Long story made short. My PCM Big Boy is DCC ready but arrived with problems. While it was a BLI my train tool box was stolen, in it was the manual for the PCM big boy.
I have a decoder and I know the socket is under the coal in the tender. Socket has brass jumpers that connect some of the holes.
Do I pull out the brass jumpers, or pry off the socket so I can install the decoder to the PC board?
I checked the BLI site and they do not list the manual for my Big Boy?
Someone else is probably going to have to give you the real answer but those jumpers are usually there so the loco will run without DCC. On any of mine, that came DCC ready, the jumpers were installed on a dummy plug that simply pulled out for a DCC install using the socket left behind. I actually use that plug (when possible) and solder my decoder wires right to it (so I don’t have to purchase a decoder with a plug) for the installs.
If the brass jumpers you’re referring to are in opposite corners and have 3 prongs, just pull them out and plug the decoder into the socket under them. Those types of jumpers are used by a lot of different manufacturers instead of the one-piece dummy plug because they’re cheaper to manufacture and require no soldering.
If you would like to have sound, get a SoundTraxx Tsunami Heavy Steam decoder and a replacement wiring harness with a JST 9-pin plug on one end and the NMRA 8-pin plug on the other. The Tsunami comes with a solder-in wiring harness, but it can be removed by cutting away a small amount of the shrink wrap so the replacement harness can be used.