plugs on bachmann four axle long haul tender with dcc board with 8 pin

[OLD BILL]

I ordered 4 axle long haul tender from train world and when it came and we began to install dcc and snd
we found that my Wm 280 from Bachmann and tender had same plug.  Any recommendations

[jonathan]

Sorry Old Bill,  I don't understand your question.  If others are having a hard time following, you might not get too many responses.

Do you want to connect the long haul tender to your 2-8-0, after you install sound and DCC? 

Do you want to connect the long haul tender behind the tender of your 2-8-0?

A little more info, please

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

Sounds like he needs an adapter. That is an issue with some Bachmann DCC locos and tenders. They cannot easily be matched.
His loco and tender both have two connectors with wires that do not match.
I looked up the diagrams.

I had a similar issue with a small driver Spectrum 4-6-0 and a medium USRA tender I ordered separately.. My tender included a two adapters which unfortunately crossed each pair of DCC wires. I had to rewire the tender and put in a resistor for the loco LED.
Another user caught by this issue as others have.

It appears this fix will be more difficult if there was no adapter included.

Rich

[jonathan]

OK, thanks.  This problem is more widespread than I realized.  So Bachmann has not made a universal electronics system, such that tenders and steamers are not interchangeable.  I had this problem with a long Vandy tender (DCC Ready)  that did not match my Heavy Mountain. 

I took the electronics (pc board and wires) out of my original tender and transplanted it into the Vandy tender I wanted to use.  This worked and tool about 2 hours to accomplish.  The hardest part was moving gently so not to break the wires from the small connectors.

Rogertra recommended this to me, as he had seen threads about this topic.  Guess I forgot about them.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Pacific Northern]

I thought that the Spectrum Heavy Mountain was compatable with the long Vandy and the Hickem tenders and the Spectrum Mallet was also compatable with these two tenders.

The Light Mountain and the Consolidation engines being compatable with the Medium(short) Vandy tender?

Is that not correct?

[jonathan]

Well...  The Mountain would run with the Vandy tender.  However it's characteristics were quite different.  The only way the Mountain would run slow and smooth, at low voltage, was with the board from the Mountain's original tender.  I don't know why.  The pc board from both tenders looked identical to me.  Then I'm a novice when it comes to electronics.

Getting back to Old Bill's issue.  I wonder if this has something to do with the location of the loco's plugs.  The smaller 2-8-0 does plug in differently from the larger locos.  He's trying to put a large tender on a small loco.

Bill, it seems like you could take the pc board from the 2-8-0's original tender and transplant it to the long tender you intend to use.  Then you have the right plugs, and the running characteristics you expect from your loco.

It took me a couple hours to switch the pc board in the tenders.  Be very careful of the plugs as you take the wiring out of each tender.  Well... be careful with everything.  It's gentle work in my opinion.

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

I always use a jewelers screwdriver to gently pry the connector out. Never, ever pull on the wires.
The steamers are designed to be left on the layout. Many have broken a wire off from mishandling and then we get another Rant about Bachmann poor quality. We have to recognize these steamers are rather delicate devices.
Then there are the diesel handrails.

Rich