Hi all,
(I cannot find a search function with these forums, so if this has been answered previously, please forgive me..)
I have an HO Atlas Trainman RS32 that I have equipped with a Tsunami At1000 251 V12 Soundtraxx decoder. Sound is working great, but the lights don't work... Original front and back lights (LED's?) wired directly to solder points 2, 3, 8 and 9 respectively... Per the installation instructions on the card, this should work, UNLESS the bulbs in question are LED's, in which case you would need to wire a resister in series with each one. If they are 12-volt lights, no resister is required.
How can I tell if the original lights supplied with the engine were 12-volt bulbs or LEDs? I am beginning to think that they were LED's and I have fried them...
Yup, you probably blew the LED's
Here's a link where the parts list for your loco can be found. You'll find the LED part number is 910124. You should be able to call them during normal working hours to order them.
Next time, if you don't know what you're dealing with try it first with a 680 ohm or 1k resistor.
I recommend 1k and you can get them at radio shack.
http://www.atlasrr.com/hoparts.htm
Springfield PA
Nice link! Thank you very much! You know when I looked at the LED's before I connected them, they have a small "something" coverered in heat shrink in the middle of the red wire... I assumed it was a resister... Must not have been.
Wouldn't you know it! They (Atlas) are closed for summer vacation for a week starting 20 minutes ago!
Marcopolo123 Nice link! Thank you very much! You know when I looked at the LED's before I connected them, they have a small "something" coverered in heat shrink in the middle of the red wire... I assumed it was a resister... Must not have been.
Marco:
Check those LEDs again. It sounds like they are "12 volt leds" and those might be resistors. Are you sure you got the polarity correct when you connected them?
Joe
That was it! I had the polarity reversed. So now I have resoldered them and they come on, but the back one goes on for forward and the forward one goes on for reverse. I am going to get a little more wire and wire them to the opposite ends.
Reversed those and that worked, but now the capacitor popped off when I replaced the cab! This should not be that difficult! Anyone have a really good picture of a AT-1000 so I can tell where to resolder the cap???
You left out a couple of things like the "Smoke" on your other thread(Below). If a cap blew off of the board you can't simply solder it back on. It could simply be a bad board or something overloaded. Another thing to check is to make sure everything is isolated from track power and nothing but the power pick-up is connected or shorted to the track.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23690
The keep alive capacitor on a TSU-AT1000 is wired to the light board via a red and black lead. I soldered it back on and, at the moment, I have sound and motion working fine, but I have disconnected the LED's so there is no lighting.
The "smoke" I am almost positive, was from a blowing LED. The engine is working fine at the moment without the LEDs installed
If the LEDs were working as you stated above why did you disconnect them?
When I first realized that I had the LED polarity reversed (and they weren't working at all) I switched the poliarity and they "worked" but in reverse fashion. So I unsoldered them, soldered them back to the opposite ends of the board, and then they worked for a few seconds but then something popped and I took the train off the track immediately. I started sorting out the wires and noticed the wires that connect the capacitor to the board had disconnected, so I thought that the capacitor was the thing that popped. I found out where the capacitor connects to the board and re-soldered the capacitor leads back on. Living dangerously, I put the train back on the track, advanced the throttle and that is when it smoked a little. So I took it back off, disconnected the LEDs and that is where I am at now. I have great sound and all motor functions, but the light (LEDs are disconnected.
Check the board where you soldered. make sure that the solder didn't bridge across another trace. That would cause a short and often would burn the trace in half.