spectrum 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain wiring

[woodworkertim]

I have a spectrum 4-8-2 heavy mountain that I'm going to install a tsunami sound decoder in. There are (2) plugs that go from the tender to the loco. One is a (2) wire plug with red and black wires that i assume are the power from the loco wheels. The other plug is a (4) wire with a orange, lite brown, yellow and red wire. Which (2) go to the motor and which (2) are the lighting? I couldn,t find any info in the paper work that came with the loco or on the Bachmann web site. Don't want to disassemble the loco to find out. Doesn't look like a fun job. Thanks, Tim

[jonathan]

Tim,

Actually, it's not that difficult.  You'll need to solder an 8-pin plug to the Tsunami decoder wires. Instructions come with the Tsunami for order/color code of the wires.  This plug inserts to the receptacle in the tender.  No need to worry about the tender/locomotive wire connections... unless... you intend to remove all wire and lighting and redo it yourself.

The only real challenge is the speaker.  As I recall, some versions of the heavy mountain did not have a pre-drilled area for the speaker.  You may have to drill some holes yourself.  My memory could be off on that one.

In case you are not aware, the Tsunami does not come in the dual mode (DC/DCC).  If you plan to run DC, you, or someone, will have to program the decoder to run on DC.

Regards,

Jonathan

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

There is another way to install a tsunami sound decoder other than soldering an 8 pin plug to the decoder wires. Soundtraxx does make a wiring harness with the 8 pin plug already attached to factory shortened wires for easier install. I soldered an 8 pin plug to the decoder wires when I fitted my Bachmann GS4 with DCC sound and it is a pain in the coal bunker to do. Soundtraxx also says that if you cut the shrink tubing around the decoder back just enough to switch the wiring harnesses it will still be covered by the factory warrenty. They even have a diagram in the installation manual on how to swap the wiring harness.

[jonathan]

Milwaukee Fan makes a good point.  I am cheap, so I did it the inexpensive way, instead of the easy way. Soldering tiny wires is a challenge, but I'm stubborn enough to muddle through it. 

Concerning the speaker:  The tender frame is metal.  If you don't feel like drilling through metal, and repositioning the electronics board, you can always mount the speaker so it shoots up through the coal load.  You'll have to get a little creative mounting the speaker, but drilling some small holes through the coal load is not difficult... easy to hide, too.  The large rectangular tender has some decent room to work with.

If you have the C&O version of the Mountain, with Vanderbilt tender, your only choice is to shoot the sound through the coal load.

Regards,

Jonathan

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Like Jon said, fitting the speaker will get tricky facing up through the coal load but if you look at the installation guide from soundtraxx, it shows you how to fit the speaker so it is facing up through the coal.

[woodworkertim]

You have all missed the question I asked. I need to know which two wires from the four wire plug go to the motor in the engine or which two go to the lites. Not all the color coded wires from the engine match the color coded wires from the decoder. I have already installed the speaker and the decoder. I would like to do this without removing the shell from the engine. Thanks, Tim

[jonathan]

OK.

Remove the shell on the tender. Look at the PCB.  The board is marked where the wires connect to the board.  For instance:   the motor wire connections are marked "M+" and M-".  A BIG magnifying glass helps here.

The tender pick up wires connect to tabs right next to the pick up tabs from the locomotive.

One way or another, you're going to have to trace the wires.  Color coding is not uniform on these locomotives.  A voltmeter would also help.

The Locomotive shell is not difficult to remove.

Your original post indicated you were about to install sound, not past tense.

Regards,

Jonathan