This is a photo showing my Bachmann observation car next to the coach. The coach has the original 2 incandescent bulbs lit by a 9-volt that comes in the car. The Observation car has a string of micro-LEDs run by 3 AA batteries that I installed today. Frankly, the 2 bulbs were pretty pathetic. You could barely see the cars were lit when running them at night.
IMG_5070-small by ChromeLibrarian, on Flickr
That is damn awesome Daniel…any chance you could show a picture of the insides for me; I’m a gotta-see-it-to-understand-it kind of guy.
Yep, is better than the literal ‘dim bulb’ factory lighting. And like John I’m curious where those 3 AA are stashed.
Did a coach with 2 x strip of 3 Amber flexi leds and a PP3 def the cats whisker’s …far better than bulbs.(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
I removed the factory battery box under the car, and replaced it with the battery box supplied with the led string, using adhesive velcro to attach it, since the switch is on one side, and the cover is on the other side. When I need to change batteries, I can pull the box off, change the batteries, and stick it back on. I removed the wiring for the incandescent bulbs, left the bulbs and sockets in place, and ran the strings of LEDs down the center rib of the car. They are held in place with clear tape, but will eventually be held in with clear silicone sealer.
Hi Daniel… That looks great. You certainly made good use of the string of LED’s and the supplied battery box. They should last a long time. I did that very thing with my Bachmann coaches and was very happy with the results…
Oh yeah… Don’t forget to turn them off when not running… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)The batteries will last longer… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Forrest Scott Wood said:
Yep, is better than the literal ‘dim bulb’ factory lighting. And like John I’m curious where those 3 AA are stashed.
Forrest, the 3 AA battery box for the LED’s should fit where the 9 volt battery case is on the underside of the Bachmann coaches… May have to do a bit of trimming, but it should be an easy change out…
Thanks for the post Daniel. I plan doing the same thing with a set of Aristo streamliners. I’m using a nine volt battery and box that I will attach under the car in the same manner as you have. My light string will be about 12-14 inches, depending on what fits best. Now only to find the time to do it! I’ll post a pic when I get them done too. Where did you find your leds and battery box set?
I bought them at the local home/craft store. They were a five foot string of 22 gauge wire with LEDs already attached with the battery box at one end. I just folded the string back and forth until it was the length of the car and attached it. I’ll post photos, but not until next week. I work 12-hour days till next Wednesday.
Daniel Collins said:
… I’ll post photos, but not until next week. I work 12-hour days till next Wednesday.
Thanks Daniel…I hate it when work gets in the way of important things like railroading.
I found the same thing with heavyweight passenger cars, in fact the incandescent bulbs shown through the clerestory windows.
There was plenty of light in the cars, just poorly distributed:
Below is a stock car:
Notice the hot spots and uneven lighting, as well as directly seeing the bulb?
A strip of LEDs fixed this:
Even lighting, no hot spots, and less heat and power.
Greg
When I updated some Aristocraft passenger cars, I found some screw in LEDs fitting the sockets, and used them. I had to rewire some of the sockets because they were wired backwards for LEDs!
