Upgrading K-Line TMCC Tank Engine to ERR?

The easy way to start is to open her up, check the boards and measure out the space. ERR boards cab be larger depending on the board. If you can get a picture of the old boards I could make some suggestions, feel free to contact me with a private message for a phone number so you can call me if needed.

I've never personally done one of these, but I know others have had success with Cruise M boards.  The sound boards don't need to change.

The ERR Cruise M will fit but chuff is generated by the K-Line Cruise board, not a cam. You will have to come up with a different way to generate chuff. GRJ’s solution will work if you find a place for it. Space is at a premium though.

Pete

I've looked and I think I can fit the Chuff-Generator in, if not I have my fall-back solution, a small extension board for the sensor.

I've used a couple of these, but I didn't take a picture of the installation.  I just run four wires from the Chuff-Generator sensor to the connections here and put the sensor on this board.  You can also cut the tail off as short as needed to fit it in.  Then you can put the Chuff-Generator anywhere in the locomotive that you can find space for it.

FWIW, I have one in the closet that will get a Chuff-Generator, it's on my project list.

That looks like it just might be the answer John. I may have to pick up a couple of CG's and a couple of these boards from you.

Rod

@Norton posted:

The ERR Cruise M will fit but chuff is generated by the K-Line Cruise board, not a cam. You will have to come up with a different way to generate chuff. GRJ’s solution will work if you find a place for it. Space is at a premium though.

Pete

Pete I gather you have converted one of these engines to ERR? If so, can you provide any details on how the job went? Thanks.

Rod

@ThatGuy posted:

The easy way to start is to open her up, check the boards and measure out the space. ERR boards cab be larger depending on the board. If you can get a picture of the old boards I could make some suggestions, feel free to contact me with a private message for a phone number so you can call me if needed.

The plan is to open her up once we get back home from AZ. At that point I'll get some pics and either post them or shoot you an email offline for your comments and ideas. I appreciate the kind offer of help. These are a great little engine but I do recall when I had it apart, it's pretty darn tight in there.

Rod

@Rod Stewart posted:

The plan is to open her up once we get back home from AZ. At that point I'll get some pics and either post them or shoot you an email offline for your comments and ideas. I appreciate the kind offer of help. These are a great little engine but I do recall when I had it apart, it's pretty darn tight in there.

Rod

No worries, I converted over a MPC GP-9 and it was tight. The other engine that was a surprise was the scale Turbine. Very tight inside and the tender has no pickups so the boards go in the tender than you have to set up an umbilical cord between tender and engine.

@Rod Stewart posted:

Pete I gather you have converted one of these engines to ERR? If so, can you provide any details on how the job went? Thanks.

Rod

Rod, I opened mine up, did the diode fix for the chuff and put it back together. I will wait until the K-line Cruise board blows up before doing a replacement. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Pete

If the cruise “blows up”, and it will, it makes quite a mess. Scarred wires, black stuff on other good pcb and a terrible stink that takes a year to almost go away.

I wish I’d known to change the drive board in advance.

@cjack posted:

If the cruise “blows up”, and it will, it makes quite a mess. Scarred wires, black stuff on other good pcb and a terrible stink that takes a year to almost go away.

I wish I’d known to change the drive board in advance.

cjack; Yikes that sounds really bad. Did you happen to take note of just what part failed on the board? And was it the motor driver board that went? A mess like that sounds like an exploded electrolytic cap perhaps. I have had a couple of caps go POOF, and they do make a god awful mess!

Rod

@Rod Stewart posted:

cjack; Yikes that sounds really bad. Did you happen to take note of just what part failed on the board? And was it the motor driver board that went? A mess like that sounds like an exploded electrolytic cap perhaps. I have had a couple of caps go POOF, and they do make a god awful mess!

Rod

Kind of hard to tell. That two pin connector in the middle of the drivers had a plug that was frozen in place...so some issue there maybe. But most of the damage and goo was on the end as you can see. It flowed goo and smoke down to a pcb below this board which I cleaned with alcohol. I think it's ok. That blue wire I think is the chuff wire soldered to the underside of the board.

The engine was just moving slowly down the track into a curve when smoke started rolling out of it. I hit the emergency stop button on the CAB2, but it burned up quickly...maybe saved catching on fire though.

I've seen several K-Line cruise boards that burned up,  They seem to have a fire at the opposite end from the FET drivers right around the group of three transistors between the white connectors.  I used to have a picture of one that smoked, but I can't find it now.  I don't know what is right in that area, but it fails quite regularly whatever it is.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I've seen several K-Line cruise boards that burned up,  They seem to have a fire at the opposite end from the FET drivers right around the group of three transistors between the white connectors.  I used to have a picture of one that smoked, but I can't find it now.  I don't know what is right in that area, but it fails quite regularly whatever it is.

That looks to be exactly where the board cjack posted caught fire. It makes you wonder if one should change out those 3 TO-92 packages for something more robust, if possible, just as a preventative measure. But I suppose the failure is actually occurring due to some other component shorting out. It would be nice to have a schematic to refer to for sure.

I might still have an original Hudson/Mikado cruise upgrade kit around. If so I'll take a look at the board in that area and see what's what.

Rod

I doubt it's those specific parts, it appears that it might be one of the small caps that are close.  My guess is something was under-rated and goes up in smoke.  I didn't spend much time analyzing any of those failures, the carnage seemed complete, no need to waste any time there.  C10 appears to be where the fire is, but that's just a guess looking through the cooked components.

A schematic of the K-Line cruise board is the impossible dream!

I have several other K-Line cruise boards that didn't go up in smoke there, they failed in a different way, so I have samples to look at.