Bachmann sound decoder came uninstalled with no installation instructions.

[RJag]

Hello Folks.
I have the noted loco in my shop, and I am trying to install the included decoder in the tender for a friend. I have a nice exploded diagram of the tender showing the simplistic outline of the pcb board plus the Bachmann decoder. There appears to be no decoder instructions per se showing where to install the keep alive or the speaker wires on the board.

I did locate two wires off the pc board that appear to be for a press-on fit to the rear tender light. I'd like to confirm that as well.

Am I missing one more sheet regarding the actual decoder? Can you assist me? Thanks.

 

[RailMan63]

Hi.
I may be able to help.
But I first need to know what make and model sound decoder you're using.
And, of course, which of the many Bachmann On30 locomotives that you're working on.
I also need to know:
Is it factory (Soundtraxx)?
Or after market (TCS , Digitraxx,etc.)?
Is it going to be a sound decoder installation?
Or are you trying to simply reinstall the factory board?
Some pics would also be helpful.
If it's a factory decoder, and you are needing a wiring diagram, it will be extremely hard to figure out which wire goes where.
If you're dealing with broken plug wires, it may be very difficult to figure out the wiring.
The motherboard does have wiring call outs on it,but I've never seen a wiring diagram from Bachmann for one of these little locos.
The only thing they include in the box is a blown parts diagram.
But not wiring.
And most of my On30 locos were brand new, and factory sealed when I received them
To answer some of your questions:
A Keep Alive usually plugs directly into a Soundtraxx TSU-2200,or TSU-1100 decoder.
I'm not sure if any of the open slots on the factory board are labeled for one of those(I do know that TCS includes a built in Keep alive circuit in their complete decoder/motherboard kits such as their TCS DCC WSK-BAC-8 WOWKits  that I installed in my ET&WNC #12 4-6-0 a couple of years ago. It doesn't have any call outs for the rear heaglight. Bummer.).
The headlight has call outs on the board that are clearly labeled for it.
As far as most decoders(sound/non-sound) go,they can be joined to an 8 pin JST Plug.
Soundtraxx,TCS,Digitraxx,etc come with instructions to do this.(Soldering is required).
The decoder then can be plugged directly into the original motherboard in the tender.
The Keep Alive is then plugged into the back connection on the decoder,not the motherboard.
My DCC Mogul came with a 21 pin motherboard
And it included an adapter in the tender which allowed it to be converted from 21 pins to an 8 pin interface by using the method I described above.
There isn't a lot of space in the tender of a Bachmann On30 Mogul.
So,I opted to remove the adapter ,and place a TCS 1525 WOW 121 21 pin decoder in the tender.
This required a little modification(removing the screws holding the motherboard down in the tender,and then gently turning it around backwards so that the new decoder would fit!).That,plus a little electrical tape added for insulation.
Here's a link to the decoder I used(if you need a sound decoder for this installation):
https://www.ironplanethobbies.com/product/tcs-wowsound-wow121-steam-1525-21-pin-dcc-decoder/
I've installed decoders in 6 of my On30 locomotives which have ranged to a simple plug and play installation, to a full hard wiring job in a 2-4-4-2,and one of my 4-6-0's.
The latest one I did was the a fore mentioned installation on my 2-6-0 Mogul.
Initially, I didn't have the decoder seated quite right on the motherboard,which caused the headlight not to operate.
Honestly,I was feeling a little frustrated with this little 2-6-0 due to an unrelated issue with the guides on the steam chest.
So,I put it back in its' box,and posted about the issue on this forum.
Nobody had an answer,so I finally decided to look into the issue after a couple of weeks went by(I was by then deep into playing with my new Version 7 Big Hauler 4-6-0 with full DCC and it's Soundtraxx TSU-4400 sound decoder(it's pretty darn great! What with the sound ,and all.).
It took about 2 minutes for me to realize my mistake when I finally took the tender for the Mogul apart to look into repairing the issue.
The TCS 21 pin decoder was not quite all the way seated down on the motherboard.
There was a small gap between it and the motherboard.
I pulled the decoder off to check to make sure that the pins were all straight.
Took a moment to inspect all the wiring.
All was good there.
 I then carefully replaced the decoder on the motherboard, put it all back together,and then track tested it.
The head came on immediately!
So that was what the problem had been all along!
Funny how a slight misalignment like that caused such a problem!
Here's a link to the video of the now fully operational locomotive on my desktop test track :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opdtn--q7zk
Let me know if I can help!
Mike!

[Terry Toenges]

Railman: On theMogul - Have you figured out the order of the wires for the connector that goes into the loco? The wires came loose from the connector so I bought a new harness. I thought I had them figured out when I tried to put a new harness on mine but it must have been wrong because I fried the board in the tender.

[RailMan63]

Hi,Terry.
No.
I disassembled the tender and had a look at the wiring this afternoon after seeing your post,but decided it would be too risky to try to trace them to where they go on the pin.
I would if I were replacing the entire motherboard/decoder setup.
But since the wires in the tender are tied in a knot,I decided it's too risky to try messing with it for fear of breaking connections (Bachmann solder joints are famously flimsy) and getting the wrong information to you.
So, I put it back together until I absolutely have to take it apart again.
Sorry buddy!

[Terry Toenges]

Thank you.
The diagram is from the new tender that I took apart so I could try to figure out the wires.
This is what I thought I had figured out but it must have been wrong. I put it on the track. When I turned it to the address, it started going but it seems like I couldn't control it so I hit emergency stop. I tried it again and it seemed like it was going on it's own. (I might have been getting my buttons mixed up as I panicked.) The loco made a couple of laps and then let out smoke. It melted one of the little black rectangle thing on the decoder. Because the wires run underneath and the board tabs are at the back,  it got somewhat confusing for me to keep the right orientation to the connector
This must be wrong -

[RJag]

Thanks Railman63. That helps some. This loco came NIB from an estate. #25963 ON30 280 Little River. There is a plug-in decoder #44915. Also in the box was a new decoder with no name on it, pickish purple heat shrink and 11 wires. Also loose is a black capacitor indicating 25 volts. If I knew how to add a pic with this post I could show you these items. I have a suspicion now that the Bachmann decoder is not for sound and the previous owner purchased a generic sound decoder, a keep alive capacitor and an aftermarket speaker then passed before getting to it.

Looks like I can't post a pic without having it stored somewhere with a url. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Terry Toenges]

I'm sorry for hijacking your post Rjag.  I got sidetracked with Railman's comments and thought maybe Railman could help me.
To post pictures, they have to be loaded on another site somewhere else that allows you to post pics like Flicker or Facebook. Then the link gets copied here in the picture box.

[RailMan63]

Hi,Rjag.
Sorry I can't be 100% helpful with the install.
This is how I normally upload photos here on this forum:
Take a few photos of the DCC decoder.
Then (if you have a Windows PC or laptop),download the photos from your phone, or other device to your computer.
You'll have to downsize each image to less than 350KB.
To do that, you need to click on the Windows search bar at the bottom left of your screen.
You then type "paint" in the search bar.
When the computer shows the "Paint App",you'll click on that.
In paint, click File.
Then click Open.
Then select the file that you downloaded the photos to.
Click on the photo you want to modify.
At the top,left of the screen, you'll see Resize.
Click on Resize.
A box will pop up.
In that box, you'll see Horizontal, and vertical with boxes next to them.
Before you start, make sure that the Percentage circle is enabled.
After that, click your mouse cursor on the Horizontal box.
Using your number keys, enter the percentage you want for the horizontal.
If the image is a large file(over 1.5 MB),I enter 25.
The vertical will automatically match the figure that you entered in the horizontal box.
Click Okay.
Then click File.
Then Save As.
It is advisable to rename the resized image in order to preserve the original in case you've miss guessed, and made the file too small.
Don't worry.
By renaming the new file,you've preserved the original.
In short ,you can try again until you get the image file down under the 350kb maximum allowed by this website.
Do that with every image that you want to post here.
It's a bit of work, but it can be done without the need of a photo posting service.
Now, the fun part!
Right below the reply box,on the left hand side,you'll see a blue down arrow.
Next to it it says "Attachments and other options".
Click on the arrow.
Click on "Add Files"
A window will open on your screen.
If you have multiple hard drives, you'll first have to open the drive that contains the file where you put your photos.
Open the file, and then click on the file that you want to upload the this website.
If photo you selected is 350kb, or smaller, it will then automatically upload once you click it.
A yellow bar at the bottom will show how much room you still have available on that post for uploading photos.
If there are multiple photos that you want to upload, then you'll likely have to make several individual posts.
After you're done, just hit the "Post" button.
And you're done!
I know it's a lot of work, and another long winded explanation, but it's how I upload images on websites that have size limitations on the images that people upload to them.
Right now, I am unable to upload any images to this website.
"The upload directory is full. Please contact an administrator about this problem. "
So, I'm not sure how to get photos uploaded her at the moment until they fix this issue with the website.
Let me know if I can help you any further!
Mike

[Terry Toenges]

If you use a photo that is loaded to a website and use the "image" tab -  Under the "URL" box, I usually put 300 in the "width" box. That automatically resizes it and keeps the same aspect ratio. With me, 300 is a good size because you don't end with huge pictures that take a long time to load and don't overwhelm the screen.

[mst3kenc]

The Bachmann decoder is a basic non sound. The other is probably a SoundTraxx Tsunami 2 TSU-1100. The SoundTraxx web site will have instructions for installation. https://soundtraxx.com/products/tsunami2-digital-sound-decoders/tsu-1100/