Hornby DCC decoder with Bachmann locomotives

[PeterGwyn]

I have purchased a DCC ready Bachmann Class 37 locomotive and a Hornby DCC decoder (R8245 - 21 pin) and am unable to connect the decoder to the locomotive (I am new to model railways) ...... any advice would be very much appreciated!

[Bulleidboy]

I am not familiar with this loco, but have just watched a YouTube video on the fitting of a decoder. Have you removed the blanking plug? All DCC Ready loco's come with a blanking plug, which when in place, allows the train to be run as an analogue model. Once the blanking plug is removed the 21-pin should fit.  All later models are NMRA compliant, which basically means things (decoders) are interchangeable - whatever the make. Someone may give you a more detailed answer, but with the blanking plug removed (don't throw it away) the 21-pin decoder should fit. I have linked you to the YouTube video - Everard Junction tutorials are first class. BB

[Chrissaf]

...and am unable to connect the decoder to the locomotive

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Can you be a bit more specific:

Why can't you connect the R8245 Sapphire decoder to the Bachmann DCC Ready locomotive?

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Not saying all, but many Bachmann DCC Ready locomotives come with a MTC21 connector [21 pin decoder connector with male pins]. The Hornby R8245 Sapphire is natively a MTC21 decoder that comes with an adaptor to allow it to connect to the NEM652 8 pin socket typically found on Hornby locos.

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In theory, and assuming the Bachmann is a MTC21 connector. You just leave the Hornby provided adaptor in the packet and plug the Hornby R8245 Sapphire 21 pin decoder straight onto the Bachmann 21 pin connector. The connector has one row of 11 pins and one row of 10 pins. This means that the decoder is keyed, so that it can only fit in one specific orientation. Thus it is impossible to fit the wrong way round.

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I take it that you have removed the 21 pin Blanking Plate (plug) first before trying to fit the decoder. The decoder fits instead of the blanking plate not as well as. The blanking plate is required on a DCC Ready model so that appropriate pin connections can be made to run the loco on a DC Analogue track. The decoder does something similar when used on a DCC track. So you use a blanking plate OR a decoder depending upon whether the loco is DC Analogue OR DCC Digital controlled.

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Typical 21 Pin Blanking Plate to help you identify what it looks like.

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Do not throw the blanking plate away, keep it safe in the original loco box. It can be a useful diagnostic testing plug if you suspect that the decoder might be faulty in the future. That is to say, if your loco develops a fault and wont run, you can put the blanking plate back in and test on a DC Analogue power source. If the loco then runs OK, then that is indicative that the decoder might be faulty.

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PS - If you look at the YouTube video that BB has linked to. The decoder fitting is 4 minutes into the video.

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EDIT: BB posted his reply whilst I was busy writing mine, hence a certain amount of information duplication.

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TIP: I write long posts. If you intend to write a reply, it would be appreciated if you didn't use the 'White Arrow in Blue Box' button. This is not a 'Reply to this post button. It is best to write any reply you want to make in the 'Reply Text Box' at the very bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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Particularly as my reply includes an image. If you use the blue button, any reply you write will be held back for image approval. Even though it is already a previously published image.

[Iliketransport]

Another potential problem is bent pins. Make sure that the pins are straight and if their not then it won't push in. To sort this problem carefully ease the pins to the straight position using a cocktail stick.