Well I installed the Tsunami decoder in my Bachmann DCC Onboard 2-8-4
I took the Bachmann pc board out and wired the Tsunami as per directions
Everything works with my new DCE but the headlight comes on in reverse and the backup light doesn't work at all
Double checked my wiring
Only thing I can see is that the Tsunami has an extra white wire in the rear where the speaker wires come out with no explanation what it is for (There is a white wire in the main bundle that goes to the headlight )
Any ideas ?
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
davidmbedard The white wire comming out of the back of the decoder is for the CHUFF CAM. If you have this connected to the rear light, I suggest you disconnect it. In terms of the other lights, you are not clear on how you hooked them up. Did you remove the light board in the tender or did you just solder to the 8 pin connector? Have you turned the lights on? Do you have the Blue wire connected to the anode or cathode of the front light? Can you post a pic of you install as this will help immensly. David B
The white wire comming out of the back of the decoder is for the CHUFF CAM. If you have this connected to the rear light, I suggest you disconnect it.
In terms of the other lights, you are not clear on how you hooked them up. Did you remove the light board in the tender or did you just solder to the 8 pin connector? Have you turned the lights on? Do you have the Blue wire connected to the anode or cathode of the front light?
Can you post a pic of you install as this will help immensly.
David B
As per my post I took out the PC board and wired directly to the harness
Tsunami screwed up in their instructions
They say a TAN wire is for the cam but since there isn't one I guess they meant the rear white wire
Yes I turned the lights on that is why I said the headlight comes on in reverse
And no I did not wire to the rear white wire as I said in my post it was an extra wire since the light white wire is in the main bundle
davidmbedard Note to self......refrain from helping those with bad attitudes. I have installed about 200 Tsunamis for my customers, and no, Soundtraxx did not screw up their instructions......you did. Have fun figuring this out on your own..... David B
Note to self......refrain from helping those with bad attitudes.
I have installed about 200 Tsunamis for my customers, and no, Soundtraxx did not screw up their instructions......you did. Have fun figuring this out on your own.....
Yeah right TAN is now White
Right from their instruction sheet
"Connect the decoders TAN wire to the CAM Wiper switch"
And I specifically said I took the PC board out
And you didn't come with the decoder an instruction sheet did and it says NOTHING about any cathode anode to the head light etcjust to wire to the headlight and back up light
YOU may know all this but they send instruction sheets
Nice to see that everyone is starting off the year in a good mood!!!
Anyway, you are correct in that the Tsunami instructions indicate that the chuff cam wire is supposed to be tan. Maybe it's just a lighter shade of tan.
Concerning the lights, does that engine have bulbs or LEDs? If it does have LEDs, then the Tsunami installation guide does talk about resistors, anodes, and cathodes. See page 26 of the installation guide, http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf. The excerpt from the text is as follows (if you have bulbs, then that's a different story):
Using LEDs Tsunami decoders may be used with LEDs, which also require a resistor to be wired in series, typically about 680-ohms, 1/4W. Unlike lightbulbs, LEDs are sensitive to polarity. The minus (-) cathode end of the LED (the shorter of the two leads) is connected to the function output and the plus (+) anode end is connected to the decoder’s BLUE (function common) wire. 1. To wire the Headlight, connect the cathode end of the LED to the one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s WHITE wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire. 2. To wire the Backup light, connect the cathode end of the LED to one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s YELLOW wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire.
Using LEDs
Tsunami decoders may be used with LEDs, which also require a resistor to
be wired in series, typically about 680-ohms, 1/4W. Unlike lightbulbs, LEDs
are sensitive to polarity. The minus (-) cathode end of the LED (the
shorter of the two leads) is connected to the function output and the plus (+) anode end is connected to the decoder’s BLUE (function common) wire. 1. To wire the Headlight, connect the cathode end of the LED to the one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s WHITE wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire. 2. To wire the Backup light, connect the cathode end of the LED to one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s YELLOW wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire.
the two leads) is connected to the function output and the plus (+) anode end
is connected to the decoder’s BLUE (function common) wire.
1. To wire the Headlight, connect the cathode end of the LED to the one
lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s WHITE
wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire.
2. To wire the Backup light, connect the cathode end of the LED to one lead
of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s YELLOW
If the headlight is hooked to the blue and white, and comes on in reverse, and you HAVEN'T messed with CV29, then you have the motor wires, orange and grey, backwards. Rear light gets yellow and blue.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker If the headlight is hooked to the blue and white, and comes on in reverse, and you HAVEN'T messed with CV29, then you have the motor wires, orange and grey, backwards. Rear light gets yellow and blue. --Randy
Didn't mess with CV29 as I don't know how
One thing when I first put it on the track The NCE cab said Decoder not recognized
I tried it later and it was OK for Entering the Loco Maybe somehow CV29 got changed ?
Like I said I don't know how to do that
Wiring
Per Tsunami sheet
Grey Motor -
Orange Motor+
Bachmann's PC board before unsoldering the wires
Red Motor-
Brown Motor +
I hooked the Tsunami Grey to the Bachmann Red
And the Tsunami Orange to the Bachmann Brown
Rear light has Yellow and Blue and Font White and Blue
Here is a pic of the board before unsoldering
You can see the Bachmann wiring
maxman Nice to see that everyone is starting off the year in a good mood!!! Anyway, you are correct in that the Tsunami instructions indicate that the chuff cam wire is supposed to be tan. Maybe it's just a lighter shade of tan. Concerning the lights, does that engine have bulbs or LEDs? If it does have LEDs, then the Tsunami installation guide does talk about resistors, anodes, and cathodes. See page 26 of the installation guide, http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf. The excerpt from the text is as follows (if you have bulbs, then that's a different story): Using LEDs Tsunami decoders may be used with LEDs, which also require a resistor to be wired in series, typically about 680-ohms, 1/4W. Unlike lightbulbs, LEDs are sensitive to polarity. The minus (-) cathode end of the LED (the shorter of the two leads) is connected to the function output and the plus (+) anode end is connected to the decoder’s BLUE (function common) wire. 1. To wire the Headlight, connect the cathode end of the LED to the one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s WHITE wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire. 2. To wire the Backup light, connect the cathode end of the LED to one lead of the resistor. Wire the other resistor lead to the decoder’s YELLOW wire. Wire the anode LED lead to the decoder’s BLUE wire.
I only used the instruction sheet that came with the decoder
It says
Blue Wire---Function (+Raw)
Yellow--Backup Light
White --Headlight
I wired the Blue light connection on the Bachmann Rear Bulb to the Blue Tsunami wire
I wired the + Head light connection on the Bachmann to the Tsunami Blue Wire
I wired the Yellow wire form the Bachmann Rear light to the Yellow Tsunami wire
I wired the - Orange wire on the Bachmann Board to the Tsunami White wire
It seems like the instructions you cited but without the resistors
Maybe the rear light blew --That why it doesn't work at all ?
I can't tell by looking at it
Here is a pic of the board
One weird thing I just noticed
When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whiring or whinning sound like something is reving up
Everything else works fine including sound effects so I will just run it with the headlight function turned off for now
I probably would have been better off wiring to an 8 pin connector as any resistors etc needed would be there but all the controversy over the capacitors inductors on my original thread had be leery
When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whirring or whining sound like something is reving up
Hey
That whirring noise doesn't sound good I would get a handle on the wiring before I left the lights on. Sorry I can't help with the wiring. After I wire a decoder I forget how I did it until the next time. Old timers problem.
Good luck.
Lee
yankee flyer When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whirring or whining sound like something is reving up Hey That whirring noise doesn't sound good I would get a handle on the wiring before I left the lights on. Sorry I can't help with the wiring. After I wire a decoder I forget how I did it until the next time. Old timers problem. Good luck. Lee
Didn't sound right to me either so like I said I have the light function off
Have you checked their on-line installation guide for reference?
http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf
Springfield PA
UncBob I only used the instruction sheet that came with the decoder It says Blue Wire---Function (+Raw) Yellow--Backup Light White --Headlight I wired the Blue light connection on the Bachmann Rear Bulb to the Blue Tsunami wire I wired the + Head light connection on the Bachmann to the Tsunami Blue Wire I wired the Yellow wire form the Bachmann Rear light to the Yellow Tsunami wire I wired the - Orange wire on the Bachmann Board to the Tsunami White wire It seems like the instructions you cited but without the resistors Maybe the rear light blew --That why it doesn't work at all ? I can't tell by looking at it
Well, you still didn't say whether you have bulbs or LEDs. The resistors are only for LEDs. If you take a look at the link I referenced, they also show the connections for bulbs. If I remember correctly, they show two different bulb voltages. Go back and look at that reference and see how it compares to the instructions that came with the decoder as well as how you have it connected.
Resistors are also for bulbs sometimes. For instance the Athearn Genesis loco's use 1.5 volt bulbs. I don't know what the Bachman loco's use.
Another thing that should be done if it hasn't already is to remove the capacitors from the motor if they're installed.
Hamltnblue Another thing that should be done if it hasn't already is to remove the capacitors from the motor if they're installed.
I didn't use the PC Board
I removed it and wired to the harness
Hamltnblue Have you checked their on-line installation guide for reference? http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf
Except for the resistors in the lights the instructions are the same as those that came with the decoder for the wiring polarity etc etc
I wired as they stated (Checked 3 times )
UncBob One weird thing I just noticed When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whiring or whinning sound like something is reving up Everything else works fine including sound effects so I will just run it with the headlight function turned off for now I probably would have been better off wiring to an 8 pin connector as any resistors etc needed would be there but all the controversy over the capacitors inductors on my original thread had be leery
That whirling sound may be a simulated light dynamo reving up
I am going to start with some posts at the very start of this thread. The TAN wire is very near white. You have to look real close to see any difference. But the tan (or white, call it what you like) comes off the decoder at the same end as the speaker wires ( violet). I am not sure that there is a difference any more as I very seldom look at it, as I know it is the cam wire because it comes off the rear of the decoder. The noise that you hear when you turn on a headlight is the dynamo sound . If your unit has LED's they are polarity sensitive. You need the blue wire to go to the positive lead of the LED's and the function wire (White headlight - Yellow back light) goes to the short lead. They need to be wired up right or they will not work.
I am going to start with some posts at the very start of this thread.
The TAN wire is very near white. You have to look real close to see any difference. But the tan (or white, call it what you like) comes off the decoder at the same end as the speaker wires ( violet).
I am not sure that there is a difference any more as I very seldom look at it, as I know it is the cam wire because it comes off the rear of the decoder.
The noise that you hear when you turn on a headlight is the dynamo sound .
If your unit has LED's they are polarity sensitive. You need the blue wire to go to the positive lead of the LED's and the function wire (White headlight - Yellow back light) goes to the short lead.
Look at this link to help you with the LED's. http://www.mrdccu.com/curriculum/Lighting/LED.htm
Look for polarity and it will show you which lead is positive and negitive.
Hope this might help.
Sometimes the capacitors are mounted on the motor, not the board. I just upgraded a Bachmann Acela and both the capacitors and inductors were on the motor.
If the bulbs are 12 volt, no resistor should be used. Bachmann has recently started using LED's more often though.
woodone I am going to start with some posts at the very start of this thread. The TAN wire is very near white. You have to look real close to see any difference. But the tan (or white, call it what you like) comes off the decoder at the same end as the speaker wires ( violet). I am not sure that there is a difference any more as I very seldom look at it, as I know it is the cam wire because it comes off the rear of the decoder. The noise that you hear when you turn on a headlight is the dynamo sound . If your unit has LED's they are polarity sensitive. You need the blue wire to go to the positive lead of the LED's and the function wire (White headlight - Yellow back light) goes to the short lead. They need to be wired up right or they will not work. Look at this link to help you with the LED's. http://www.mrdccu.com/curriculum/Lighting/LED.htm Look for polarity and it will show you which lead is positive and negitive. Hope this might help.
If you look at the pics of the PC board I posted you can see Bachmann has them labeled
I disconnected one at a time and soldered to the Tsunami
I know everything points to a mistake in polarity but I checked over and over
The fact that the front light comes on when you go in reverse (and if you didn't modify the direction of travel in CV29 then it didn;t accidently get changed, either) means Bachmann had it backwards on their circuit board and the red wirte is really the motor +.
Switch the motor wires and then you should have the headlight in forward.
For the rear, it it's an LED then you may just have the polarity wrong. The Bachmann board that you removed has circuitry for directional lighting, so what was labeled on the board as the LED + may in fact be the -. The blue wire from the decoder is the +, the yellow is the - for the rear light.
rrinker The fact that the front light comes on when you go in reverse (and if you didn't modify the direction of travel in CV29 then it didn;t accidently get changed, either) means Bachmann had it backwards on their circuit board and the red wirte is really the motor +. Switch the motor wires and then you should have the headlight in forward. For the rear, it it's an LED then you may just have the polarity wrong. The Bachmann board that you removed has circuitry for directional lighting, so what was labeled on the board as the LED + may in fact be the -. The blue wire from the decoder is the +, the yellow is the - for the rear light. --Randy
Yep Bachmann had it mislabeled works now
Rear probably burnt out since I didn't have a resistor in series
I should have used the 8 pin connector instead of wiring direct
In the long run you are better to hard wire. See the long thrad from the other day about a decoder plugged in to an Atlas Silver series loco - the OP ended up solderign the wires from the light borads directly to the wires on top of the 8 pin plug because of some issue on the factory board - also it seems they had them backwards as well, the red one had to go to the function wire and the black to the blue wire on the decoder, completely opposite of what it should be.
I took a short cut with my Bachman 44-tonner and just soldered the decoder wires to the holes labeled for them, instead of completely ripping out the board. I'll be goign back and ripping out the board when I get around to it, there's still something not right even though I removed the capacitors.
ABout the only locos I ever did without hard wiring the decoder were some Proto 2000 GP-7's, I used a Digitrax DH163L0 decoder which already had the resistors in place and those all went smoothly. But if you look at how it works - you basically are completely removing the factory board. All that stays is a little board with an 8 pin socket and the wires goign ot the trucks, motor, and lights. The factory cirtcuit board is removed and the decoder put in its place. So even though techically do not have the factory circuit.
Sometime I think I was better off running my IHC engines with my MRC sound and power 2000
The sound though not moving with the engine was great and I didn't have problems with the multiple connectors causing derailing problems etc and the IHC were great runners ( still have the 4-4-0 and a 2-6-0)
If you can call up the value of CV 29, reprogram it to be one number higher. (i.e., if it's 32, make it 33) See what that does.
Otherwise...real engines don't have reversing headlights. You can adjust the lighting CVs so the front headlight is on regardless of the direction of travel, like a real locomotive.
You can turn the dynamo sound off and on using one of the function buttons, not sure right now which one.
wjstix If you can call up the value of CV 29, reprogram it to be one number higher. (i.e., if it's 32, make it 33) See what that does. Otherwise...real engines don't have reversing headlights. You can adjust the lighting CVs so the front headlight is on regardless of the direction of travel, like a real locomotive. You can turn the dynamo sound off and on using one of the function buttons, not sure right now which one.
Thanks for the tip
UncBob As per my post I took out the PC board and wired directly to the harness Tsunami screwed up in their instructions
*sigh* Bachmann's 2-8-4 is DCC ready. You just needed to solder to the 8 pin socket. :-( Here are the socket specifications:
http://www.nmra.org/standards/DCC/standards_rps/RP-9.1.1%20200801.pdf
By removing the board you bypassed the current limiting and voltage limiting circuitry for the light bulbs. You probably burnt them out as you sent 12V straight to the bulb or LED.
Sorry for your problems.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Looks like I'm a day late and dollar short. Well done Randy.