Installing Working Ditch Lights 101

[WCfan]

Alright, so the title might be misleading, but I'm the one that needs help! I've took up the task to install working ditch lights to all my WC locomotives. I have never done this before, I have read articles about installing working ditch lights, but so far I‘m kind of clueless. Does anybody on here have any advice for me? What kind of bulbs/LEDs should I use? Do I need to cut into the frame? How do I make my ditch lights alternating for DCC? If there are any other tips or advice you have for me, please tell. (I have P2K, Atlas, and Athearn locomotives.)

Oh and, how do you remove An Atlas Master GP40 shell?

[BamaCSX83]

Hmm, on making the ditch lights work with DCC I know that you will need a 4-6 function decoder, but that is all I do know.  When it comes to getting the shell off, most are either squeeze the center of the shell and left gently, or possibly its held in place with screws near the front and rear couplers.  I do know that I will be keeping tips on this thread because I'm going to be doing the same thing to an older BB Athearn.

[Silver Pilot]

Installation of working ditchlights in a loco will vary depending on the mfg of loco and the type of ditchlights being installed.  Are the ditchlights mounted on the pilot or are they mounted above the walkway?  If on the walkway, there are different types of ditchlights.  You'll need to look at and consider how the shell is mounted to the frame.  How are you going to get the wires from the bulbs from the front pilot to the decoder and keep them clear of gear towers and driveshafts?  You may need to grind slots in the frame or the under side of the shell to provide clearance to allow the sheel to seat properly.  On different locos and different manufacturers the install can be different because of its construction.

Once installed getting them to alternate is easy.  Its just a matter of programing the function outputs.  Don't forget you'll probably need a resistor for the bulbs if you use 1.5v bulbs. 

Not an overly complicated or difficult job, but definitely not a job for a beginner.

[Magnum019]

 I don't know if the will help but I used 1.5v bulbs with resistors of course and used Mircomarks Mini Connectors (so I would be able to unplug if necessary) and attatched them to the roof.  I did wire them up with a simple Digitrax 123 to the Front Lights (not thinking ahead when I first installed DCC)---(Used 1 resistor for each Ditch & Front LED).  I have Athearn engines (Dash 9's) for the most part and I did not have to cut anything (next one I might)

 

Hope some of this helps

 

C

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[duckdogger]

I  applaud your enthusiasim to install ditch lights on your locos.  I struggled installing the ditch lights on 2 Athearn Genesis SD-70s - and the walkway holesand frame clearance were already there.

 I do consider that part of the difficulty I had was related to the Athearn's 2 piece housing and choice of bulbs - that seemed to be too large to fit the housing.  They work, but the bulbs are not in the perfect location so the effect is moot. I decided to set them aside and save my sanity.

[graphitehemi]

WCfan

How do I make my ditch lights alternating for DCC?

You are going to only be able to do 1 set of ditch lights with the factory decoder. You need 1 function PER bulb. The factory decoder is a 4 function (1 for Front, 1 for Rear, leaving 2). There are four rectangular solder tabs on the right side of the decoder for the last two funcitons. Solder wires of one bulb with resistor to the first two tabs, and the second bulb with resistor to the last two tabs. I don't know which is + or -, so if you use LED's be prepared to switch them. Getting the lights to alternate is a matter of programing the decoder.

DON'T FORGET! There is a jumper on this decoder to change between Analog and DCC. On the rear of the decoder is a small circuit board with solder globs on it. Pull it up and move it forward for DCC. I'm posotive that I sent it to you in Analog mode.

WCfan

Oh and, how do you remove An Atlas Master GP40 shell?

Remove the couplers..... starting at the rear, gently squeeze and lift the shell at the "00" in "3007" then move forward to the front portion of dynamic brake vents. The last set of tabs is on the short hood, but you should be able to remove the shell before you get that far.

Let me know how it works for ya!

[graphitehemi]

Looking further..... the GP40's had their ditch lights on the front of the pilots. I would start with Detail  Associates #1013 Ditch Light - Single. Drill out the center and install Miniatronics #18-C03-10 1.5V 1.2mm Incandescent Lamps - Clear. Due to the small bulb and small wires you might be able to get away with a tiny bit of filing on the frame to clear the wires. I'm not sure what resistor to use at the moment since I haven't gotten that far myself.

[BamaCSX83]

That even helps me with my "doing of ditch lights" on my Athearn GP40-2, or at least it gives me a much better jumping off point, although I will be installing a decoder into my engine and then will have to wire it up, but same idea...

[zgardner18]

I've done a few so I think I can add a little to the conversation.  I have probably now have done 5 or more with most of them being the lights that are above the deck against the railing on the pilot, and one or two that have been below.  The below ones are much easier to do.  Here is a photo that I did of one:

these ditchlights are actaully left over from one of my P2K SD60s.  They always give you 2 pairs for one engine.  Before glueing the lense in I drilled a hole through and out the back of the pilot.

Now the above deck ones are a little more tricky.  I've used so far the Details West kind but I have had to drill out the the inside to house the bulb.  This gets hard due to the fact that one I don't like seeing wires, and two you have to get a drill bit that is big enough so the bulb will fit and not tear up the side of the ditchlight housing.  Next I drill a large enough hole on the deck so that the ditchlight housing slides down into.  You have to make sure that this hole does NOT go all the way through or it will do damage to your pilot.  I then drill a smaller hole from the inside aiming to pop out at the larger hole that was drilled from the top.  With this technique I have been successfull on every try and have not had any wires showing.  Here are a few examples:

Now the hardest one that I have done is the top deck lights for the Dash-9s since they have a piece of metal that extends out that the light partly sits on.  Dectails West makes this one too.  Here are photos or kind of what I did.

I use Incandesent Lamps that are 1.5 voit and 1.2mm in diameter from Miniatronics Corp.  Like what others have said is true about attaching to the decoder but if you have an engine like an Athearn RTR and just want them to come on with the headlights in foreward the just connect them to the same spot that the headlights are connected and they will work just fine.

Good Luck

[ripley12]

 I'm also working on installing some ditch lights,front of the pilot on some kato sd40-2's.So far the advice all sounds good as I'm taking notes also.The one thing that hasn't been touched on yet is the resistors.I am also using miniatronics 1.2mm 1.5 volt bulbs.The key here is 1.5 volts.The resistor you use depends on track voltage provided your decoder doesn't have resistors built in.Our club voltage is 15 volts and I found 560 ohm resistors dropped it to 1.7 volts.Too much resistance/dim bulb,too little/bright bulb-short life.Hope this helps also.

[modelmaker51]

RichmondControls has tiny surface mount LEDs that work well for ditch lights. Get the ones with wires already attached, (believe me it's well worth the extra cost).  http://www.richmondcontrols.com/

[WCfan]

Wo, I haven't checked on this thread for a long time! Sorry.

Thanks for the great info! I guess the one problem I have is that the ditch lights will come out the back of the pilot and onto the stairs/latter (Can‘t think of the correct term). I'm afraid that the wires would show.

I did get another idea from Railfan Alex on here. He suggested that I use surface mount LEDs (As modelmaker5151 suggested) and micro wire. The micro wire would be fairly small it would be hard to see, and I could route it through pretty much anyplace. Any ideas? Also, he told me that the guy from RichmonControls is a rip off, and he got his LEDs from Ebay for around 10 cents a LED.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I'll be having Pilot Mounted Ditch Lights, and I did get my atlas shell off.

[Guilford Guy]

Are you thinking of "step wells?"

You should be fine with LEDs, although I've only used the miniatronix bulbs (after blowing up the LEDs in Tyler's GP18).