Thanks Rich. That looks easy enough. Will let you know what happens.

Ted

Thanks Rich and Rod for that good advice. This leaves me with a couple of options. I guess I am questioning if simply changing the resistor will do the job? That would be the easy way out. However with the design of the light tunnel, does that need to be modified as well? I would wonder what Bachmann would advise?

I am using a Soundtraxx decoder plugged into the original DCC On Board PCB.

Rod, how hard was it to remove the boiler shell? I have worked on a lot of locomotives, but never on the front end of a steamer. There are always those hidden screws, or secrets to the removal.

Ted

Rich,

The light has a yellowish tint. So is it an incandescent or LED?

I will take your advice and take a look in the tender and try and locate the resistor. That would be the easy way out. Otherwise I may try to do a replacement. Now, how much work is it to remove the boiler shell? Any surprises?

Ted

I have the Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-2 K4 Pacific. Right out of the box, the headlight is very dim. You really have to look closely to see that it is on. I recently installed a sound decoder on another similar engine, for a friend. Same problem. Having two of them with the same problem, makes me believe that there could possibly be a inherent problem. Does anyone know where the resistor might be mounted, in the boiler or on the board in the tender?

Can anyone offer any help as to what to do to make the headlight brighter, or is it a loss cause?

Thanks for the help.

Ted

Thanks John. Had to hunt around but found the drawing and others. Learn something new everyday. I did find the part, so will get it ordered.

Thanks for all your help!!!

Ted

John,

Tried the adapter upside down. Still dead in the water. I am going to purchase a Soundtraxx decoder and then should be up and running.

On another issue, do you know where I might get an exploded view of this engine?

Somehow my friend had the front truck off the engine, and lost the spring underneath. He replaced the spring with what he thought was the right size. Turns out it is not stiff enough to keep the truck tight. All it takes is a slight turn of the engine and the front truck derails. So I need an original spring.

Any ideas?

Thanks for all the advice on the decoder issue.

Ted

Okay guys, here are the pictures attached.

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t367/tedm453/DSC_2678.jpg

The first one shows the PCB mounted in the tender. It has a 20 pin adapter plugged in the top of the PCB. This adapter has the standard NMRA 8 pin female plug on the other end.

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t367/tedm453/DSC_2680.jpg

This is where the sound decoder plugs in as shown in the second picture.

I am wondering if this could be an MRC decoder. I have used them before, and they are shrink wrapped in an identical color.

So, probably out of the box Bachmann had a non-sound decoder plugged into the 8 pin plug, which gave it the DCC capabilites. Then someone wanted sound and replaced the non-sound factory decoder with a sound capable decoder.

Now, what say the experts.

Ted

I will get a photo posted tomorrow. And yes you are correct about the purple shrink wrap on Soundtraxx decoders. I was thinking that the loco cam with sound, but I stand corrected. It just puzzles me why it won't run without the secondary decoder.

Tomorrow.

Ted

Rich,

Just for tickles I tried the loco, without the sound decoder, again on the track. No response what so ever. If the PC on board does DCC, then why do I have nothing? The so-called sound decoder in question had to be installed for it to work, or at least that is what I think. Or did it have a non-sound decoder installed and maybe it was replaced by a sound decoder by the user?

What say ye?

Ted

Rich,

The decoder is shrink wrapped in a blue wrapper. I guess it could have been a user installed decoder, but my question would be if this sound decoder went bad, why does the engine not respond with just the PC installed board? It is listed as DCC on Board, and I do not see any mention of sound.

Ted

I not sure of the vintage of this model, but don't think it is too old.

This friend of mine bought it used, and it has a sound decoder installed, piggy backed on top of the usual DCC decoder. Right now the loco does not do anything. Somehow the sound decoder got fried and needs replaced. I did install as a temporary test, a diesel decoder, again plugged into the factory DCC decoder, and it came to life, sound and power.

Since this is a Spectrum with sound, I assumed it had a Soundtraxx. I have another Spectrum steam loco that has the Soundtraxx decoder.

Ted

Hey guys, I have a DCC Equipped C&O® H-4 2-6-6-2 Articulated Locomotive w/Vandy VC12 Tender with a bad decoder. I want to replace it, but want to match what was installed from the factory. I am assuming it is a Soundtraxx, from what I have seen in the past in Spectrum locomotives.

Any help in identifying the decoder would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Ted

Hey guys, problems resolved. What I did was several fixes.

First I added some shims to the throw rod. Didn't seem like much but it apparently made a difference.

Secondly, I added 1/2oz of weight to the front of the tender which helped.

Thirdly, I adjusted the wires between the loco and tender to loosen them up.

Not sure what single fix really resolved the problem, but it now runs through the turnout without derailing. Yeah!

Thanks for all your help and advice. Model railroading is certainly an ever ending learning experience.

Ted

Hey guys, thanks for the advice. Yes, I am running a DCC unit. After I submitted this thread, I did find some other posts regarding the K4 tenders.

I did try manually pushing the unit through the turnout. It seemed that applying a little downward pressure on the tender, it did not derail. So thinking it was a weight issue, I added some steel washers on the top of the tender, but towards the back. Probably where it is not really needed, but that was the only flat spot where they would stay put. Probably was about .5 oz. It would work under power for a few times, then when I thought I had it solved it would derail. I did read on one of the threads where someone said to add 2oz. That seems like a lot, but whatever works. I think I will try adding the weight, perhaps 1oz to start with. Should I distribute it front to back, or keep it above the front truck?

Someone also mentioned switching the wheel sets, front to back. I will gauge the wheels, but my thought is they are right on, since they seem to work fine otherwise.

I really doubt that the wiring is a problem. When I had it apart to install the Tsunami decoder, I adjusted the wiring so it did not bind up. Now, the draw bar is another interesting area. It is a pain to disconnect the loco from the tender, but I have done it enough times I am getting used to it. I don't suspect the draw bar at this time.

I have filed the moveable rail to make it sit tight against the outer rail. I also went as far to grind down the inside bottom of the outer rail, so that the moveable rail would sit tight. I have done this to the other turnouts, with success. I am not sure about the comment to shim the throw rod to make it less likely to shift. Would it still be loose enough to throw remotely?  Can you be more specific? Would this be a shim under the throw rod? Sounds like an interesting theory.

I am really confused with this problem since the unit works fine with other right hand turnouts.

I like the idea on documenting rolling stock, track, etc.. I will get that process started. Thanks!

For now the unit is sitting on the bench ready to disassemble. Might be a couple of days before I get to it. The wife seems to think "Christmas stuff" takes priority over "train stuff". Hmmmmm.

Will let you guys know what I find. Thanks again for all your advice.

Ted

I have been using the EZ Track turnouts for 2 years. For the most part they work most of the time. But I could spend a lot more time running trains if I didn't have to keep tweaking the turnouts to avoid derailments. Some locomotives work just fine, others keep derailing.

I recently purchased a Bachmann Spectrum K4 Pacific. I have one turnout that every time the K4 goes through the right hand turnout, the tenders leading truck appears to split the outside rail, and derail. Thinking that it may be a weight issue, I tried adding weights to the tender. That worked some of the time. I have filed the one moveable rail to make sure it is sitting tight against the outside rail. It looks good, but still splitting the rail. As I said, other steam locomotives don't seem to have this problem.

The only other solution would be to install a ground throw that would basically lock the turnout in position. I have done this with a few other turnouts and it solves the problem. But because of the location of this particular turnout, I have to rely on remote control. My guess is that the moveable rails are too loose and will sty tight against the outer rails. 

So, is my problem with the turnout or the tender? And does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can fix this problem?

Thanks for any help.

Ted