4-8-4 J Class O Scale...Want light brighter

[AprilSnow01]

I recently bought a Williams 4-8-4 J Class O Scale Loco.   The Light is a 'constant- on' light, meaning no matter the power it's stays on.   The light on the Engine is a little dim.  Is there anyway to make that light "brighter".    Also is there a switch in the Tender to make the sound a little louder, and is it easy to adjust.     Thanks

[phillyreading]

To make the light brighter you can replace it with a lower volt light bulb, say a 9 volt bulb instead of a 12 volt bulb. The down sides to this is that you may shorten the life of the light bulb by using a lower volt bulb, also the lower volt light bulb may melt plastic if it comes near any, because the lower volt light bulb gets hotter.

On the newer Williams by Bachmann, not sure if you can adjust the volume on the tender's sound unit. I have a newer True Blast 2 steam engine sound unit and I can not get an adjustment for the volume out of it, tried doing what used to work for the older sound units but the new one would not adjust the volume properly, either full or nothing.

On the older units(before Bachmann) you must take the shell or cover off the tender and use a small screwdriver to adjust what looks like a small slot in a(an old style TV) volume switch.

Lee F.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear All,

If you want brighter lights, add back-to-back diodes between the reverser board and the (single) motor.  Bonus: better low speed control.  

Same effect on dual motor locos by wiring the motors in series instead of parallel (as wired by the factory).

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,13633.0.html

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,16727.0.html

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[AprilSnow01]

Thanks for your input!!!    It's nice to know there are very knowledgable people out there!!!

[Joe Satnik]

Dear AprilSnow01,

You're welcome.

The more diode pairs in series, the brighter the lights should be, and the better the low speed control should be. 

Let us know how it turns out.

Joe