[northwestengland]

hi all, my first post.

i recenlty purchased an Aristocraft Class 66 in EWS, i want to use it using a battery but am having a little trouble. the manual is quite basic and doesnt say what battery to use or how to hook it up,

i purchased a 12v battery from an electrical store and as there was no instructions on how to install it i had to figure it out myself, there are two plugs, one plug goes to one end of the loco and the other plug to the opposite end. i placed one plug onto the +ve terminal and the other plug onto the -ve , the lights came on but then the wires started melting/smoking
Im not electrically minded but thought that the wire was melting because too high voltage was running through it

so i then tried a 9v battery, the lights came on but the motor wouldnt run

as i say i have never even looked at a g scale loco before so would basically like some advice on how to hook up a battery to the loco
im assuming all aristocraft locos are similar so hopefully someone can help.

 

[altterrain]

Welcome to MLS.

I have a bit of bad news for you. Its far more complicated and expensive than just buying a battery and sticking it in. 12 volts is just not enough either for this 4 motored beast.
Go here - Battery Power  ( look under the Power Car posts ) for some ideas for making a battery/RC trailer car which you can hook up to the plug, throw the switch to battery and off you go.

-Brian

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Seems there is another problem, 12 volts should not have melted wires!

Time to get a schematic and a voltmeter!

Regards, Greg

 

[northwestengland]

well what could it be then ? could it because i put the connectors straight onto the terminals ?

The battery i used was "AINO MICRO AM 12-1.3 (12 VOLTS 1.3 AH)"

i never intend to purchase wagons for the loco so could only put a battery inside the loco

as i say i may have connected it wrong, as theres no diagrams and im a novice its all guess work


Quote: "and a voltmeter! "

12.5 volts showed

the connectors on the loco look like the one above on the right, excepot both wires are black and theres two connectors, one to each end of the loco. i guess that one connector was +ve and one was -ve


in a minute i'll post a pic of the inside of the loco

 

[Greg Elmassian]

The voltmeter was to help you verify the schematic is correct, because something does not make sense at all, there should have been no problem plugging in 12 volts at all. That's why I said schematic AND voltmeter, as in both are needed together.

Unfortunately, very few of those over here in the US. Sorry you are having trouble. If you can get a schematic, we can most likely help.

Regards, Greg

 

[northwestengland]

Sorry there not the best pics but it may help, there are two of these connectors, with two wires coming off each connector.  one connector goes to one small circuit board at one end of the loco and the other connector goes to another circuit board at the other end

 

[northwestengland]

perhaps i am being very stupid here ?

one connector is +ve and the other is -ve ?

 

[altterrain]

It won't matter which way its hooked up. One way will make it go forward, the other way backwards. I seriously doubt you melted wires unless there was a preexisting problem. The battery pack you have would probably only last 20 minutes tops at low speed. A fully charged 12 volt pack should show over 13 volts fully charged (did you charge it?). I'm guessing the pack only had enough juice in it to turn the lights on.

-Brian

 

[Greg Elmassian]

No stupidity involved, but you need a way to regulate the voltage so as to control the loco. So, unless you want the loco to run at a fixed speed, you need to add a controller.

First problem is to repair what is wrong. Do you have any schematic telling you what polarity goes to which pin on the connector?

While we are looking into this, you need to decide how you want to run the loco. You can go with many different systems to control the loco, and basically the more money you spend, the more options you have. An inexpensive battery power system is available from Remote Control Systems http://www.rcs-rc.com/

Tony (the owner) is a great guy and may have helpful information for you. He is often on chat here from 7pm to 10 pm Pacific Coast time (gmt-8).

Regards, Greg

 

[northwestengland]

with the connectors, is one pin +ve and one -ve  on the male connectors ? as theres two wires coming from each connector this would suggest so

i wasnt sure as there was two connectors if one connector was +ve and the other -ve  or  each connector had a +ve and -ve on it

they way i had it before was to put one connector on +ve terminal and one connector onto the negative terminal,

as i say it worked but the wire started melting and smoking,

was it becaue i had both pins of one connector on the positive and both pins of the other connector on the negative

its so very hard to explain on a forum, especially when your such as novice as me, im only used to 00 scale

 

[altterrain]

Here's a pic of one of my battery/RC trailer cars using an RCS system. It consists of the transmitter (the remote control), the receiver (barely visible on bottom side door), the motor driver (on top door) and the battery pack. This one is 14.4 volts 3500 mAh which last 3 or more hours for this small loco.

It uses the same connectors as the Aristo.

-Brian

 

[northwestengland]

its just confusing me as theres two connectors, im guessing its because theres motors at each end of the loco

so with these connectors is one pin +ve and the other -ve ? so i basically need to connect each pair of motors up to the battery ?

 

[altterrain]

Ignore the man smoking the big cigar. He's a DCC guy.
This has the same basic drivetrain, etc. as the other Aristo 6 axles locos (I have an E-8).

-Brian

 

[altterrain]

The connectors at each end are to connect multiple locos together. Just use the ones at the rear. First try switching it back to Track power and holding the battery leads up to the wheels to make sure everything else is working. But you did not answer the question about the battery pack being charged up first!

-Brian

 

[northwestengland]

i would take a picture but the loco has been put away for today and it takes ages to remove the body

but basically, the loco has two connectors for the battery, one connector coming from each end of the loco, each connector has two wires coming off it (both black in colour)

so does each connector have a +ve and -ve ? so if theres two connectors each connector needs connectng to +ve and -ve

 

[northwestengland]

perhaps it would be best if i took a picture of the inside of the loco and you can help me from there ???

stupid aristocraft and there basic manual

oh and yes the battery pack was charged up first

 

[altterrain]

Aristo would normally have exploded parts diagrams on their website but it takes them awhile to get the new stuff on there. You can try looking at the diagram for the Dash 9, as I would expect the wiring to be pretty similar. They also have an online forum that is very active and you can get your questions answered by the people who run the company.

-Brian

 

[northwestengland]

right, heres some pics of the inside of the loco

perhaps using paint someone could show me how to connect this up using a battery

thanks for the help guys, i must be annoying you with me stupidness

 

[TonyWalsham]

The Class 66 is made by AristoCraft for Bachmann UK and is marketed in the UK by Bachmann UK.
As yet the loco is not on sale in the USA so USA forums members may be a bit hard pressed to offer constructive advice.

I would suggest you visit http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/ where they do have experience with the Class 66 and may be able to help you.

What exactly do you expect the battery to do?  
If you plug it in and switch the battery on the loco will run flat out at whatever speed the battery will drive it at.  You will not have any speed or direction control.
Fort that you will need to add specialist R/C equipment such as made by Crest, RCS - EVO, Locolinc and others.

Good luck.

 

[northwestengland]

the model mainly i just want the lights to be lit, i intend to mainly have it on display at shows with the lights lit,

perhaps if i were to ask how to wire it just for displaying it with the lights on that would be an easier thing to ask of you

as mentioned im a 00 gauge person so have no idea what is involved when it comes to g scale