The following guide is to aid you with the installation of a standard Hornby decoder in to the Hornby 0-4-0 locomotive.
Please note, that this installation is significantly more complex than most, as the limited space inside the body requires some components to be relocated, with the result that there will be an extensive amount of soldering required. A fine tipped soldering iron is recommended. CAUTION: Please read through these instructions in their entirety before beginning the installation. Also care must also be taken as the soldering iron does get extremely hot and will burn if touched.
Step 1. Remove the body from the chassis by gently pulling it down from the rear. Once the rear retaining clips are free, carefully work the front of the chassis down to free it completely from the body.
Step 2. With the body removed the motor (1), capacitors (2) and connecting wires are now visible (See Fig 2). Note the position of the fixing spring (3) on the motor, as it is important that the fixing spring is replaced in the correct position after the installation has been completed.
Step 3. With great care, gently ease the wires away from the motor area. This will make the fixing spring and motor easier to remove.
Step 4. Remove the fixing spring by first un-clipping one end from the retaining socket so that the other end becomes loose. Carefully slide the spring out from under the wires and place it to one side.
Step 6. Unsolder the wire (1) that connects the motor to the chassis pickup. The motor is now completely free from the chassis (See Fig 9).
Step 7. There are attached to the motor two orange capacitors and one red capacitor on a length of wire that was unsoldered from the chassis during step 6.
Step 8. Unsolder all the capacitors from the motor contacts and motor body. This may be difficult as the capacitors are also soldered to the motor chassis. Do take extra care when unsoldering the wires from the motor.
Step 9. You should now have three capacitors separated from the motor. Put them to one side while you prepare the decoder.
Step 10. Remove the decoder from the protective packaging, taking care not to handle the PCB directly as this will cause irreparable damage due to static electricity. It is important to protect the decoder by wrapping the PCB with insulating tape. To prepare the decoder, remove the plug and separate the red, black, orange and grey wires. The rest can be cut as short as possible and insulated with a piece of insulating tape. Strip the red and black wires and lightly "tin" them with solder. Tinning the wires will make the installation easier. Care must be taken when soldering not to breathe in the fumes.
Step 11. Cut the Orange and Grey wires so that they are approximately an 20mm in length. Strip and tin these wires.
Step 12. Solder the grey wire from the decoder to the first contact on the motor. Note the orientation of the decoder in the photo below.
Step 13. Solder the orange wire to the second contact on the motor. Do take extra care when soldering to the motor.
Step 14. Slide a piece of the insulating tube which was removed in Step 9 onto each leg of one of the Orange Capacitors , then solder the capacitor onto the motor as shown. Once soldered you can trim the 'legs' of the capacitor to keep the installation tidy. The 'legs' should be no longer than 15mm. Again do take extra care when soldering to the motor.
Step 15. Fix the decoder to the motor as shown with a small amount of BlueTak or other suitable fixative.
Step 16. The Red Capacitor has a length of thin black wire attached at one end. This can be trimmed to approximately 10mm reducing the amount of excess wire inside the chassis. Strip and tin the end of the wire ready for soldering.
WARNING: Steps 17, 18 and 19 require precise soldering inside the plastic chassis of the locomotive. Great care must be taken not to melt or damage the chassis during this procedure. Take your time!
Step 17. Solder the red Capacitor back onto the locomotive pickup as shown. The pickup should not need to be cleaned or tinned as it may already have a coating of solder. Note: Avoid using too much solder as this will create large 'blobs' on the join and may prevent the motor from sitting flush into its mounting.
Step 18. The bare pickup on the opposite side will need to be cleaned before it can be soldered to. This is easily done with a sharp modelling knife or model file. Lightly scratch the surface of the pickup until it is bright, shiny and clean. Care must be taken when handling the sharp knife to avoid cuts and injury.
Step 19. Tin the surface of the pickup, being careful not to create 'blobs' of solder as this will prevent the motor from sitting flush onto the motor mounting. Once the surface of the pickup has a coating of solder, carefully solder the black wire from the decoder to the pickup.
Step 20. Place the rear spacer onto the rear of the motor and reposition the motor by placing it upside down into the mounting. If the wires connected to the pickups have been correctly soldered it will sit flush into the mounting. See the image below as a reference.
Step 21. Replace the fixing spring (1) to the motor. The spring should sit on the white plastic part of the motor and not on the drive shaft. If incorrectly fitted the locomotive's running performance will be compromised. Take care not to trap any wires between the spring and motor chassis.
Step 22. Solder the red wire from the decoder to the free end of the Red capacitor, and insulate the join with insulating tape. Ensure that all wires are away from moving parts.
Step 23. Place the locomotive onto the programming track and test to make sure that the installation has been successful. Remember that the decoder has a default number of “3” and it is recommended that you code the locomotive to the number you require and test again.
Step 25. Once you are satisfied that the decoder is functioning correctly, replace the loco body, ensuring that no wires are caught either in any moving parts, or between the chassis and the body. Test once more to ensure that the installation has been totally successful.
Note: The remaining capacitor is not required for this installation. It can either be discarded or stored for future use. Note: There are several variations of the 0-4-0 chassis (X8957, X8959 and X8961). Installation of chips in other variants will be very similar to the one shown here, and may even be more straight forward.