Hornby new release class 31 lights

[english electric]

I went to my local model shop to collect my dcr class 31452 and whilst we were testing it , I noticed Hornby have changed the light configuration and now its wrong the issue is as follows

 

when going forward the red tail lights light up white along with the headcode and hi density light and other end just the red tail lights and change direction and same again, its not right

 

We then tried a network rail one and same issue,  Has anyone else noticed this change in the class 31s and why change it from been correct to totally wrong ?, when going forward they should only be the hi density and top box lit up so Hornby have added a white light behind the tail lamp section and it looks so wrong when going forward.

 

I was looking forward to the DCR 31  but this error put me of buying it

[doublecee]

I cant say. But have you bought this to Hornby's attention?

[richierich]

Sounds not right at all, if in the direction of travel the Headcode, High Intensity headlight, and tail lights all light up, along with the tail lights in the rear cab.

 

Might be its just not connected up correctly to the PCB?

[english electric]

they have added a white led to the tail lights as well as the red  so when going forward the direction its travelling has  top box, high density and white lights in the tail lamps and the rear just the red and you change direction and the lights do the same  top box / white tail lights and hi density lights and the rear  has just the red

 

same issue with the new network rail one as well , Hornby have changed the lights and added a extra light which should not be there

 

ive emailed Hornby but no reply yet in regards to the above

 

I was hoping someone else had bought the new 31452 and 31285 models and had noticed this as well

[GordonC]

I've just bought one of the 31452 models and it's the same. Tail lights display white when travelling forwards too

[GordonC]

Does no-one at Hornby actually check the models being produced at the factory before they're sent out?

 

I find it shocking that they think these kind of errors are acceptable on a £145 model. If it's not livery errors it's lighting or missing headlamp mouldings.

 

No wonder they're in financial difficulties when trying to fob us off with this rubbish at high prices.

[Martin_R]

My first 31452 was totally dead so dealer tried another, this one had lights at one end only because no light board or cab seating unit was fitted. The third one wobbled along the test track like a drunken duck but the lights were fine. Luckily the next one appeared to be OK but I spent quite a while checking it again before I paid for it. Seems part of the course these days.......

[CazRail]

Just received my model of 31452 today, with the very same lighting fault. 

 

This particular fault doesn't bother me as I'm not fussy with the lighting, but what did shock me was the build quality of it. I'm glad I waited until I found a much reduced price for it.

[The Black Hat]

Just got one of these thinking I was getting a bargin and have stumbled into the issue as mentioned above. 

 

Is anyone aware of a fix that can be done to turn off the white lights that are on in place of the red markers  when the engine is moving forwards. 

[GordonC]

Just got one of these thinking I was getting a bargin and have stumbled into the issue as mentioned above. 

 

Is anyone aware of a fix that can be done to turn off the white lights that are on in place of the red markers  when the engine is moving forwards. 

 

I heard its meant to be light bleed presumably from the headlight coming out the red lenses.

 

You might be able to paint around the white headlight in black or the red lights to prevent that possibly or use tape to seal them up?

[The Black Hat]

I've looked tonight and it looks as if it might not be light bleed. To be it looks as if the circuit board on the back of the cab front swtiches the flow from white to red light, when it changes over, hence the white light is the same intensity as the head lights. 

 

Has anyone returned one direct to Hornby who have offered a replacement chassis?

[GordonC]

I've looked tonight and it looks as if it might not be light bleed. To be it looks as if the circuit board on the back of the cab front swtiches the flow from white to red light, when it changes over, hence the white light is the same intensity as the head lights. 

 

Has anyone returned one direct to Hornby who have offered a replacement chassis?

 

I just returned mine to Hattons. I'd bought it cheap as a repainting project so the DCR livery was of no interest to me anyway

 

I'm surprised if they've installed bi-colour LEDs if they only needed red ones and presumably the additional wiring on the circuit board. Perhaps it shows how much attention they're paying to get their products right!!

[The Black Hat]

I just returned mine to Hattons. I'd bought it cheap as a repainting project so the DCR livery was of no interest to me anyway

 

I'm surprised if they've installed bi-colour LEDs if they only needed red ones and presumably the additional wiring on the circuit board. Perhaps it shows how much attention they're paying to get their products right!!

 

Same here. Except my repaint is already done. I'm wondering if its the board behind the cab where the wiring looks to have changed over.

 

Having had a good look at the lights there seems to be two wires in and one out, being the return. This gets the board behind the cab to swap over from white to red lights, but then also means that when white is lit that all three are lighting up. That's not light bleed, its coming from the box behind the cab, as the chassis doesn't look to have changed and the cab features and lighting box behind the cab front has. Personally, I don't know why the change was needed, as my class 31, No. 31452 in Fragonset black had all this set up fine.

 

I have sourced a light box for the cab front replacement and am looking to buy it tomorrow. Will see if that fixes the problem.

[GordonC]

Same here. Except my repaint is already done. I'm wondering if its the board behind the cab where the wiring looks to have changed over.

 

Having had a good look at the lights there seems to be two wires in and one out, being the return. This gets the board behind the cab to swap over from white to red lights, but then also means that when white is lit that all three are lighting up. That's not light bleed, its coming from the box behind the cab, as the chassis doesn't look to have changed and the cab features and lighting box behind the cab front has. Personally, I don't know why the change was needed, as my class 31, No. 31452 in Fragonset black had all this set up fine.

 

I have sourced a light box for the cab front replacement and am looking to buy it tomorrow. Will see if that fixes the problem.

 

Can you see the tail light LEDs all that clearly on the PCB board? if they're bi-colour they'd need to have 3 connections to work. I was wondering if you can see the tracks whether you could score the one thats only used to light white to break the circuit (with careful checking with a multimeter to identify the pairs of connections .... red + common and common + white).

[The Black Hat]

Can you see the tail light LEDs all that clearly on the PCB board? if they're bi-colour they'd need to have 3 connections to work. I was wondering if you can see the tracks whether you could score the one thats only used to light white to break the circuit (with careful checking with a multimeter to identify the pairs of connections .... red + common and common + white).

 

Good news. Problem fixed!

 

The PCB Main board Board for the locomotive and its sound chip has a whole load of wiring and looks complex so I avoided having to look at that unless necessary. However, inspiration came some instructions from R3sprays for a class 37/4 conversion I was working on.

 

It mentions the need to take off the LED for the cab light to then wire up a headlight for the top of the 37/4. I checked to see if this idea could be used for the class 31.

 

When you open up the Light Box that fits to the back of the cab, you will find that the front contains the clear plastic parts jutting out that fit into the cab front of the loco. Headlights, bulbs etc. The back of the light box is black plastic with two holes for the light to travel through and with a small PC board attached to this. The PC board does need all the circuits to work to get the red and white lights working. Scoring the while light connection and stop that would also prevent the headlight from working so is a non starter. The Headlight comes from the lower LED on its own, with the white and red lights for the tail lights in the box above. Of these two, the red tail light bulb is above, and the white one that has somehow been fitted is below. What I did was score out the lower LED in this top box, as removing this simply would stop the lighting.

 

When doing this I was careful not to break the plastic, but there is slight light bleed through from one box to another. I used some black tac to try and stop this but the bleed isn't big but certainly doesn't look like they are lit up compared with the bright headlight that still lights up.

 

One end of the 31 is running, while another end the contacts have been damaged with all this work done and so they need repairing. These are rather flimsy if honest, and I'm looking at ways to repair them.

 

But so far, all this seems to be working. Hope that's a help...

[phil-b259]

Can you see the tail light LEDs all that clearly on the PCB board? if they're bi-colour they'd need to have 3 connections to work. I was wondering if you can see the tracks whether you could score the one thats only used to light white to break the circuit (with careful checking with a multimeter to identify the pairs of connections .... red + common and common + white).

 

Not true I'm afraid.

 

Its perfectly possible (and ready available from the likes of RS Components) to arrange the actual LEDs inside the 'package' to be paralleled up internally and only use 2 connecting pins. When the polarity is one way, one of the diodes lights up, reverse the polarity and the second one does instead.

 

A 3 legged LED indicates that the two LEDs share a common negative or positive connection (with the outer legs both being positive / negative as required).

[RAF96]

Typically for DCC use you need common anode bicolour leds if using the 3-legged variety, this because your decoder will have a common positive (blue wire) and switched negatives (white, yellow, green, purple, etc).

 

Common cathode 3-legged leds are not recommended for DCC.

[The Black Hat]

Not true I'm afraid.

 

Its perfectly possible (and ready available from the likes of RS Components) to arrange the actual LEDs inside the 'package' to be paralleled up internally and only use 2 connecting pins. When the polarity is one way, one of the diodes lights up, reverse the polarity and the second one does instead.

 

A 3 legged LED indicates that the two LEDs share a common negative or positive connection (with the outer legs both being positive / negative as required).

 

Yes but that wont solve the problem of the white LED lighting up in the tail lights position will it?

 

That's why I have taken apart the package/lighting box and removed the white LED that is in the top area, leaving the red one to light up and the white lower one for the headlight. Then reassembled the lighting box and fitted it to the engine.