminal off ebay, but thanks. My track has "Aurora" and "Model Motoring" on the underside. They uses a pair of metal guide pins on each side and use a plastic U clip in the center to connect sections with some having a small hole to screw to the support board. Not sure if Aurora Model Motoring is what they are titled?

One problem I face is that these track sections have been in the Florida humidity for 50+ years so the rails have a light coat of rust. There is a hard rubber eraser/track cleaner in the kit that we once used but wondering if there is something less harsh that I can use to clean them with. I have ordered a bottle of track cleaner from ebay but don't know how well it will tackle the rust. Tips?


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

With HO tracks positive will be the left hand rail when you are looking in the direction of travel. You must have an unusual set where the cars would always be going in opposite directions unless you had the controllers with reversing switches. Lacking those controllers there is no way to use the three connection power strip unless you modified it, but it is much easier to buy a four connection power strip.
You have the original Aurora Model Motoring lock and joiner track. In my opinion it is not a great idea to use track that has rusted. Removing the rust would be very time consuming no matter what method you used and rusted rails that have been cleaned will be much more prone to rusting in the future. Model Motoring track was OK when it was new, but it is actually a rather poor design because the electrical connections between the track sections can often fail. You might be able to find MM track that is not rusted at a reasonable price, but the ultimate answer is to use Tomy/AFX track.
While you are waiting for that four connection power strip if you have pancake cars you could just open up a car and reverse the magnets to make it run in the right direction.


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## SpeedyNH (Sep 13, 2014)

those 3-terminal tracks were from the original Aurora vibrator cars and used AC (rather than DC) and which ran forward whichever direction the car was pointed, regardless of track polarity. for simple construction, the inner two rails of the terminal track were 'hot', unfortunately resulting in opposite +/- connections (and different car directions) when used with modern DC power. as mentioned above, you need the 4-terminal section so that you have independent access to all four rails.


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## Big Ralph (May 18, 2017)

After reading the OP very closely, this is wrong:
_...common is connected to the two center metal rails with the two outer metal rails being a lane rail._
As others in this thread have pointed out, both lanes will share the same polarity. The left rail will be common (ground, negative, etc.) and the right rail will be lane (controller, positive, etc.) when looking down the lane in the direction of travel.
If the "two center rails" are both connected to common, then the two lanes have opposite polarities from each other. Which ever lane you are looking at, the other lane should have the same connection. In other words, if common is connected to the left rail on the left lane, then common should also be connected to the left rail on the right lane.
This is NOT what the OP describes.
(This response is probably pointless considering how old this thread is).


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks for posting though! We have a lot of visitors who only read the information posted here - so it may prove helpful to someone today or later on! 🤙


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