RC for No.4, fitted but won’t charge...

[RobRossington]

Hi guys,

As you may have seen in the main CLR thread, I spent a few hours fitting RC gear and batteries to my second Bachmann Baldwin.

The batteries are Strikalite NI-MH ones similar to those fitted to no.9, my big LGB diesel.

Because of this, I have used the Brian Jones wiring diagram used for No.9 to wire the Baldwin. The good news is it works, the bad news is that I can’t get it to charge.

I’ve checked the connections and I’m getting power as far as the switch (I’ve used a DPDT as opposed to a SPDT as we had one in stock, but all of the connections go to the same side) but the red charging light isn’t coming on when I plug it in.

Could it simply be a dodgy switch, or do I need to change the way it’s wired? The only difference in set up is No.4 uses a viper micro speed controller, whereas no.9 uses a Brian Jones Mac5. That shouldn’t make that much difference should it?

Wiring diagram can be found here https://www.brianjonesmodels.co.uk/Mac ... erPPX3.pdf


Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks!

Rob

[RobRossington]

The wiring itself;

[tom_tom_go]

Does the battery charge when directly connected to the charger?

[ge_rik]

I can't see any reason why it shouldn't be working other than, as you suggest, the switch is faulty. You could try connecting your wires to the other three connectors on the dpdt switch in case just the set of contacts you're using are dodgy.

Rik

[ge_rik]

Does the battery charge when directly connected to the charger?

Good point, Tom. Eliminate that was possible problem before tinkering with the wiring.

Rik

[RobRossington]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Much appreciated.

So, as suggested, I’ve disconnected the battery wires from the switch and speed controller and temporarily attached them directly to the charging socket.

There’s power getting through, but the charging light still isn’t coming on. So that suggests to me that either the charger isn’t compatible with the battery or the battery is dodgy? As far as I could tell when I purchased the batteries the charger should be compatible, and it is in fact one that Strikalite sell. But maybe I’m reading the details wrong?

[tom_tom_go]

If the charger is charging other batteries then contact the supplier as you may have a faulty battery.

Can you provide links of the charger and battery you are using so we can have a look?

[RobRossington]

If the charger is charging other batteries then contact the supplier as you may have a faulty battery.

Can you provide links of the charger and battery you are using so we can have a look?

Hi Tom,

We double checked that it was still charging LOTI last night and had no issues.

These are the battery details. There are two of these, one in each tank making 12 cells in total.



The charger is one of these, the third photo is an extract from the instructions that came from Brian Jones when I built LOTI;









Thanks again, Rob.

[tom_tom_go]

Does the new battery pack have any charge in it, have you run the loco with it?

Your charger may not be able to charge a flat battery.

As this is a new battery I would contact the supplier.

[RobRossington]

You know the old adages about double and triple checking things and reading the instructions?

Well sometimes that ain’t enough!

I’ve just discovered, after speaking with Strikalite, that I’d wired the charging socket the wrong way round!

Thanks for the help, hopefully it’ll work now!

[ge_rik]

...... I’d wired the charging socket the wrong way round!

Easily done - guess how I know that .....

Rik

[RobRossington]

...... I’d wired the charging socket the wrong way round!

Easily done - guess how I know that .....

Rik

It’s good to know I’m not alone!