Can anyone help me with a digitrax decoder install into a rivarossi hudson I've cut the pickup from the trailing truck and attached the black lead. I cut the other motor lead and attached the red lead. Then I attached the orange and grey to the motor pickups. I haven't done anything with the headlight yet. no response but no smoke either I haven't seperated the motor from the frame and would rather not. Do I have an isolation problem? Help

-- michael cronin (michael.cronin@gm.com), March 02, 2001

Answers

Many Rivarossi's have a motor that has a metal strap that connects one of the motor terminals to the chassis of the locomotive. If you are having trouble, make sure this strap is GONE. You may have to use a Dremel with a cut-off disk to remove this strap. Otherwise you are shorting the output of your decoder to one of the input leads - NOT GOOD!

-- Allan Gartner (WiringForDCC@augustmail.com), March 02, 2001.

Thanks for the reply, I've checked the motor is in isolation but I can't get power to the red lead unless I connect it directly to the rail. I've got another hudson and think the power is pickuped from the trailing truck I can't figure out how the current gets from the metal wheels to the motor thru the plastic trucks.I reluclent to disable the other hudson the same way as this one. Does anyone know the current path from left rail to the motor I'm baffled.

-- michael cronin (michael.cronin@gm.com), March 07, 2001.

DUH, I've answered my own question I've figured out you must attach the tender on a hudson. to get power from the left rail. Whalla everything runs great this is a simple installation. the only diffculty is changing the headlamp to a grain of wheat.

-- michael cronin (michael.cronin@gm.com), March 10, 2001.