BACHMANN 4-4-0 DCC ON BOARD

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

Good morning all.

I have just got a new bachmann American 4-4-0 with dcc on board in ho.

i am disapointed with the preformance ,if whines and growls up tp step 6, and then takes off,quite well it is smooth at high speed.

should i fit another decoder,and any ideas for sound.power by nce power pro.

this is a very nice loco,which i think is being ruined by a poor decoder,help please

regards

patrick o’neill

fingalrailroad

dublin

2

Patrick:

Before you blame the decoder it would be best if you gave the mechanism a good going over to eliminate the possibility of binding, flash in the gears and other potential causes for poor running. If this turns up nothing then start to think decoder.

Joe

3

Lubricate all moving parts and try again. Many newer models are not lubricated at the factory in China, and most instructions that come with them tell you they need to be lubricated before extensive operation.

4

thanks for the advice guys.I have lubed the visible mechinism,we will see what happens .

Would you advise cutting off the yellow gismo on the board.

PATRICK

5

You need to use a better description for yellow gizmo. I have the Spectrum 4-4-0 and I do not know of any yellow gizmo.

On the PC board in the tender, use small wire cutters to clip off C1, C2,C3, plus remove the two tubular devices on the bottom of the PC board. They are L! and L2. Solder a wire in place of each of those two devices. Those components are known to cause problems with decoders.

Plug in your replacement decoder into the 8 pin NMRA connector.

I actually removed the PC board and soldered in a SoundTraxx Micro-Tsunami decoder and added the required speaker. I had to add a 850 ohm resistor to one of the LED headlight leads.

Rich

6

Thanks RICH,

I NOW HAVE THE PICTURE,ON WHAT IS REQUIRED.

I HAVE RUN THE LOCO,AFTER LUBING,IT IS MUCH IMPROVED.

THANKS TO EVERYONE

PATRICK