# NCE Power Cab



## marzbarz (Sep 23, 2011)

When connecting my bus wires to the NCE power panel I ran into a snag. Which one is positive and which one is negative??? I'm afraid to fry this little panel off!!! lol, Anyone here wire a power cab up before.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

In DCC,there's no + or - when speaking of the bus wires from the power station to the track.It's like AC so they can be swapped without any problem.However,you have to identify them when doing the connections on the layout so that you don't cross them anywhere...you'd then have a short.


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## marzbarz (Sep 23, 2011)

Thank you Brakeman Jake, that is good to hear. Thank s for the reply I kept staring at the panel looking for a + sign!!!!! lol


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## TheZeke (Aug 20, 2012)

Brakeman Jake said:


> In DCC,there's no + or - when speaking of the bus wires from the power station to the track.It's like AC so they can be swapped without any problem.However,you have to identify them when doing the connections on the layout so that you don't cross them anywhere...you'd then have a short.


I know this is an older post but I had to mention that I don't think this is necessarily true 100%. While they might not cause a short they won't be in phase if they are reversed. See http://www.wiringfordcc.com/commons3.htm for more information on this.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

This is completely different...the first discussion was about the wiring coming off a SINGLE power station...you better identify them so you don't cross them anywhere on the layout or a plain old SHORT will occur.

What you're referring to is when adding a SECOND power station or booster,then again you have to identify them so that they're in PHASE indeed.What happens if you cross them between boosters?That I haven't tried,I'd bet it's not a good thing....


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

What I did for my little 4'x6' display set up (Which breaks down into 4 2'x3' sections) is rail A wire is red and rail B is black. The outer rail is Rail A and the inner is rail B on my table.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

The colors chosen aren't really important as long as you set standards and keep them so taht you don't end up with a wire mess that you can't understand in the future.


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