DCC for 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain

[rowdyjoe]

Just took delivery of a beautiful Spectrum 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain steam locomotive and it runs on DC very nicely.  However, since it's "DCC ready" I have a nice decoder to install.  Can someone please tell me where the decoder socket is located? 
I connected two plugs from the tender to the locomotive before putting it on the track and this leads me to believe that the NMRA socket might be in the tender .... or is it in the loco?
Sure would appreciate a little help as the parts breakdown blueprint does not indicate wiring.  I'd rather not disassemble both the tender and loco to find the socket.

If this locomotive is typical of the Spectrum line I'll be buying more of them.
However, I'm a little disappointed that the instructions/drawings don't have a wiring diagram/schematic.

Thanks,
Garry

[SteamGene]

Garry,
It would be nice to know which tender you have, but they all open up about the same.  First, you will need to plug in both the two pin and the four pin sockets when the decoder is installed.
Underneath the rectangular tender there is one small phillips head screw directly behind the front trucks.  Unscrew this.  DO NOT UNSCREW THE TRUCKS! as long as the engine operates correctly.  At the rear of the tender are two small "hooks" passing through holes in the tender floor.  Lift the tender shell up and forward and the hooks will release.  
The NMRA scoket should now be visible.  Pull out the shorting plug and insert the NMRA plug of your decoder.  You may have to search for the red wire.  If the loco runs strangely, or does not run, then it is capacitor cutting time.  
If you have the C&O J-2 version, the 16V tender works essentially the same way.  I don't know about the Hickens - but I'll assume it's a match.
Gene

[Ozzie21]

The Hicken tender for the SP version of the mountain is essentially the same as the USRA tender, a single phillips head screw ahead of the front truck. The C&O style 16VC tender has two philips headed screws securing the chassis to the tender body. When you seperate the body from the chassis When you plug the decoder in to the the socket on the pC board you will need to orientate the plug correctly. If when you test the loco it runs but has no lights then the decoder has been inserted the the wrong way round. Remove the plug, reverse it's orientation and plug it back in. As a quick guide the red wire on the plug harness should be next to the number 8 printed next to the socket on the PC board.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

[robin]

I took apart several Hickens a few years back and had to pry off the ends to access the electrics.  The rounded body did not appear to have a removable bottom.  Has the design changed or was I just doing things the hard way?

Robin

who hopes he hasn't timed out again!!!!!

[ta152h0]

I  have a Hvy Mtn and installed a sound system. Before you start  fritzing with it, make sure you write down, somewhere, on which side is the wheel insulator instqalled in the tender truck, front and back. Take a look at the paper work and it will show where the screws are to remove the shell of the tender ( depending on tender ) and note in the paperwork where pin 1 is. You will have to remove the dummy plug. The problem i have with the beast is running fast around corner at the curve-straight junction. The front truck sometimes comes off the track ( 22 inch R curves  ) causing the dcc system to reboot It is ok once you put the locomotive back on the track.

[rowdyjoe]

Thanks everyone for the tips.  This should be one of the easiest installs I've done.  The toughest so far was disassembling the older model "War Baby" 4-8-4 to install a decoder.  After that experience I've decided to buy plug-n-play.   

Garry

[rowdyjoe]

SteamGene .... I have the Vandy tender.  Very nicely detailed too.

Garry

[SteamGene]

I do, too - three of them, in fact.  I just couldn't remember exactly how to open them.  
Gene

[rowdyjoe]

SteamGene .... two screws on the bottom of the tender.  One in front of the front truck and one behind the rear truck.   

This would have been the easiest and simplest decoder install I've done ... if I hadn't installed it backwards the first time.   

This loco runs smooth as glass with the Digitrax DH163Ps installed. 

By the way ... I too have the problem with the front truck derailing on one particular turn and I can't figure out why.  It does it about 20% of the time and it's veriy aggrevating.  I'll figure it out thoughh.

Garry

[Ozzie21]

That would be an oopps!! on my part. You are entirely correct the front and rear does come off the tender. I was thinking of the short vandy tender and I still got that wrong. Old age is a bugger.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

I took apart several Hickens a few years back and had to pry off the ends to access the electrics.  The rounded body did not appear to have a removable bottom.  Has the design changed or was I just doing things the hard way?

Robin

who hopes he hasn't timed out again!!!!!

[rogertra]

By the way ... I too have the problem with the front truck derailing on one particular turn and I can't figure out why.  It does it about 20% of the time and it's veriy aggrevating.  I'll figure it out thoughh.

Garry

Try removing the pressure spring that holds the truck down.  On well laid track, the pressure spring is not required.  The pressure springs over the trucks also reduce pulling power.  As I've mentioned here numerous times, it's simple physicis. 

Every action results in an equal and opposite reaction.

Therefore, if the sping pushes down with a factor of "x" then it's also pushing up with the same "x" factor.  This is what reduces the pulling power of the locomoitve by slightly reducing the weight placed on the drivers.

If you find that the truck does need some extra downward pressure, then add weight to the truck, don't add a spring.

[rowdyjoe]

RogerT .... you have put your finger on the main issue with my derailments ... "well (or not so well) laid track".  My "temporary" layout is of the "not so well laid" type.  I like my current track plan.  It's a modified 4 ft. X 12 ft. dog-bone with a switch yard in one end of the semi-dogbone (dogbone on one side and a long high-ball straight away at the top).  However, I plan to modify it to a 12 ft. X 6 ft. foundation and add some elevation.  Flat train layouts are pretty boring so, I thought I'd try to model some of the Texas hill country.  Since I'm a rookie at this, it will be interesting to see how well it turns out. 

Thanks everyone for the help. 

God Bless All,
Garry

[trainmanchris]

hey i got my light mountain and i'm wondering if it's DCC ready cause it is Spectrum.......i even took off the tender body today(a min ago)but i didn't see anything.....couse i wouldn't know, i'm new to the modeling half of the hobby to....and it is a 2005 light mountain and it has the USRA medium tender incase it maters.........

[Pacific Northern]

trainmanchris

Check the product reference section and you will find the diagram of the Light Mountain. The diagram shows the curcuit board and plug mounted in the tender.

[trainmanchris]

ok thanks......i was just not sure WHAT i was looking for...........