Four lightbulbs have gone out in my N scale streetlights over the past two months. I decided to purchase some replacement streetlights and do a remove and replacement (R&R).
I pulled up each streetlight, gently cut the wires, soldered the leads back onto the new streetlights, and then pulled the wires back through the hole. I then glued the streetlight back onto the layout. Worked like a charm!
Always better ot be able to repair instead of throwing things out and buying all new. Now, run them at about 75% of their rated voltage and you'll probably never have to replace them again. ie, if they have 12 volt bulbs, run at 9 volts. They should still be plenty bright and the lower voltage dramatically increases bulb life.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You know, I've thought about that, and I just have to get into adding a resistor to drop the voltage on each of those lights. They are 14V lights, and if I drop them to say, 10V, then that should make them last longer. Problem is Radioshack does not stock resistors that small that are not in 500-pack numbers.
Just buy a 9V wall wart and use it to power your lights.
If you have a lot of lights, some guys use a computer power supply.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Vet Just buy a 9V wall wart and use it to power your lights.
I agree. Instead of using a 16-volt supply for my 16-volt lights, or using voltage-dropping resistors to every light, I just got a 12-volt supply. I find that the lower voltage gives a "cooler," more yellow light that looks better on the layout anyway. I want my streets to look like Transition Era streets, not like a baseball stadium lit up for good TV coverage, so the lower voltage gives me a more realistic model.
I've standardized on 16-volt bulbs, like the ones in the Cornerstone streetlights. So, I don't have to worry about which bus has which voltage on it. This simplifies my wiring.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Unfortunately, I don't have one. I'm going by what I have currently in stock at my house. Plus, this is potentially a traveling layout, and I don't want to buy another power pack just to power the lights when I have a perfectly good one that is up to the task.