Well I installed the Tsunami decoder in my Bachmann DCC Onboard 2-8-4
I took the Bachmann pc board out and wired the Tsunami as per directions
Everything works with my new DCE but the headlight comes on in reverse and the backup light doesn’t work at all
Double checked my wiring
Only thing I can see is that the Tsunami has an extra white wire in the rear where the speaker wires come out with no explanation what it is for (There is a white wire in the main bundle that goes to the headlight )
The white wire comming out of the back of the decoder is for the CHUFF CAM. If you have this connected to the rear light, I suggest you disconnect it.
In terms of the other lights, you are not clear on how you hooked them up. Did you remove the light board in the tender or did you just solder to the 8 pin connector? Have you turned the lights on? Do you have the Blue wire connected to the anode or cathode of the front light?
Can you post a pic of you install as this will help immensly.
Note to self…refrain from helping those with bad attitudes.
I have installed about 200 Tsunamis for my customers, and no, Soundtraxx did not screw up their instructions…you did. Have fun figuring this out on your own…
“Connect the decoders TAN wire to the CAM Wiper switch”
And I specifically said I took the PC board out
And you didn’t come with the decoder an instruction sheet did and it says NOTHING about any cathode anode to the head light etcjust to wire to the headlight and back up light
YOU may know all this but they send instruction sheets
Nice to see that everyone is starting off the year in a good mood!!!
Anyway, you are correct in that the Tsunami instructions indicate that the chuff cam wire is supposed to be tan. Maybe it’s just a lighter shade of tan.
Concerning the lights, does that engine have bulbs or LEDs? If it does have LEDs, then the Tsunami installation guide does talk about resistors, anodes, and cathodes. See page 26 of the installation guide, http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf. The excerpt from the text is as follows (if you have bulbs, then that’s a different story):
Using LEDs
Tsunami decoders may be used with LEDs, which also require a resistor to
be wired in series, typically about 680-ohms, 1/4W. Unlike lightbulbs, LEDs
are sensitive to polarity. The minus (-) cathode end of the LED (the
If the headlight is hooked to the blue and white, and comes on in reverse, and you HAVEN’T messed with CV29, then you have the motor wires, orange and grey, backwards. Rear light gets yellow and blue.
Nice to see that everyone is starting off the year in a good mood!!!
Anyway, you are correct in that the Tsunami instructions indicate that the chuff cam wire is supposed to be tan. Maybe it’s just a lighter shade of tan.
Concerning the lights, does that engine have bulbs or LEDs? If it does have LEDs, then the Tsunami installation guide does talk about resistors, anodes, and cathodes. See page 26 of the installation guide, http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsuinstallation.pdf. The excerpt from the text is as follows (if you have bulbs, then that’s a different story):
Using LEDs
Tsunami decoders may be used with LEDs, which also require a resistor to
be wired in series, typically about 680-ohms, 1/4W. Unlike lightbulbs, LEDs
are sensitive to polarity. The minus (-) cathode end of the LED (the
When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whiring or whinning sound like something is reving up
Everything else works fine including sound effects so I will just run it with the headlight function turned off for now
I probably would have been better off wiring to an 8 pin connector as any resistors etc needed would be there but all the controversy over the capacitors inductors on my original thread had be leery
When I get my ear right over the tender and press the headlight switch I hear a whirring or whining sound like something is reving up
Hey
That whirring noise doesn’t sound good I would get a handle on the wiring before I left the lights on. Sorry I can’t help with the wiring. After I wire a decoder I forget how I did it until the next time. Old timers problem. [:-^]
Well, you still didn’t say whether you have bulbs or LEDs. The resistors are only for LEDs. If you take a look at the link I referenced, they also show the connections for bulbs. If I remember correctly, they show two different bulb voltages. Go back and look at that reference and see how it compares to the instructions that came with the decoder as well as how you have it connected.
I am going to start with some posts at the very start of this thread.
The TAN wire is very near white. You have to look real close to see any difference. But the tan (or white, call it what you like) comes off the decoder at the same end as the speaker wires ( violet).
I am not sure that there is a difference any more as I very seldom look at it, as I know it is the cam wire because it comes off the rear of the decoder.
The noise that you hear when you turn on a headlight is the dynamo sound .
If your unit has LED’s they are polarity sensitive. You need the blue wire to go to the positive lead of the LED’s and the function wire (White headlight - Yellow back light) goes to the short lead.
They need to be wired up right or they will not work.
