Probably I didn't read the article carefully enough (which is usually the case) but is the LED for a DC or DCC installation. Put another way, to what do the green and blue wires attach? Also, is the LED a flashing LED or does it need to be programmed through a decoder? GS
Greg, it can be fore DC or DCC. It's a plain LED, so to get it to flash you need to hook it up to a decoder. If to a decoder then just use the blue and green wired on it. On DC, the blue should be your positive (on decoders blue is positive.) They do make units to make lights flash on standard DC. Tom Holey could tell you more about those. Ethan
Greg, the green and blue wires indicated would be from a four function DCC decoder that has loose wires for direct-wiring. On such a decoder, here is the color scheme: Red - right rail Black - Left Rail Orange - Motor + Gray - Motor - Blue - Positive power (12-14v for lighting) White - Ground control for headlight (function 1) F0 forward direction Yellow - Ground control for rear headlight (function 2) F0 reverse direction Green - Ground control for function 3 light (controlled by F5) Brown - Ground control for function 4 light (controlled by F6) The decoder can then be programmed to reproduce a number of different lighting effects with the function wires, ranging from simple off/on, to strobe flash, to possibly two different rotary beacon effects. Please direct any further DCC questions to the DCC sub-forum: http://www.frisco.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?311-DCC I will be glad to answer any questions in great detail if needed.
Keith is correct, I usually put my rotary beacon on F5 using the Blue and Green wires while putting a Mars light on F6 using Blue and Brown. Most Frisco Diesels are going to require a DCC decoder with at least four function wires, White, Yellow, Green, and Brown be they sound or non sound. Keep in mind that LEDs are Light Emitting Diodes and they act just like any other Diode; they will pass current and light up in the forward direction only and will not light in the inverse or reverse direction. They are current driven devices once the Forward Voltage Drop is met. They require a current limiting resistor in series with them to function correctly. Most will operate just fine using a 1000 ohm 1/4 watt resistor, but some of the newer ones draw so little current that you must use a higher valve resistor. When using a LED you have never used before; You must determine the resistor value for that LED. LED are best run on DC, even DCC is actually DC for the light functions with the Blue wire output set at 14 VDC Positive and the function wire turns on the ground connection. Unlike normal rectifier diodes, LEDs have a very low reverse voltage rating, so running them on AC or DCC track voltage is not recommended. If you do, put a 1N4000 series diode in reverse parallel with a LED to protect it when using them on AC. A LED reverse voltage rating is never more than 5 volts, so be very cautious of using them on AC of any voltage. Retired Electrical/Electronics Engineer.
