Help with K-Line diesel tether hook up

Mine go together ok, but take a little care to get them apart.  How are the diaphragms on yours?  Mine fell off after a few runs around the loop.  the glue failed, and mine were NIB also.

Sam

The locking clip is on top as you mentioned but could the mate to it be reversed?

Mine slip together easily, however, one locking clip is broken off on mine and I must ensure they couple correctly.

I've looked as closely as I can and everything appears 'normal'. I connected the B unit with the trailing A and they slipped together reasonably well. I pushed the plug in the lead A as far as I could. Then powered them up and both A units light up and the sound and smoke came on the first time. I realized that I had not connected the ground from the Cab2 Base. Shut off power and powered back up. When I did, she lit up but sat silently waiting for a command.

Or some reason it won't respond to number 1 as it should, neither several others I tried. I reset the ID to #95. These are difficult to handle with the roof antennas. Look great however!

The rear A unit lights up by itself but was not receiving commands from the lead A.

Miken - with just this brief handling trying to connect them, one diaphragm has become dislodged already.

Sam,

    The tether wiil be much easier to connect if you get rid of those diaphrames, use the close couplers on the back ends of the A units and they will look fine without them.

    Also one end, the female I believe does not pull out. Don't force it as the tethers are anchored into the shell by two plastic pins that lock the tether to the shell. if they become  dislodged from the shell they don't go back in very easy even taking off the shell does not help.

    Good luck with your engines, if you use the B unit put the close couplers on them instead of the A units. They pull like nobody's business, sound good to.

     The last time I used mine was the easiest with the tethers, maybe they loosen up with use. To undo the tether you squeeze in the sides. They come apart surprising easy.

JohnB

I'm not much help to you CSam,  but the problem isn't you!  I have these F7s and the pin connecting and the diaphragms are always giving me a battle.   FYI.......I remember Alan Millers' review of these units when they first came out.......he commented on the trials and battles trying to connect and disconnect those pins.......I bought the ABA set anyway.

  and the diaphragms?     holy cow...they rarely stay on.......I think glue is the answer

I actually do wear a magnifier visor to see how they go together

Typical K-line F Units. They are a PITA to hook up. The best thing you can do is get them hooked up and leave them that way.

Sorry I can't help you Sam but there is no easy way to hook them. Some of the plugs are easy to connect and others you need some force as long as you have them lined up correctly, good luck.

I think if you hold both of the connectors and then rock them around, you'll find a place where they'll slip together.  Those plugs that K-Line uses sometimes need that treatment.  I have a pair of E8 locomotives that I have to rock them around a bit and then they slide right in.

Make sure no bent pins.  G

Thanks guys - they appear to all be square and in line.  I'll keep trying. Am guessing it is the female receptacle on the lead A unit that could be the problem.

Correct, the square pins sometimes catch on the edge of one of the female contacts and keep them from seating.

Success!

I removed the diaphragms as suggested and saw that the female was tilted down slightly and was able to finally inset the plug from below. She's smoking in the A & B but the rear A is not smoking yet. Might take them down to the club layout later today for a test run...

Sounds are fairly loud and the horn is 'strange', had not heard this one before.

Odd, it won't shut down when I hit '5' although all other commands appear to be working?

Older RS4 boards had to "idle" for a spell before the ALt1-5 would trigger a shutdown.  Diesels have a VCO that has to be not running any more before that command is recognized.

When I got my K-Line F units most of the diaphrams were falling off. I removed them all and reglued them with tacky glue, carefully folded them and placed a weight on them so they would take a set. Then reattached them to the locos. I think the trick with the diaphrams is keep them compressed either coupled together or if you store them hold them against the engine by placing a block against them in the box. 

In this condition, attaching the tethers is much easier.

Pete