I constantly have problems with the plugs between the engine and tender.
Is there a better way to hook up or do I have to always deal with the bad soldering and broken connections?
Quoteor do I have to always deal with
Not necessarily.
That's all on you.
Change what you can, deal with what you can't.
Why not return to Bachmann for repair or replacement warranty?
Or, if you know how to solder (I do), fix it yourself (I would).
I do understand the PITA it is.
But you have at least those two options.
Good luck
I feel your pain. Those little plugs are really a pain. They are hard to separate while trying to hold the loco and tender in one hand and pulling on the plug by trying to get my fingernails under the little lip of the plug with the other hand.
Fortunately, I haven't broken anything yet. I'm thinking I need something like a below the surface service bay in car garages. I could roll the loco over the hole and then there would be enough room underneath to reach up with a pair of pliers to pull it part.
I usually use a small watchmakers screwdriver to lever the female connector out.
A tip is to glue down the mail connector to the pcb with a tiny drop of superglue.
I had several of those that broke away from the soldering on the pcb.
Ton
I roll my steamers onto their backs on a foam cradle, then using needle tipped tweezers, I pry the plugs straight up and out of the sockets. I have yet to stress or break a wire.
Bachmann's connection system is fine, it's just needs a gentle touch and tools to separate. Ton's idea of a small screwdriver would work well also.
Bachmann needs to put a warning in the box that says "fingers are not a suitable removal tool".
Sid
I find an IC chip removal tool works pretty well for removing those plugs:
(http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_184206_3.jpg)
They're cheap enough, Bachmann should include one in the box with the loco.
The key is DO NOT PULL ON THE WIRES!!
Len
Len........
I like that solution. One of those is on the list for my next trip to the electronics supply house.
Sid
As has been mentioned several times on this forum, it's about time Bachmann standardized on one plug for all tender to locomotive connections. Preferably a single plug. There is no reason why we have some connections with two plug and some with one. It makes inventory and cost control much easier with only one plug to carry in stock. It's poor design standards to have two types when there is no need for two.
Cheers.