Motor Isolation

[Steve Lancaster]

Good Evening,
I'm a little confused on the subject of motor isolation for DCC applications.
Does the actual motor frame need to be isolated from the frame,or is it just the motor leads, ie the ground connection, that needs to be isolated?

Thanks Steve

 

[Acela82]

You must isolate the motor leads from the chassis. I use tape for that and it works fine...

 

[DanRaitz]

If your motor has two (2) wire leads it should be fine, but if it has only one (1) wire going to it (as in Athearn BB) you aren't. If there is only the one wire then you will have to isolate the motor frame from the chassis.

Dan

 

[60103]

Ultimately, what needs to be isolated are the motor brushes. If there aren't two wires, you may be able to isolate the other brush and run a wire to it. (Old open-frame motors can have another piece of insulation added to the grounded brush.) Some locos are constructed so that you can't isolate enough -- I have a number where the frame is a solid piece that also forms the motor frame and has the brush mounted in it.