Wires pulled from tender plug

[locojoe]

Hi there everyone 

i have a Bachman Ivatt loco 3 of the wires have been pulled from the

small plug to the tender 

Can i hard wire a TTS Decoder into the modell

[ColinB]

I have just fixed one of these, you can get a replacement from Bachmann, I think it was about £7.00. It comes complete with the pickup plate, not too difficult to replace. As for the TTS decoder, you will need to use a small speaker, I used a small iphone one, there is surprisingly little space in the tender but the TTS should fit.

[locojoe]

I have just fixed one of these, you can get a replacement from Bachmann, I think it was about £7.00. It comes complete with the pickup plate, not too difficult to replace. As for the TTS decoder, you will need to use a small speaker, I used a small iphone one, there is surprisingly little space in the tender but the TTS should fit.

Would it not be easier and cheaier to hard wire a decoder to the four wires

[Chrissaf]

If the four wires between the tender and the loco on the Bachmann model perform the same function as the four wires used on some Hornby models, then what you are suggesting is not so straight forward.

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I'm sure Colin will clarify, but if the Tender wiring methodology that Bachmann use is the same as Hornby, then the function of the four wires are: two wires to transfer the loco pickup wires to the tender, where they connect in parallel to the tender wheel pickups. The total of all the combined wheel pickups then go the Tender located decoder track side connections of the decoder socket. The motor output of the decoder then use the other two wires of the four to connect to the motor in the loco. Noting that the speaker goes in the Tender too.

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So, if you hard wire the decoder inside the loco you lose the use of the additional wheel pickups of the tender. Plus you would have to find space in the loco body for the speaker too [which would most likely also need a different speaker to be sourced]. The wiring between the loco and the tender have function, it is much better to get the correct replacement part from Bachmann and restore the loco back to factory wiring as Colin suggests and recommends.

[ColinB]

You could hardwire it, it is just that it is a pain when trying to fix anything on the loco with them permanently connected together, plus for me permanent wiring is always an issue. This is a Bachmann so although it has the decoder in the tender, it doesn't have any pickups in the tender. I agree with Chrissaf it is much better to fix the loco properly, but each to their own. On the one I fixed the guy had had extra pickups added to the tender, but after I had fixed it he said it ran better than ever, which was because one of the pickups on the original bottom plate was bent, which replacing it obviously improved the running. You will find as I have on many occasions, that when you fit the decoder to the tender, having it permanently wired to the loco will be a pain. For me replacing the part was a much better option. The reason the wires fall out, is people don't pull out the connecter when they work on them or they try to pull the connector of by pulling at the wires. As Chrissaf says, buy the proper extraction tool and you will have no further issues.

[locojoe]

Thank"s everyone i"ve fixed a 8 pin plug to the four wires it runs OK on dc and now about to

plug the decoder to it what do you think.