# Bachman Battery Conversion



## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought a used Bachman engine, I want to convert it to battery, I will be using Del`s enhanced critter control from G-scale graphics with station stops. Before I go any further I need to ask a few questions.

I took the pilot wheels off, the 2 wires that come down from the engine, are they for the headlight? If they are, when I convert to battery I need to wire it up with power wires, if it is not for the headlight, what are they for?












Here is a pic of the tender apart, I did not know it had sound in it, I dont care for it and will get rid of it, but the board, is it strictly for sound? Or does it control some lights. I had bought some coaches from Bubba at Martys, can I wire them up to the(they have lights inside) tender when I put the critter control in the tender, or should I keep them seperate.












I have the cover off and there is a plug from the tender that plugs in the engine, if I attach the critter control to this plug that goes to the engine, will that power the engine? Or is that plug for something else. 













Thanks for all your help!!

I think a Dash-9 is easier!

Tom h


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By tom h on 14 Dec 2009 07:11 PM 
I bought a used Bachman engine, I want to convert it to battery, I will be using Del`s enhanced critter control from G-scale graphics with station stops. Before I go any further I need to ask a few questions.

I took the pilot wheels off, the 2 wires that come down from the engine, are they for the headlight? If they are, when I convert to battery I need to wire it up with power wires, if it is not for the headlight, what are they for?


Tom, those two wires are track feeds back to the main pickups to the motor. You can discard them for battery conversion. Same with the ones from the main drivers to the motor. Leave the rest on and the lights will work normally. 

Here is a pic of the tender apart, I did not know it had sound in it, I dont care for it and will get rid of it, but the board, is it strictly for sound? Or does it control some lights. I had bought some coaches from Bubba at Martys, can I wire them up to the(they have lights inside) tender when I put the critter control in the tender, or should I keep them seperate.


That sound system and speaker can be removed and you'll have a lot more room for the Railboss, receiver and battery. Just cut all the extra plastic tabs away. 


I have the cover off and there is a plug from the tender that plugs in the engine, if I attach the critter control to this plug that goes to the engine, will that power the engine? Or is that plug for something else. 



The plug from the tender to the locomotive is the chuff trigger. DO NOT put power there. Make another plug and wire the output from the Railboss in the tender up to the locomotive and wire it to the motor leads. 


Thanks for all your help!!

I think a Dash-9 is easier!

These ain't too bad if'n you know which wires to discard and where to put the new ones....









Tom h


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

looks like Stan's got you covered-good luck, the Annie is a Snap...nice and big with lots of room!


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## acmartina (Jan 6, 2008)

Thats a timely question (and response). I am looking to do a quick conversion on one of my Sam's Club Christmas locos. Where is the best place to take the power from on the loco? I recall an article by Paul Norton talking about disabling the NMRA reverse switch in the smoke box to disconnect the track power, but that seems an awkward place to send power to the tender. Is it easier tap into the motor terminals? 
Thanks,
Steve


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## Bill Swindell (Jan 2, 2008)

When I do Bachmann conversions, I always tap into the motor directly. The NMRA switch is no longer used.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I used the NMRA switch for a track/battery switch. Till I took out the pickups 'cause I never switched it back to track.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

I've done a couple of these, but didn't document my tracks. I think I just remove the brass track pickup strips and then extend those wires to the back of the locomotive. The "Power" connector on the back of the loco is also connected to the motor, and I have also used that in the past, but on one unit, that connector had a meltdown, so I had to bypass it. I also tap into the Front headlight (access through the smoke box) and extend that wiring to the back of the loco. So I have 4 wires through a 4-way connector to the tender (2 for motor, 2 for front light) to the Control.


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

I wire directly to motor...use one side of pick up for antenna to track....sometimes. 

remove the other p/u to prevent any mis-haps! 

cale


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## acmartina (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks! Sounds simple enough. - Steve


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve, 

My 2003 ECLSTS Seminar hand-out on r/c-battery is still stored here: (warning: .PDF about 2MB - takes a while to load) 
*http://gold.mylargescale.com/peteth...ntrol2.pdf* 

Page 24 has the wiring diagram for the Bachmann 4-6-0 that I did years ago.


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