DCC gurus masterminds of the DCC unitverse I need your assitance. Now I know Older Trainline Locomotives such as the GP9M’s didnt come with a light board etc like the Dash 8 whatever I cant remember the fuill number but I want to install decoders in them. I know they aint the fanciest super detailed locomotives but they are strong members of my fleet.
As stated I want to install dcc in them now how would one go about it? I believe I have to isolate the motor but is there anything else I should be aware of before I install a decoder? Thanks to anyone who has done this.
i put a decoder in an american flyer ho hudson that is about 50 years old and it runs very well on dcc. before you buy a decoder you should know what size decoder will fit inside the shell. i use digitrax decoders and on their website they have an application chart which lists most locos and manufacturers and which decoder to use. the decoder will come with installation instructions and they also have them on their website. i had to isolate the motor from the frame on the hudson and several athearn locos i installed them on. you may have to isolate the light too if one lead of the bulb goes to the frame. some ho locos may use an n or even z scale decoder so the decoder will fit in the shell. by the way, the decoder i used in my hudson is a z scale decoder only because i had an extra one on the shelf.
I’ve installed TCS T-1 decoders into two Walthers Trainline GP9M diesel engines and it was really very simple to accomplish. The motor’s brushes are already isolated. All you have to do is unsolder the wires from the motor and solder your decoder input wires (red and black) to them; then solder the decoder’s output wires (orange and gray) to the motor. Blue and White go to the headlight.
Other than that, the only trick is determining which motor brush is connected to the left rail. That one connects to the decoder’s black and gray wires.