aramand Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hi,Trying to convert some non-DCC ready locos to DCC in order to run on my new setup but I'm hitting a bit of a blocker at the first step !! Any advice on getting the body off the chassis ?The 2 loco's I'm looking at right now are a Smokey Joe - I know there is a guide for this but the instructions to take the body off make it sound simple (pull down on the back) but its not working for me and in fact I pretty sure I've snapped one of the clips holding on the body so I've stopped and left it for now!The 2nd loco I went for was a Blue Rapier Class 395 HST (the one from the set) - there are 2 screws in the front which are obvious enough and the back section pops off but after that I'm caught. Body appears to be held in the center by perhaps some clips but afraid to pull too hard in case I snap something.Any advice or guides on how to get bodys off either of these locos ? Ideally a YouTube video showing it, I've searched but cant see anything.I'm happy enough with electronics and a soldering iron if only I get at the things :-)Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaj Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'm not sure if you have done this on your Smokey Joe model, but on myne there is a scewe in the middle of the underneeth of the loco, if you unscrewe this I should Imagin it would come of. Hope this helps,Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aramand Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hi,I did try removing the screw underneath the Smokey Joe but it didnt seem to make any difference in getting the body off. It looks too short to be holding on the body and appears perhaps holding something around the motor in place. Will keep trying - know its possible :-)Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Have you looked at the service sheet? https://www.hornby.com/filelibrary/download/?FileID=190It shows different fixing methods that might help. In one of the diagrams it shows the use of a small screwdriver used to lever a (wire?) clip to release the body. You should have got this service sheet when you bought the loco, if it was bought new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Sorry, it's a LOCOMOTIVE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE sheet, not a service sheet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aramand Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thank you very much Rog(RJ) !! That was exactly what I needed - once the front clips were released the body came off very easily. If anyone from Hornby is reading it may be worth adding a note into the Smokey Joe Decoder installation guide as that indicates almost complete opposite instructions to take off the body - i.e. it says to pull down the rear first and then the front will release.Now that the hard part is done :-) I just need to get on with the soldering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Glad to help :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aramand Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thanks for all the help, successfully converted the Smokey Joe :-)Must wait for another decoder to do the Blue Rapier as need 2 for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aramand Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 Just a quick update on my progress and of course I have a question!I converted my 'Blue Rapier' today and as it is the Railroad version it was not DCC ready. It actually turned out a little more difficult that the Smokey Joe in some ways as all the internal wires are black and some are quite short which makes it hard to work with. I only had one decoder as still waiting on the others so I put it in the loco obviously. If anyone is familar with these models you will know there is a little PCB in them to control the lights - this version only has white lights in both the loco and the dummy car and they light up depending on the direction of travel. I took the PCB completely out of the loco so now that has no lights while the dummy has permanent lights but is no longer directional so for now I always run the train in reverse :-) However my plan is to change this and put both a white and a red led in each along with a decoder and then control these lights using the decoder funtions to either switch on white or red in the appropriate car depending on direction. Main question is in wiring up new Leds to a decoder light control output do I still need to put a resistor in series ? I'm assuming yes but just wanted to confirm!Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58001 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Yes, you do need the resistor if you intend to used LEDs. You are best fitting it to the blue wire on the decoder, the common V+. As such you will need only one resistor to serve both red and white LEDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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