What Did I Do Now??? lol

[kz9]

Ok, so my next project on my bench was a Athearn RTR SD60 in NS paint. This was suposed to be an ''easy'' dight light install, but I think I messed this up.

Here was my thought process on this.....

I would solder a resistor in the little hole which the green wire runs to. Next I would scratch away a little of the covering on the board where the blue wire connects to. Connect one wire from each ditch light to one and the other 2 to the other spot. I figured this would work as I thought it would have been the same as hard wiring the decoder as per the Digitrax wire procedure.

Nope. The one and only function decoder I had, which had the motor part fried (In a loco i purchased this way), went up in smoke.


Below is a picture of the RTR lightboard. Was I in the wrong? Or just the decoder?

And yes all razzing welcome from you dcc guru's....

 

[Motley]

LOL sorry, not to laugh, but don't feel bad, I did the same exact thing to an Athearn RTR SD50. Now I send all my locos to Mark. Less brain damage.

 

[kz9]

Ok so with doing some more reasearch I have found that the way I had it wired was close to the right way, but still wrong.....lol

I changed the 680ohm resister that was in the above picture, with a 470ohm resistor.

I also moved the resistor to the Lamp common strip (blue).

Now I need to get a function decoder. My cheap DH123's don't use the function wires....

 

[hamltnblue]

Ok so with doing some more reasearch I have found that the way I had it wired was close to the right way, but still wrong.....lol

I changed the 680ohm resister that was in the above picture, with a 470ohm resistor.

I also moved the resistor to the Lamp common strip (blue).

Now I need to get a function decoder. My cheap DH123's don't use the function wires....

The resistor should have worked. Also you typically don't put the resistor on the common lead but the hot lead to the light/LED.
I might have missed it but what decoder are you using? Sometimes you don't need a resistor, such as the GN series Tsunami's which are made specifically for Athearns.
In the first pic under the 8 pin holes there is a copper spider of some sort. Is that contacting the trace next to the diode? and what is it's purpose?

 

[kz9]

Well the blue ''common'' wire is actually positive (+). I guess common was kind if the wrong word, but thats what it says in the Digitrax manuals. The decoder that I tried was an old DH142 that was installed in a loco I bought off of a guy used. He said it did not move but the lights still worked. I never even tried it to be honest, so it could have been totally fried when I got it. I just replaced it with a DH123 cause there was no functions needed on that partiular engine.

What you see under the DCC 8pin meduim socket is the spot were I removed some of the covering to be able to solder to the blue wire trace that runs from the 9pin harness to the rear bank of resistors/diodes for the rear light. This wire I tested and found continuity from the blue wire and also had track power. That chunk of wire has been removed and the new 470ohm resistor has been soldered in its place.