Coach lights

[ColinK]

A simple question. Many coaches come with factory fitted interior lights. But if you don't make any modifications to them, eg fitting an accessory decoder, what happens if you put them on the DCC powered track? Do the light come on whenever there is power in the rails? Do the lights blow because the voltage is 16v AC instead of 12v DC?

[Mick Bonwick]

Three simple answers:

 

The lights are on all the time

Yes

No

 

:-D

[7APT7]

Hi ColinK

 

And like your answer Mick Bonwick

 

Valid question, I understand the old tri-ang types of coach lighting etc.

 

However, I do have the BR Brown & Cream MK1 Pullman coach with lights on tables (by Bachmann) and they all remain on while on DCC layout but none of those require DCC Chips etc, so I will be interested to see what the DCC Chips do operate.

 

I can understand that the New Bachmann (Not yet released) DBSO Driving Brake coach why they do need a DCC Chip to make the Forward & Reverse lights work as well as the interior lighting in the coach.... 

 

but with the new standard BR Blue Grey or InterCity (by Bachmann) with interior lighting, why you will need a new DCC Chip for each coach unless its for future coaches with opening doors etc like they do in some European coaches...

 

Sorry its not answered your question, but I guess I will need to buy the latest coaches and find out.

 

Jamie 

[Crosland]

If the coach light has too large a capacitor fitted for "flicker-free" operation and no current limiting resistor these can cause havoc with the DCC system. I seem to recall early Hornby Pullmans caused problems, some time ago now.

[bigal10]

This is very timely for me!

 

By pure fluke, a couple of days ago I noticed that 2 of my Bachmann coaches, both Pulman diners, with lamps on the tables, had partially died. On each coach, only one row of lamps are lit, and the all the others are out.

 

The coaches are about 3 years old and have been sitting on the DCC layout all the time.

 

I took the body off the Blood and Custard one to investigate, but the wiring prevents any further movement of the seating. There appears to be a set of capacitors hidden in the 'toilet block' at each end, and I presume something has expired?

 

The dead lights are all at one end, and yet the pair that still work, get power from either bogie.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Regards,

Alan.

[Phil S]

The continental manufacturers changed to using 16V bulbes instead of '12V' bulbs when they went digital... soon after Zero-1 started to be followed by Marklin anf Fleischmann systems etc

So any bulbs placed directly across the track should now ne rated for 16V and not 12V ... but better still replaced with LEDs.   I allow for 18v or 24V (G Scale) when choosing resistors

 

The brighter..the hotter.. and bulbs intended for analogue ... not on except when moving ... can end up melting their surrounding plastic enclosures when  used on the continuous track voltage of digital: eg the Bachmann Voyager head/tail lights (based on my experience with its first rerlease)  particularly relevent to Roco system users still using the supplied 220:16Vac transformer in the UK where the input violtage can reach 250Vac... when no loco is running, and only the coach lighting is on, they can be seen and felt to be brighter and hotter. The solution is simple and energy saving: use a SMPS of 18Vdc 4A ... and Roco now supply 18Vdc SMPS as standard, under EC energy saving directives. (gives 16Vpeak dcc track)

 

Batch production may have introduced changes - such as LEDs - but often only discovered on dissassembly  Such as Hornby Pullmans Capacitor (and couplings) - I resorted to diconnecting the capacitors on the original batch of pullmans due to the intial surge current being too large.

 

G Scale bulbs might be 18V (24V max in analogue) or 5V with on board regulators, so as to give constant brightness from any speed just above moving (or just below, as many locos will have had electronics requiring about 5V before mving off).  LED light strips (00/H0) designed for digital will often have current limt control to maintain brightness.

 

I strongly recommend any 'bulbs' are replaced with LEDs before using on Dgitial - because these are more energy efficient, and you are likely to have more and more coach lighting taking away 'loco power'   (Micro bulbs using 1.5V are a separate issue - I do not have any )

 

Any coach/loco intended originally for 'analogue' will appear to suffer shortened life under digital due to the continuous supply...simply because they are on longer - hence I always replace LGB bulb loco lights with LEDs.

 

TrainTech lighting units - which are battery powered, use motion detection to turn the lights on.   I add (magnetically) Latching Relays to turn LED lighting off within a coach.for TRANSIT   on some Norwegian coaches I run only at shows. 

[design8027]

Question, can I turn off the lights on a Bachmann DBSO without DCC or do I have to let someone with dcc find the code and turn them off? Model dc, thought logically they'd have a switch, dcc on, dcc off......

[RAF96]

Edited January 18, 2020 by RAF96
Ignore the red annotations, just look at the lighting components - same at each end. .