Just to answer a few of your questions:
1. The soldering iron I'm using now is always on. I also have the gun type where you squeeze the trigger to turn it on, but a like the iron for fine work because it has a sharp tip.
2. I used the solder that came with the iron which looks like a coiled spring.
3. The tip is dull. I have no trouble getting the heat to transfer to the solder.
4. It is a Loksound decoder.
5. Don't know how old the loco is since I bought it used.
6. I have a multimeter. This told me the decoder was dead. I get a reading when touching the input tabs on the decoder but nothing on the tabs that go to the motor or the speaker.
I have looked at a number of YouTube videos on soldering and have quite a bit of experience. I just have never been able to get the hang of it. This is actually the second time I've tried to install a decoder in this RS1. The first time, was a relatively inexpensive non-sound decoder. I used too thick a gauge of wire for the internal connections and when I tried to snap the shell back on, it broke off one of the tabs. That was several years ago and it has been sitting on the shelf since. I think that was when somebody first told me about the goof proof warranty but I never got around to sending it back before warranty expired. It was when I picked up the two C-liners and talked to Tony's about getting decoders for them that I decided to give the RS1 another try. Hopefully the third time will be the charm.
I'm pretty sure I didn't create the short connecting directly to the chassis. All the soldering is well above the chasis. The connections to the motor are two brass strips that run up the side of the motor. The decoder snaps into place above the motor. The motor housing is part plastic and part metal. The metal strips ran up the part that is plastic. As you might guess with a narrow body like the RS1, there's not much room inside the shell. I'm guessing that when I snapped the shell back in place, I pressed the soldered connection to the metal part of the motor housing and that connects to the chassis.
Good to know that TCS will replace this decoder. I don't have the invoice in front of me but as I recall, the decoder cost $90. That's too much money for me to just throw away.
I bought the decoder from Tony's Train Exchange and they programmed the RS1 specific sound into it. I don't know if TCS will do that for me but I would be happy with generic sound. The only thing that really matters to me is the horn and the bell and since the sugar cube speaker doesn't put out a lot of sound, I doubt I could tell the difference.
John,
A few questions to ask you for background:
From your description, the issues started when you tried to install the shell onto the chassis and it sounds like a wire was shorting to the chassis. Were you operating it on the programming track at this point, also?
If your soldering skills are lacking, John, it would be a good idea to watch some how-tos on sites like YouTube so that you can learn some handy tips. Soldering takes practice but having good equipment will make soldering easier to learn and a more enjoyable and rewarding experience for you. Good equipment, however, doesn't mean it has to be expensive. A digital ohm or multimeter is also a good investiment if you are going to do any sort of electronic installations.
Lastly, the goof-proof warranty is actually offered by TCS. Most likely you will have to register the decoder with them in order to receive the replacement decoder. That's what I had to do with one of my Loksound decoders that was faulty.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I recently purchased 3 sound decoders from Tony's Train Exchange for some second hand DC locos I bought at a bargain price. The first one I attempted to install was on an Atlas RS1. The installation looked pretty straight forward and the decoder snapped into place where the original circuit board had been. The connections were fairly similar with the additional tabs for connecting to a sugar cube speaker I also purchased.
I've noted before my soldering skills are terrible and I often have trouble keeping the solder going where I want it to go. I'd did manage to get all the wires soldered into the correct position but a few connections had more solder than should have been necessary. I looked closely to make sure I hadn't created an unwanted connection between tabs or wires and it seemed to be OK. I put it on my programming track with the shell off and it took the new address. I put it on the track it seemed to run fine and the sound worked although the sugar cube speaker didn't put out much volume.
The fun started when I tried to put the shell back on. It just wouldn't fit. I ended up removing the light bars and that created just enough room that I could get the shell into place. I then tried to run the loco and got nothing. Even the sound was dead. I removed the shell to see if the connections were still solid and as I was handling it, I felt a very hot spot on one of the soldered connections. It was the wire that connected to the metal strip on the motor. I can't be certain, but I think that conncection might have got pressed against the metal housing of the motor creating the short. Whatever the reason is, I now have a very expensive dead decoder.
I thought I had read on Tony's website that they have a goof proof guarantee on decoders or am I thinking of somebody else. I went back to their website and can't find that. Can anybody confirm if that is true or not. I don't think they are available on weekends and it would give me some peace of mind knowing before Monday if I can get this decoder replaced.
I'm now reluctant to try to install the other two decoders on a pair of Proto1000 C-Liners. It seems whenever I attempt to solder on expensive electronics, there is a very good chance I am going to end up destroying something. This is the second time in about a month this has happened. The first was trying to repair the terminal block on the controller for my Walthers turntable.