Bachmann Online Forum

Discussion Boards => HO => Topic started by: ewing railroad on February 11, 2014, 07:55:12 PM

Title: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: ewing railroad on February 11, 2014, 07:55:12 PM
i just put a sound decoder,supposedly a bachmann replacement item,in my ho 4-8-4 class j engine,when i ran it on dc,lights worked fine ,added dcc ,now no lights,what happened?it is a spectrum model,do you have to change the bulbs and if so to what? HELP Jim
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: richg on February 11, 2014, 08:30:22 PM
All the DCC locos I use, I have to turn on the lights myself. Once turned on, they switch between front and rear depending on the direction I select.

Rich
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: Jerrys HO on February 11, 2014, 08:46:26 PM
ew

I believe Richg is trying to say is... function 0 turns the lights on and off.
In DC control you had no control but now you do! ;)

Jerry
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: HDiedrichs on February 12, 2014, 12:17:38 AM
Well did you actually wire up the light? Also was it an LED or lamp? If its an LED you may have to drop it down in voltage since you can't tun 12 volts straight through a 2 volt LED. If you have a 2 volt LED and a 12 volt output on the controller then you need a 1k ohm resistor to drop that down or you'll burn up the LED.

If you press function 0 and the lights don't come on then either you did not wire the lights OR you burned out the LED when you first turned it on. If its a bulb then you can just wire it directly since most lamps can handle the 12 volts.

The bulb that came with the engine should be fine and no replacement needed. Was the engine DCC ready when you got it and you merely plugged in a controller?
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: ewing railroad on February 12, 2014, 10:00:16 AM
thanks for all the help,this morning,i rotated the 8 pin plug 180 and guess what!!!! i have lights!thanks again,a nice engine now sounds and looks great.   Jim
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: richg on February 12, 2014, 01:09:31 PM
Quote from: ewing railroad on February 12, 2014, 10:00:16 AM
thanks for all the help,this morning,i rotated the 8 pin plug 180 and guess what!!!! i have lights!thanks again,a nice engine now sounds and looks great.   Jim

That is quite common from all the forums I belong to. The plug and socket are clearly marked as are the wire colours on the decoder.

Rich
Title: Re: train lights before and after dcc conversion
Post by: Jerrys HO on February 12, 2014, 05:49:05 PM
Quote from: ewing railroad on February 12, 2014, 10:00:16 AM
thanks for all the help,this morning,i rotated the 8 pin plug 180 and guess what!!!! i have lights!thanks again,a nice engine now sounds and looks great.   Jim

Great job I had forgot all about that one.
At least you did not have to press 0 for them to work or 2 for English ;D.

Jerry