Problem

I had a mishap with my DofG TTS loco. The 2 of the tiny wires from the loco to the tender have come adrift from the small white connector under the tender. They are much to fine for me to try repairing so where should I send/take it too? Not had a problem like this before so I am a bit in the dark as to repairs etc..?

Cheers
Ron

Ron are the wires colour coded or both the same,the reason for asking it is not a hard job to do yourself but if the wires are crossed you can blow the decoder,
:thumbs;-):cool:

4 BLACK wires!! Not much help there!!

Thanks
Ron

that`s an oops then,:thudjust thought try e-mailing Hornby customer service see whwat they say
:thumbs;-):cool:

Ron, have you had your loco for long and did you buy it locally? if you bought it locally I would take it back to the shop and hopefully they will repair it for free, if you got from Hattons, ( other shops are available ), I would still take it to a shop, it may cost you to have it repaired but at least you will have a running loco.
Cheers, Pete.

Bought it from Hattons in February, think I will take it to Digitrains at Lincoln on my next visit to Lincoln! :)

Cheers
Ron

Hi Ron

If you want to venture into repairing if you take the tender body off you can remove (unplug)  the decoder and you should be able to trace the wires……..they are usually identified on the PCB board.  It is very easy to bypass that fiddly plug.

On the other hand the shop can fix it

Cheers

Hi Ron,

4 black wires.  Presumably the decoder is in the tender with the speaker, and they are 2 power wires from the track to the tender, 2 DCC output leads back to the motor. They're supposed to be red, black, orange and grey! So much for common standards. It's only 3 months old, I'd send it back to Hattons for a replacement, it should be robust enough to take routine handling.

As they're disconnected there is no danger to the decoder. If you have a multimeter and a DC powerpack see what is coming out each wire. 2 will be live, 2 dead. Take the hood off the tender, and see where the corresponding wires go. Assuming Hornby did it correctly, what you should have in the CB is shown below. Trace the leads back to the socket, then you can match up with the leads coming out of the engine. At a minimum put a spot of paint of the appropriate color on each lead. Mind you, in my experience there is no guarantee they will have done the 8 pin socket wiring correctly. It is a bit fiddly, but the wires can be re-inserted. Red/black and orange/grey are interchangeable. Worst that will happen is the engine will go backwards. Which can be changed via the software anyway. If you don't want to do it get it done professionally.

Those dinky little white connectors are not really up to the job if the engine is handled often. It makes more sense to have the decoder in the engine and just 2 leads and connectors going back to the speaker in the tender. I've ended up rewiring all the Hornby's I have that came with this type of connector with more robust ones, and replacing non-standard wiring when necessary.

Good luck,

Nigel

Our posts crossed Nigel…….we both said the same thing only your reply was much clearer.:oops:

I have found both Bachmann and Hornby ignore the NRM colour code in places……typically between loco and tender! But they do mark the motor and left and right pick upd

Hi John,

Not always. If the factory is running out of red black it is. I've had Bachmann and Hornby offerings with all black, all red, black and red going to the motor from the decoder……..and black and red going from the track going to the decoder. It all gets ripped out and rewired to NMRA standards.

Ron,

I use Miniatronics 2 or 4 pin connectors with cable for going between the engine and tender. Bit thicker than the stuff Hornby uses, and if enough strain is put on they simply separate rather than pulling out of the pins. The cables are identified and there is a big white spot to make sure polarity is not reversed. I put the plug in the tender or under the cab floor and the cables look like all the pipework that went between engine and tender if separated into individual strands and bent into a loop. If securely anchored to the tender with a strap the cables will take the strain of a suspended engine. Pictures of the 2 and 4 pin connectors below.

These male/female connectors are readily available from electronic stores without cable, but given the price it's not worth getting the iron out.

Nigel

Thanks Nigel, but with my eyesight and soldering technique I think I'll let someone else do it!:):)

Cheers
Ron

You never had these problems with the old stuff. Come back Triang, all is forgiven.

The wires are probably black so as to make them less noticeable.  Do you really want multi-coloured wires on show between your engine and tender?  We can't have it all ways chaps.

Terry

I was waiting for someone to spot that. Well done Pike!

:)

The only time I had this sort of problem was when I lost the big nickle-plated key….Incidentally,  the same key fitted  the  Grandmother clock in the sittjng-room!

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

I have found both Bachmann and Hornby ignore the NRM colour code in places……typically between loco and tender!

:hmm      :cheers:cheers

Not multicolored, they're black with a thin white strip with an indication of polarity. The white plug and socket is handed, difficult to see when inserting. I have on occasions used an aftermarket pre-wired decoder plug with the four colored wires. Some black or grey heat shrink with 2 wires per tube solves that problem and is easily configured as a loop.

The issue of course is having all the electronics and in the tender, which for all practical purposes means a permanently coupled unit. Not easy to handle with a large engine/tender, drop the tender and out come wires. Poor design. There are better ways of connecting units. I'll post a rant, this is Ron's thread.

Nigel

Must agree Nigel, poor design re the wiring to the tender. I'll get it fixed then it stays on the rails!!:)

Cheers
Ron

Hi Ron,

When it's back from being fixed, one tip is to run it onto a loco lift (Peco sell one, SL-43) and store it off track in that. No more handling engine and tender to lift it off and put back on. Good investment considering the cost of the locomotive (and its inherent fragility). I use these for my brass engine stock (steam and diesel AA or AB units), drop one of those and it's sackcloth and ashes time as there are no spare parts.

Nigel

Good idea Nigel will sort one out!

Thanks
Ron