Hi!
AFAIK is the GP40 similar to GP50 and U-23B. There's no wiring whatsoever, simply pull the shell, unscrew the two body screws, lift off the upper  body halve, turn the motor 180° and place it back in the body, so the two motor contacts meet their contact points again. Carefully set the trucks in and keep an eye on the two semi-circle brass contacts outside the body slots and the plastic spacers between body halves. Push the lamps back in and that was it.
The loco will now run in correct direction.
With a little skill in tinkering the most of this is self-explanatory while working on it.

Regards
Mathi

Hi!
Why don't you look way north of you to Denton / Flower Mound? There is a shop who's selling Bachmann galore and darn cheap. You can find TheFavoriteSpot also on ebay.

Regards
Mathi

Well,
no response! My problem does not occur with most of you since almost every mini decoder in the US has that blue wire attached but in Europe / Germany the producers of hardwired mini decoders abandon the blue.
Ok, I dared and gave it a shot. I bridged power from red to blue and can tell you now:
Everthing is fine, no decoder toast or something.
Just to inform you!

Regards
Mathi

Hi!
I want put a decoder into a H16-44 and have just one without the blue wire, light +.
So how can I get light power to the soldering pc boards no. 7 for the blue wire? Can I connect this point with one of the pickup wires, red or black?

Regards
Mathi

Thank you skipgear,
this was exactly what I wanted to know.

And btw to you and all us citizens:
Have a great day on happy 4th of July!!!

Hi!
Can you tell me where to clip the jumpers on after desoldering the decoder?
Am I right to put one on 8-1-2 and the other one on 4-5-6 and leave No. 7 alone (7 is common lighting and coloured blue usually). Both the jumpers have 3 contacts and will connect the light and the motor contacts to the rail.
Although the H-4 is a very good and sound runner it hesitates a second before it starts to run in either direction. I believe its due to the decoder management of DC-power and if I refuse the decoder it will more directly respond to the throttle commands. Thats the reason why I'm thinking about unsoldering the decoder since I'm striktly running analog DC.

Regards
Mathi

Hi!

Did you try all the suggested tweaking tips for the spectrum 2-8-0 Con one can find here and in several other forums?
Loosening the frame and bottom screws just a very small 1/4 to 1/2 turn?

The non-runner has that cap to "stick" the uninsulated wire ends to the frame halves. If they provide no contact to the metal its easy to cure by bending it to the right place and put cap over it.

Regards
Mathi

Hi!
You should check if the grinders motor holding screw is tightened enough to pull the motor down on the gear. If the motor worm has less contact to the gear it will give such grinding noise.
The screw is the rearmost at the underside if you turn the loco upside down.

Regards
Mathi

Hi!
Why don't try tis:
Change the traction tires. Replace them with some slightly ticker tires and and the rail contact problem is easyly solved.
I cut my tires from silicon tubes 3 and 5mm dia., a cheap way to replace 'em on all of my locos.

Regards
Mathi

Ah Yeah, thanks a lot!

Although I run it DC with the decoder and it acts absolutely great. Do you think it will more improve if I pull the decoder and put the jumpers in (no idea where to place 'em, nothing about that in the manual)? Should I give it a try or better not touch a good running engine?

Hello!
When I opened the locos box there was a small plasticbag with two tiny brass clips and I wonder what they are good for. I have no clue, can anyone get me "back on track", please?
The loco is a dream in look and performance, btw!

Best regards

Mathi

Hi!
Those locos usually have the traction wheels on the very last axle in the rear truck. I don't know why but that causes the wobbling of some of my older Bachmann diesels.
I cured this issue by exchanging the two rear wheelsets and, like magic, the wobble is over and the locos run with no wiggle and wobble.
The new situated traction tired wheels are doing their job as well, no change in pulling  power.
This improvement is easily done and I am asking why Bachm. is placing the wheels this way, or does no qc check that before?
Hope this little tip will help some of you fellas out there....

Regards
Mathi

HuuHuu Mr. Bach-Man!?!

Hi!
I have an older 4-8-4 Northern Overland with Vandy tender and would like to get some more information about this loco. It seems to be from the third run with "white box" according to spookshow. The item number on the box is 53551 but I can't find any infos for this certain steamer, not even here on this hp.
The loco is a very well runner, not loud and pulls everthing I hook. In order to extend the power pickup to the tender and put a little weight in it (ok, not really necessary) I am looking for a way to open the tender. There is no screw or clip to find and the whole thing seems to be glued.
Where's the clue?

Regards
seadowns