Anyone have a BLI steam Paragon 3 wiring tender harness to spare?

[squirrelhunter]

Did anyone who has swapped out the decoder in their BLI Paragon 3 2-8-2 or 4-6-2 save the wiring harness that plugs in to the rear of the decoder that carries power from the track and to the speaker?

Through my own ham handedness and the "help" of a small child (should have closed the layout room door) I have 2 BLI steamers that don't make sound (and 1 doesn't run at all) due to the wires being pulled out of the plug.

To get ahead of 2 questions I expect will be asked  , I was happy with the performance of the decoders and BLI wants $129 per engine to fix the harness, which, when you factor in shipping, is getting close to buying a whole new loco from Factory Direct Trains and then selling the parts I don't need on Ebay or the Trading Post.

[peteski]

Ouch!
Did the wires pull (rip) out of the metal pins inside of the connector, or did the wires, with the pins still attached, pull out of the plastic connector's shell?

[squirrelhunter]

The wires pulled out of the connectors...the one where the wires for track power pulled out the little tabs or whatever in the connector are also popped up. I can't even get the wires to go back in cleanly.

The one that kills me isn't the one were the two year old tried to put the tender frame on the tracks while the tender body (with the speaker in it) stayed on the work bench but the one I caused. I re did the tender body (oil bunker, decals, doghouse, dummy rear headlight) and was putting the body/speaker back on and didn't make sure the speaker wires were seated in the notch on the back of the speaker tray...

[MK]

Maybe John Columbo @jdcolombo can help.  I know he replaces all his Paragon decoders but I'm not sure if he reuses the harness.

[Brian M]

I assume you're talking about one of these?


This is out of a Paragon 3 Mike.  I don't need it, so I'd be happy to drop it in the mail to you.

-Brian.

[jdcolombo]

Maybe John Columbo @jdcolombo can help.  I know he replaces all his Paragon decoders but I'm not sure if he reuses the harness.

Actually, I cut the wires right at the plug, so they wouldn't be of much use.  However, Brian M's plug has long enough "tails" that you should be able to solder the old wires to the tails, using 1mm ID heat-shrink tubing for insulating the joint. 

John C.

[peteski]

If one can do some precision soldering, the pins in that connector can be unlocked and removed from the plastic shell.  Then the old crimped wire can be snipped off, new wire soldered on, and the pin snapped back into the plastic shell.  It is tricky but possible.  But if a connector with pigtail wires is available, that makes replacement easier.

[squirrelhunter]

Brian,

Thank you for the offer- if the wires are attached at the two outer pins on each end of the plug I'll take it!

However, I do want to clarify I'm looking for the plug at the other end of the decoder that brings track power from the tender to the decoder and connects the speaker to the decoder. I'll take a couple of photos this afternoon of it.

[squirrelhunter]

Here are the best photos I could get with my phone of the decoders/wires/plugs.

This is the one my 2 year old "fixed"- the wires the bring track power from the tender to the decoder are pulled out of the plug.


This is the one I screwed up by not making sure the speaker wires were seated when I put the tender shell back on. This one at least runs as a silent decoder.

[jdcolombo]

If no one has a rear connector with "tails" you can solder to, here are some suggestions.

1.  With respect to the loco with the power wires pulled, remember that there are power wires coming from the engine back to the tender that connect to the front of the decoder in the front plug.  You could tap these power wires by scraping some insulation off the wire near the plug, then solder the tender wires to the scraped area, and insulate the joint with some liquid electrical tape or just a small piece of regular electrical tape. 

2.  With respect to the lost speaker wire: if you look at the back of socket where the plug goes in, you'll see that there are some very tiny "legs" that connect the socket to the board.  If you have a soldering iron with a VERY sharp, tiny tip, you can solder a wire directly to the leg (I can't tell precisely, but it looks like it would be the second leg in from the edge of the board; it would be easier to do if it were the first leg, but it is possible even with the second leg).

If you don't have the equipment to solder a wire to that leg, PM me.  I have a Paragon 3 decoder left over from my  BLI 2-8-2 decoder transplant, and I could solder two wires to those legs that you could then tap for your speaker.  The decoder should be an exact replacement for yours, and I'm not going to use it for anything, so you are welcome to it.

John C.

[Brian M]

Ah, now I see which connector you're talking about.  Unfortunately, I think I must have gotten rid of that one.  But I'm still happy to send you the one I've got (the connector coming from the engine back to the tender) if it is of any help.  Just PM me your address if you want it.  All of the wires are secure inside of it.

-Brian.

[squirrelhunter]

Jdcolombo, thanks for the offer! I'll send you a PM. Good tho7ght about hooking the tender power wires to the ones coming from the engine, they should be plenty long for that.

[jdcolombo]

See photo.  I wasn't quite as neat as I like in getting the wires soldered on, but I tested continuity and they should work.  My hands aren't as steady as they used to be.  But you'll need something like my Pace soldering station with its conical 1/64 tip to do this.  The legs on that connector are EXTREMELY small, and even using my Pace, I ended up melting a bit of the surrounding plastic (nothing that affects the integrity of the socket).

John C.

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[squirrelhunter]

Thanks Brian! I'll take you up on the spare connector, I'll send a PM to you.

[cbroughton67]

Speaking of those connectors... Does anyone know what type of connector they are? The smallest JST connector I could find has a 1.0mm pitch, and these are smaller than that. I'd like to make a plug & play harness for a Tsunami2 if I can, rather than cutting off the connector. @peteski ?


TIA,
Chris