After installing five Tortoise machines flawlessly, I encountered the problem child for two frustrating evenings! I put the spring wire on the machine through the pre-made center hole of an Atlas code 83 turnout throwbar and ketp it in the middle of the turnout (not pushed to one edge). I also did likewise with the tortoise spring wire. After following these suggestions from Circuitron, I manually moved the retaining screw (on the Tortoise) but the throw bar remained stationary.
Any suggestions for getting the Tortoise to move the throwbar?
What thickness of materials are you passing the wire through? My Tortoises are mounted under 1/2" ply subroadbed with cork roadbed and they work great. If you have thicker materials you might need stiffer wire?
Also the turnout points need to be loose and free. I am using Walthers turnouts and I find if there is any binding or sticking at all then it will affect performance. Sometimes the wire is not perfectly centered along the length of the track and this pushes the throwbar against one of the ties, and that can cause some sticking. Or there might be a bit of ballast or some other grit underneath the bar. The good news- once “tuned” I’ve never had one that did not work flawlessly. Of course my oldest Tortoise has “only” been in place three years but still I think that’s a pretty good record.
I have a roll of .038 music wire. I carefully open the hole on the Tortoise armature with a #62 drill in a pin vice. You don’t have to enlarge the hole in the fulcrum.
Before I lay the turnout I place a thin sheet of “slippery stuff” either backing from a sticker or thin mylar sheet, whatever I have handy, under the throwbar area with a thin slit in it for the actuating wire.
Still, the points should move freely, look for a stray bit of ballast, glue or maybe a piece of flash on the plastic of the turnout. Be sure the points are properly snapped into the clips at the throwbar, too.
As the pleased owner of nearly 70 Tortoises, these little machines operate flawlessly. I do replace the provided wire with a larger diameter (0.039) wire, but that does not seem to be your problem. I assume that your Tortoises are new.
One thing that I do with every new installation is to first manually test the movement of the point rails on the turnout. I also test the movement of the Tortoise by manually moving it in both directions with my finger. Then, I center the points, and center the Tortoise wire, and install the Tortoise.
If the movement of the Tortoise is restricted as you move it manually, a bit of ballast could be stuck in the gears, but this is highly unlikely if the Tortoise is new.
I’m not sure exactly what you’re telling us is “not moving.” Does the Tortoise itself operate, moving the wire from side to side at the bottom? With the Tortoise wire removed, does the throwbar move freely from side to side?
When I have problems with a newly-installed Tortoise, it’s usually because the wire is binding in the hole below the throwbar. I use foam roadbed and 2-inch pink foam. I drill a half-inch hole through the foam to make sure there’s enough clearance all around to prevent binding. Yes, I could use sharp pointy thing to punch a hole through the foam, but a drill will remove the material and leave me with a nice clean cylindrical hole.
Mr. B, et al:
Sorry for not responding sooner, but I installed the last Tortoise and notice a similar issue as before–the spring wire won’t work through the center hole of the turnout. For grins I put it along the hole outside the throw bar and it worked!
Step 2) Drill a hole under the turnout (3/8" to 1/2" is quite ok.
Step 3) Install the track. Check to assure that thswitch poinds still move perfectly.
Step 4) Solder THIN wires to the Tortoise, stranded is better than solid. You do not want the wires to interfere with the setting of the glue.
Step 5) Carefully, manually center the Tortoise actuator.
Step 6) Apply a liberal quantity of silicone caulk to the face of the tortoise. Keep it away from the moving parts.
Step 7) Thread the actuator up from the bottom of the table through the hole and through the hole in the throwbar.
Step 9) slide the Tortoise north south , east and west until the switch points are also centered and there is no fore and aft binding of the actuator rod. It should be perfectly straight.
Step 10) Tape or prop the tortoise in place while the cauld dries, usually this is not necessary.