K-Line 2-8-2 wiring harness for TMCC/RailSounds

A little more information; the board is pretty well labeled and I found that there is a label above each pin where the above mentioned wires feed in. I'll try to show that below:

Serial   /   Grnd   /   RL   /   RC

violet      black      blue    orange

Seems obvious that the first two would connect to the serial wires from the Cruise Commander but what about the last two?

The CC has pins on the green connector for rear light and rear coupler. I am surprised K-Line did not use the Railsounds board to drive rear coupler through serial data.

There should be a connector right on the tender motherboard for rear coupler.

Pete

Thanks Pete but the CC isn't the issue here. I need information on the 4 wire connector in the tender. The serial data has to be brought back from the CC in the engine to the RailSounds board in the tender. Also the same for chuff input.

@Norton posted:

The CC has pins on the green connector for rear light and rear coupler. I am surprised K-Line did not use the Railsounds board to drive rear coupler through serial data.

Railsounds 4 didn't have the ability to drive the coupler, that was RS5 and later.

@JPThut posted:

Thanks Pete but the CC isn't the issue here. I need information on the 4 wire connector in the tender. The serial data has to be brought back from the CC in the engine to the RailSounds board in the tender. Also the same for chuff input.

The chuff will come over the serial data for RailSounds3 and later, you connect it to the Chuff input of the Cruise Commander.  The serial data is already there, the connector has the following signals.

• Ground (wheels)
• Serial Data
• Rear Light
• Rear Coupler

All the signals coming back are ground referenced.

FWIW, it's probably cheaper to fix the TMCC than to do the whole wiring trick for a new board.  I'd consider that option first.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The chuff will come over the serial data for RailSounds3 and later, you connect it to the Chuff input of the Cruise Commander.  The serial data is already there, the connector has the following signals.

• Ground (wheels)
• Serial Data
• Rear Light
• Rear Coupler

All the signals coming back are ground referenced.

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So the 2 wires from serial data on the Cruise Commander connect to the violet and black wires of the plug in the tender?

The black wire is frame ground.  The black wire from the sound connector on the Cruise Commander should go to frame ground in the locomotive and frame ground should go to the tether connector.  The violet wire goes to serial data in the tether.  Obviously, the rear light goes to the reverse light, and the hot side of the coupler goes to the rear coupler connection.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

"The black wire is frame ground.  The black wire from the sound connector on the Cruise Commander should go to frame ground in the locomotive and frame ground should go to the tether connector. "

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Did you mean to say "sound connector" or serial connector??

The sound connector.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The black wire is frame ground.  The black wire from the sound connector on the Cruise Commander should go to frame ground in the locomotive and frame ground should go to the tether connector.  The violet wire goes to serial data in the tether.  Obviously, the rear light goes to the reverse light, and the hot side of the coupler goes to the rear coupler connection.

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All the wiring is complete and everything is working as it's supposed to, except the chuff. I have a spare ERR reed switch and magnet. I am assuming that if it is installed, one wire would go to the Cruise Commander connection for chuff and the other to frame ground. Is this correct?

JPThut

I'd try just grounding the chuff input on the CC to see if that path is working.  If so, then the reed switch will work.  Of course, if you want 4-chuffs/rev, maybe consider the Chuff-Generator and then to manage the smoke, the Super-Chuffer II.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Of course, if you want 4-chuffs/rev, maybe consider the Chuff-Generator and then to manage the smoke, the Super-Chuffer II.

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I happen to have a Chuff-Generator on hand but no S-C II. Is there a good place to obtain a 5VDC source in the engine??

JPThut

@JPThut posted:

 I happen to have a Chuff-Generator on hand but no S-C II. Is there a good place to obtain a 5VDC source in the engine??

No, you'll have to add a 5V power supply.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

No, you'll have to add a 5V power supply.

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I see Hennings Trains catalogs  a couple of small power supplies  intended for LEDs. Is either one a possibility? 

 

No, those are specifically designed for LED lighting, they're constant current supplies.

This is what I use for such applications.  Obviously, for this application, I use a 5V regulator IC.  I fold the regulator under the board and heat-shrink the whole thing.

You can also just make one of these on a perf-board.

Click on graphic to expand.

Thanks Gunrunnerjohn. Unfortunately I think such a project (making one of these ps) is a little beyond my capabilities. It's frustrating to get to this point and be stymied by something like the chuff actuation. Seems like there should be a 2-wire connection on the RailSounds similar to the current ERR RailSounds where the 2 wires from a reed switch could be attached. 

You can connect a reed switch to the existing RailSounds board, this capability goes all the way back to RS 2.5.

Many thanks! Ken of ERR sent me a diagram of that connector years ago but I did not think to look at that.

JPThut

One other question that shows my ignorance: I assume that the "Backside" of the RS in the diagram is the top when it's installed rather than the "female" side that is pushed onto the pins?

The connector is on the "front", you're looking at the "back".