My BLI T1(PRR) paragon3 randomly stops.

[jdcolombo]

Does anyone know of a guide somewhere on the net showing how to take out a Paragon2 or Paragon3 decoder and wire a BLI steamer for straight DC operation?  I really don't need the sound, and I am running straight DC right now.  Later, I intend to install Zimo decoders.

I don't know of such a guide.  But . . . there are six wires running from the boiler to the tender on a BLI steamer.  If you take the boiler shell off, you should see a piece of circuit board that has the wires labeled with something like R, L, M+, M-, HL+, HL-.  What you want to do is connect the right pickup wire coming from the boiler to the right pickup wires in the tender (one for the front truck, one for the rear).  Ditto for the left pickup.

Then connect the motor wires to the pickup wires.  You'll probably have to do some trial and error to determine which motor wire should be matched to which pickup wire so that forward on your DC power pack runs the engine forward.  In theory, M+ should go to the RIGHT pickup wire (engineer's side of the cab) and the M- should go to the LEFT pickup, but that assumes that your DC power pack is wired + to the right rail ad SU The headlight will be more complicated because it is an LED and therefore will only light up when the power pack is set to forward, unless you want to roll your own constant lighting circuit.  Peteski has done some posts in the past on how to do this, but I don't have links handy.  If you're OK with having the headlight light up only in the forward direction, then wire it to the pickup wires (again, you may have to experiment with which wire goes to which pickup wire for lighting in the forward direction).  DO NOT FORGET TO USE A DROPPING RESISTOR!

John C.

[peteski]

I had my T1 apart recently. I'll  try to post some info tomorrow.

[mike_lawyer]

I figured out the problem with my loco.  One of the tender wheels on one side came out of its axle cup.  It was imperceptible when the engine was on the tracks.  What I noticed was a small spark at the tender when the locomotive would stop.  One I got that wheel fixed, everything runs great.

So make sure all your tender wheels are properly installed!

[peteski]

I"m confused Mike.  Here is the T1 tender truck.



There are no axle cups, and when installed, the bottom truck cover will  not allow the axles to go anywhere.   Or you meant to say that you disassembled the truck for claning and adjusitng the axle wipers and you installed one wheelset incorrectly?

[peteski]

I don't know of such a guide.  But . . . there are six wires running from the boiler to the tender on a BLI steamer.  If you take the boiler shell off, you should see a piece of circuit board that has the wires labeled with something like R, L, M+, M-, HL+, HL-.  What you want to do is connect the right pickup wire coming from the boiler to the right pickup wires in the tender (one for the front truck, one for the rear).  Ditto for the left pickup.

Then connect the motor wires to the pickup wires.  You'll probably have to do some trial and error to determine which motor wire should be matched to which pickup wire so that forward on your DC power pack runs the engine forward.  In theory, M+ should go to the RIGHT pickup wire (engineer's side of the cab) and the M- should go to the LEFT pickup, but that assumes that your DC power pack is wired + to the right rail ad SU The headlight will be more complicated because it is an LED and therefore will only light up when the power pack is set to forward, unless you want to roll your own constant lighting circuit.  Peteski has done some posts in the past on how to do this, but I don't have links handy.  If you're OK with having the headlight light up only in the forward direction, then wire it to the pickup wires (again, you may have to experiment with which wire goes to which pickup wire for lighting in the forward direction).  DO NOT FORGET TO USE A DROPPING RESISTOR!

John C.

This should be helpful. The wires are quite thin - handle with care.  Also 2 black wires for different purpose can be confusing for possible later troubleshooting.  for DC  conversion I recommend adding protection diodes in reverse parallel with the white LEDs (and yes, dropping resistors). Also adding a small value (0.1uF) cap in parallel with LEDs to prevent flicker when running in reverse.

Also, while not relevant to a DC conversion, I want to mention that apparently the BLI decoder's light function outputs are on the positive side, with common ground. That is reverse from other DCC decoders.  Modifications to the loco will be needed if one wants to install another brand of decoder and have the headlights and number boards on separate functions.

[mike_lawyer]

I"m confused Mike.  Here is the T1 tender truck.



There are no axle cups, and when installed, the bottom truck cover will  not allow the axles to go anywhere.   Or you meant to say that you disassembled the truck for claning and adjusitng the axle wipers and you installed one wheelset incorrectly?

I was referring to my M1b, which has the standard axle pickup like a Kato Mikado.  The T1 has a different pickup scheme.