simon1966 richhotrain If the lights don't work, it is likely that the bulbs burned out by applying too much voltage. Athearn uses 1.5 volt bulbs for the most part, so if they received a jolt of 12 volt power, the bulbs are toast. Rich They certainly do now, on current production, (these new bulbs are for the most part rubbish, they look nice, but burn out quickly) but in the 20 yr old Blue Box locos mentioned by the OP, these are going to be the large "bonfire in the cab" type bulbs that ran on track voltage. Of course they may well still be blown bulbs? I always re-do the lighting in Blue Box conversions and would install LED's and 1K resistors.
richhotrain If the lights don't work, it is likely that the bulbs burned out by applying too much voltage. Athearn uses 1.5 volt bulbs for the most part, so if they received a jolt of 12 volt power, the bulbs are toast. Rich
If the lights don't work, it is likely that the bulbs burned out by applying too much voltage.
Athearn uses 1.5 volt bulbs for the most part, so if they received a jolt of 12 volt power, the bulbs are toast.
Rich
They certainly do now, on current production, (these new bulbs are for the most part rubbish, they look nice, but burn out quickly) but in the 20 yr old Blue Box locos mentioned by the OP, these are going to be the large "bonfire in the cab" type bulbs that ran on track voltage.
Of course they may well still be blown bulbs? I always re-do the lighting in Blue Box conversions and would install LED's and 1K resistors.
ahh, didn't realize that. Well, if they are the bulbs that run on track voltage, then the OP should test them by touching the bare ends of the wires to the terminals on a 9 volt battery. That will tell if they are burned out or not.
Alton Junction
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Applying 12 volts of power to 1.5 volt incandescent bulbs requires the use of a resistor to match the voltage.
My suggestion is to purchase Miniatronics bulbs, which are far more reliable than the Athearn bulbs, and use the resistors that come in the package with the bulbs.
Meanwhile, if you want to check the Athearn bulbs to see if they are still good, you can touch the ends of the wires to the two terminals on a 9 volt battery. If the bulbs are good, they will light. Of course, if they are 1.5 volt bulbs, you will need to install a resistor on the end of one of the wires so you don't burn out the bulb. But, again, you may have already burned out the bulb.
Thank you for your reply and web site. it is a keeper for lighting referance. Jerry
Thank you for the web site, the packet of decoders did not have this info in it. I have printed it out and will use it. Just what i needed.. Jerry
The decoders put out about 12 vdc. Nothing fancy about Bachmann decoders. Get out your multimeter which you should have if working at the component level.
The light voltage is usually about 1 volt less than the DCC voltage.
Some people use a 20 ohm resistor with 12 volt light bulbs. Allows for longer bulb life.
Some use a 1.5 volt light bulb with resistor.
Some use LED's with a 1 k resistor.
Below is a link about lighting. Do some research.
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn1/Lights_in_DCC.htm
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
simon1966 I have not personally used Bachmann Decoders, but the answers you need should lie in the technical documentation of the decoder. It should tell you what lighting types is supports.
Or not. I found a copy of the instructions for one of the EZ Command decoders on-line. All it says is that there are three function outputs of 180 milliamp each (total of 350 milliamp).
http://www.bachmann.co.uk/pdfs/3-function_decoder.pdf
I have not personally used Bachmann Decoders, but the answers you need should lie in the technical documentation of the decoder. It should tell you what lighting types is supports. Some decoders support high voltage lamps, which is what would have been in all the models you converted. Many don't. I have converted all my Athearn BB locos to LED lighting with resistors. Anyway check and see what Bachmann says for these particular decoders.
I HAVE JUST INSTALLED 3 BACHMANN EZ Decoders, 2 on Anthern blue box road switchers (20+ years old) and 1 on a Bachmann F7a (with circut board ?years old flee market excelent shape). I followed the instructions and every thing works fine. question is that the lights do not work, I tryed the white and blue wires in every combination and also the yellow I have tryed. Do I need to change the Anthern light bulb to a lower watt, or a resister. if so what do you's recommand? the bachmann engine bulb, I belive I burn it out with 12 volts. I'm useing a Bachmann EZ Command system on the track and test track. Jerry