adams radial

[gragrahadea]

hi, everbody has anybody had problems trying to fit ahornby decoder into the new adams radial loco.and getting the loco to work, when its in.Rang hornby who said there is very little room to fit one.

[96RAF]

There was a recent post on RMweb forum about it being difficult to fit a decoder due to space constraints and thatbthere was a wiring fault causing decoders to blow.

See this

 

HCC is aware and said they have had to fit decoders on behalf of customers having problems.

[Howbi]

A recent post said...........I managed to get a Hattons direct 8 pin decoder to fit by removing a section of the plastic sleeve that was preventing the pins going to the base of the socket............HB

[SteveM6]

I bought one, couldn't get a Hatton's decoder to fit even with the sleeve trimmed back. So I tried a Zen nano decoder - fitted beautifully but blew up in a puff of smoke. So did two more decoders so I returned the loco to the supplier. I too found out (too late) about the seemingly all to common wiring fault  and I'm still waiting for a reply from Hornby Customer Care to my letter of complaint.

So I still don't have a Radial and I'm the cost of three decoders down on the deal.

[Wobblinwheel]

My "Caerphilly Castle" had the same wiring problem. If I remember correctly, the track pickup wires to the decoder socket were reversed. It would run fine until you plugged in a decoder! It seems to me the most logical solution to the space, and wiring issue is to remove the socket, and wire it directly. Good opportunity to check your wiring at the same time!! Good time to "pitch that plug"! It really is simple since you're only dealing with motor control... actually, the decoder should be in there from the factory. "DCC READY" is an obsolete idea..... wake-up, Limeys....!

[58001]

I have had to return two with exactly the same wiring fault, the motor and driving wheels were correctly wired but the poney truck pick-ups were connected to lighting pins on the decoder socket. Reading reports on other fora suggests that the wiring of the DCC socket is somewhat random.

I didn't realise at first as the poney truck pick-ups on my first model were all bent inwards and as such not making contact with the wheels. It was only when Hornby fixed that problem that I discovered the wiring fault and lost two decoders in the process.

[Jimbo1707820979]

My Adams Radial (Oxford) was fitted with a TCS DP2X-UK  decoder by my local dealer who said that the fitting was "not particularly difficult".

[58001]

There is more room in the bunker of the Oxford Rail Adams Radial to fit a decoder. The Oxford Rail version is also correctly wired.

Aestetically, though, the Hornby version is finer with a clear gap between the boiler and the solebar and the Hornby wheels have more discrete flanges, less like the Lima "pizza-cutters" of old.

[walkingthedog]

The Oxford version had serious running problems, something to do with the bogie, but the later versions are OK. Not all the Hornby ones have wiring problems. I'm very tempted to get one. 

[96RAF]

A simple eyeball check to see if the front bogie wiring was connected to any of the inner four socket pins would confirm duff wiring.

 

The bogie wires should parrallel the main driver pickups to the outer pins diagonally opposed to the other two that connect to the motor.

 

You dont even need a multimeter to check.

 

If wrong send it back for an exchange item.

[Wobblinwheel]

A simple eyeball check to see if the front bogie wiring was connected to any of the inner four socket pins would confirm duff wiring.

 

The bogie wires should parrallel the main driver pickups to the outer pins diagonally opposed to the other two that connect to the motor.

 

You dont even need a multimeter to check.

 

If wrong send it back for an exchange item.

I guess that's why I prefer to remove the socket and plug and "hardwire" the decoder. Makes it hard to miss wiring errors, AND makes more room!

[58001]

A simple eyeball check to see if the front bogie wiring was connected to any of the inner four socket pins would confirm duff wiring.

 

The bogie wires should parrallel the main driver pickups to the outer pins diagonally opposed to the other two that connect to the motor.

 

You dont even need a multimeter to check.

 

If wrong send it back for an exchange item.

I did just that and the replacement had exactly the same fault! Horby have promised to fix it properly this time.

[96RAF]

There was a recent post on RMweb forum about it being difficult to fit a decoder due to space constraints and thatbthere was a wiring fault causing decoders to blow.

See this

 

HCC is aware and said they have had to fit decoders on behalf of customers having problems.

Further feedback from Hornby CC on the linked forum topic.

...scroll down to #54 on page 3 of the post.

[Bulleidboy]

 

 

I fitted a TCS DP2X-UK and it went straight in. The only thing I noticed was that the underside of the decoder touched one of the two screw heads that hold the socket in place. I put a very small piece of heat shrink over the top of the screw head before pushing the decoder home - I've had no problems - not that I had any before.