i want some info on how to wire my bachmann gs4 daylight.
i think i know what decoder i want, its a DH163D. i think that would work… right ???
also i would like some pictures to look at while im wiring it. (so i dont mess up…) or a blue-print or something…
if u can help, plz do… all the help is needed…
hello ??? anyone there ???
can u help?
Hiya Railroad Monkey,
I’m afraid I dont have an answer for ya, but I am sure someone will, it just takes time… be patient and people will come up with a lot of great advice and help. I have a son that is about your age and I know sometimes he likes to get info asap, so do I in fact [;)]… Just wait a bit and keep checking back.
The Gents and Ladies here are a class act they have helped this old man a great deal and will you as well I am sure.
Good luck to you.
Peace.
Coyote
I did it in mine a while back. I used the DH140 that came with my Super Chief. The first step was to pull the shell off, then yank out the smoke unit to make room for the decoder. Then almost complete disassembly of the frame to get to the motor and the pickups, then reassembly, then testing. I’ll see if I can’t get a webpage up in the next few weeks.
It only took about 20 minutes to get it done. It’s not too hard if you have the Bachmann drawings of the exploded assembly handy too.
I put the decoder in the space left over from the smoke unit. It fit just fine, with plenty of room to spare.
-dave
thx for the help.
anymore info out there ???
also,
i need toi know where i can get an aux. tender for my daylight,
(the one after the real tender in my signature…)
thx, jess (monkey)
I’d get a used Bachmann GS4 and create one. It also gives you parts to repair your engine in case anything ever goes wrong 
It shouldn’t be too hard. A little styrene, some plastic filler, and some Scalecoat II and it should be good to go.
-dave
I hope my son is as keen as you when he gets to your age.
Some of these jobs the info just doesn’t exist and you gotta work it out for yourself, which inevitably means a few mistakes or less than perfect jobs. Be prepared to break a few tabs on loco shells and even blow a decoder at some stage. - I did all that and more Don’t be too hard on yourself when you do - just part of learning. The instructions with the decoder give plenty of info about what wiring you need. The only other hard part is where to put it!
Some other bits of advice:
Invest in some small shrink-wrap tubing to cover your solder joins.
Make sure you use very fine, flexible wire. I always save the trimmings from the decoder wiring.
Use a small enough soldering bolt.
Experiment with different rosin-core solders. There are some really crappy ones around and some good ones that are easy to use and quickly make a good joint
Clean your soldering bolt on a wet sponge pad before every join. I can’t believe it took me 30 years to learn that. It makes a huge difference.
Don’t be too forceful trying to get the shell closed - can’t afford any shorts or broken connections.
Consider using TCS decoders instead of Digitrax. Nothing wrong with Digitrax but TCS offer a goof-proof money back guarantee on fried decoders.
Good luck.
Here a couple of links for the decoder install. Be aware that Bachmann has changed this engine several times through the years:
This one is for a ‘sound’ decoder install:
http://www.wiringfordcc.com/sbhgs4.htm
This one is for a basic decoder install:
http://web.theinter.com/~wolfy_is/GS4DCC.html
Jim Bernier
I agree with dpaton’s comments.
Bachmann’s stuff is fairly plug n play here with one crucial ingredient missing in the above posts; Does your GS4 have a DCC harness in the tender? Most decoders can’t be directly wired/soldered…the heat will fry the circuits in the decoder. I have several other Bachman locos (all steam) and thats how they configure for DCC.
If a harness is present in the tender then that’s Bachmann’s description for ‘DCC ready.’ You then have to provide a decoder. Here you have your choice with a lot of manufacturers as mentioned above.
if there is no harness, than dpaton’s suggestion would be the easiest to execute unless your LHS can provide a similar compatible harness.
The harness collects all of the wires from the engine motor, pickups, lights, speaker & so forth. The decoder then is ‘plugged’ wire by wire to each of the points on the harness (or slightly soldered). With sound becoming a big feature, I’d get the smallest harness for your tender to allow for the largest speaker (which also gets mounted in the tender). The harness can also allow complete seperation of the tender from the locomotive without having a messing string of wires.
This kind of intiative in doing such a project opens you to a whole world of electronic micro circuits, command, control and familiarty with your locomotive that makes this hobby very satisfying. Heres wishing you a sucessful project! [8D]
Happy Railroading
Mark
Thanks for the ups guys. [:D]
I have a personal bias toward putting decoders in the engine rather than the tender, mainly because with a wireless drawbar (as on my brass locos) I can use one wire to the tender to get the tender lamp going. Even if I can’t use the drawbar, it’s only 2 wires instead of 4 or 6 or 8 or the several hundred it seems are on my Heritage MT-3.
The install in the boiler is remarkably easy. There’s quite a bit of room.
I do plan to get pictures posted soon. Maybe even this weekend? We’ll see.
-dave
Jess,
I installed one in a GS-4 Warbaby a year or so ago. Since the weights (chassis halves) carry the power, and are separated by only about 1/8th inch, I usually use a layer of electrical tape under the decoder, just as a precaution. Unlike dpaton, I left the smoke generator intact and mounted a Digitrax decoder (DH123 I think) on the relatively flat area of the chassis halves behind the smoke generator with double-sided sticky foam. You will have to remove the motor to bend the contact that normally touches the chassis side and connect and insulate a wire there. I found that if you pair up the decoder wires that go to the same place (red with black, orange with gray, and blue, white, and yellow) by lightly braiding them (kinda like making rope), it makes handling the wires a whole lot easier. I also use heat shrink tubing as a guide for the wires, but I don’t shrink the tubing. It makes it easier to push and hold all the wires between the two chassis halves and is less messy than tape. To run lights to the tender, you would only need two conductors, so use one of the Miniatronics micro-connectors. Since the wires are black, they will look like service hoses.
Be sure to lubricate your engine and gauge its wheels while you have it apart. Now is the time to get everything right, so that it is in pieces only once.
Good luck on your project.
Mark C.
P.S. - You might look at one of the Norfolk and Western auxilliary water tenders as a start for your Daylight water tender. It should be reasonably close, but will need painting.
M C