Wiring problem Fed Sig Micropulse

[GlennJ.0158]

I’m a retired volunteer working on the Trenton NJ Unity Tour trailer. I have all of the easy parts done and am working on the lighting package at the moment.

I have a box of older Federal Signal Micropulse RB lights to work with. I’ve set up a bread board to test the wiring and programming design and things are not working as I expected so it’s time to ask for help.

The design goal is to provide programming and synchronization of the various lights. I clearly have a misunderstanding of how this works because the <> thing does not work.

Basically, I ran a 12v bus (2 wire) and a yellow control line around the inside of the trailer. Each light is connected Red to +, Black to -, and yellow to a tip connection of a ¼” audio jack with shunt. The shunt is connected to the control bus. The ring of the jack is connected to +12v. A NO push button is handle mounted. There are two schematic documents attached.

When the jack is plugged in the shunt is opened and the light is isolated from the yellow control bus. Pressing the button connects +12v to the control line for that light.

I currently have all of the lights connected to power and each of the lights turn on and flash. I have connected two (2) of the lights to the control bus and things fail. I don’t understand the problem but am sure I am doing something simple wrong. The lights are connected to a breadboard on the workbench. This eliminates any chance of shorts or breaks in the wiring where it can't be seen.

Programming sequence.

• Insert jack to isolate light and enable programming.
• +12v to control for 5-8 seconds to enable control mode. Light turns off and turns on in program mode when power removed.
• Light flashes 1 or 2 or 3 times. 1=master, 2=slave, 3 = alt slave.
• Short pulse 12v to the control line to shift between master/slave/alt slave modes.
• +12v to control for 4-5 seconds till light turns off to exit control mode.
• Short pulse +12v to control line to step between light programs. Stop when correct.
• Remove jack to connect yellow control line back to control bus.

How it then works:

• With one light connected to the control bus the process works.
• With two lights connected to the control bus I get strange results:
• The second light programs correctly.
• When the jack is removed both connected lights go dark as though +12v was supplied to the control wires.
• Turning power to the system off and then back on causes both lights to light.
• Even though Light 1 is the master and Light 2 is a slave the lights do not synchronize.

Synchronization

• Assume there is one master, one slave, and one alternate slave. All use a pattern that has Red/Blue alternating left/right on each light.
• Connecting the yellow control lines together should sync the lights. The resulting pattern should be:
  • Master - Red Blue - Blue Red - Red Blue -- and so on
  • Slave - Red Blue - Blue Red - Red Blue -- and so on
  • Alt Slave - Blue Red - Red Blue -- and so on

When the control lines are connected there is no difference in the pattern on any of the lights.

I have thousands of questions but only three seem important

* Can anyone tell me what's wrong or point me in a direction? I'm stumped.
* How should synchronization work?
* Should sync work if there are both single color (red and blue) and two color lights?

 

[GlennJ.0158]

It turns out there were two issues involved.

A wiring problem on one of the jacks applied +12V to the control bus at all times. This caused the erratic light issue.

Synchronization between the lights becomes effective the next time the power is turned off. When the power comes up the lights are in sync. There may be other actions that would cause the lights to sync.

My problem is resolved.

The circuit diagram attached to the initial message uses common audio jacks to allow the lights to be reprogrammed at will. I set up a control board with a jack for each light in the system.

The control jack has a normally open (NO) push button and a long cord.

Insert the control cord into the jack of the light to be programmed. Pressing the button delivers +12v to the control line for that light allowing you to reset the light, change the mode from master to slave or alternate slave, and change the light's pattern. The cord is long enough to allow you outside the trailer to observe the light in question.

Feel free to use the circuit or the idea as suits your needs.

Regards
Glenn