Uhlenbrock 6 x wire n gauge decoder

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

i have an n gauge loco with a uhlenbrock decoder fitted… it has the two lighting wires … however it does not have a blue wire for the light common… could anyone tell me how to wire it so the lights work… peter

2

You use either one of the rail pickups (red or black wire) as the light common.

3

I looked at one of their decoder manuals in .pdf format that stated that Pin 7 was the common. You could solder a wire to that and use it. How many wires does the decoder have?

Tom

4

i had never used the pickup as a return… will the lights change direction… first time i have used a 6 x wire decoder… why no blue wire

5

it only has 6 x wires… 2 for pick up… 2 for motor and only 2 for lights

6

Does it look similar to the top pic above?

Tom

7

yes… its the top decoder…i usually have no probem with decoders… installed 7 x sound decoders last week… my friend brought me a german n gauge loco to fit a new decoder… never seen the decoder before and was confused regarding the lack of a blue wire… peter

8

All the wiring diagrams I see for the six pin decoders appear to pick up the common light wire from track power …

Mark.

9

The top diagram with the two diodes makes a psuedo blue wire that is exactly like the blue wire on decoders that have them, so everything would function exactly as any other decoder.

half-wave wiring, where the light common goes to either the black or red rail pickup (doesn’t matter which one, but they should both be the same, NOT one to black, one to red) will still be directional, because it is the white and yellow wires that switch states to turn the lights on and off. You may need to use a smaller than usual resistors for the same brightness.

–Randy

10

thanks for the info… my friends decoder burnt out and i did not want to damage the new decoder… the diagram explains it… thanks to all who replied peter