By cutting or shortening the pins, you risk either no contact or a loose contact. The eight pin plug/socket is just a quick and easy way to install a decoder, the best way is to hard wire all electrical connections. You could even eliminate the wires from the socket harness and just run the wires from the decoder to their respective connection.
If you cut out the socket and plan on wiring the decoder to those wires, make sure they are color coded correctly. Orange (motor positive), gray (motor negative), red (right rail pick up), black (left rail pick up), blue (common), white (front light), yellow (rear light).
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OK. By too short, do you mean that the pins have to go all the way to the bottom of the socket? Also, if you have a socket and harness for a DH123, could I just cut off the socket and then solder the wires from the decoder to the wires of the socket harness?
I don't think that is a good idea, but I am not going to tell you not to do it. You risk cutting one or more pins too short. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.
However, the only other thing you can do to make it fit right may be to get rid of the plug and socket altogether and hard wire it in.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
If the 8 pin plug of a sound decoder sticks up to high because the pins are too long, is it alright to shorten them?