Wiring LEDs for P2K SW 9 / 1200

[tetters]

Help!

OK its not that bad. However, I want to change the 1.5 volt bulb (rear lamp) in the cab of my little switcher to an LED. I need some instructions or help on how to dis-assemble the cab from the body in order to get to the bulb which is up in the cab roof/ceiling. Information on how to do this is scant on line or only partially helpful. Is there a way to remove the cab from the rest of the shell? I can see how it might come apart however, I do not want to do anything stupid which will ruin a perfectly good little engine.

Now. I know I can get a drop in decoder from NCE that has resistors which will allow me to use the 1.5 bulb without going through the hassle of attempting to do all this work in the first place. I would however like to change the bulb to an LED anyway as they will last longer and they also look better IMHO.

I'm pretty sure a couple of dudes have this loco and may have already done this.

Any guidance would be like totally awesome man!

[cnw1961]

Tetters, it’s been a while since I removed the shell of my P2K SW9 from the body, but as far as I can remember, you only have to remove the couplers. My SW is from an early run, but unless they changed it on later runs, there are no screws to hold the shell.

[tetters]

Tetters, it’s been a while since I removed the shell of my P2K SW9 from the body, but as far as I can remember, you only have to remove the couplers. My SW is from an early run, but unless they changed it on later runs, there are no screws to hold the shell.

Naw.... you have to remove the cab from the rest of the body shell in order to get at the guts on the inside to where the light is located at the top. It looks like it can come apart, I'm just not sure how to do it. Maybe I'll give it a closer look tonight when I get home.

[cnw1961]

Oh sorry, I thought you were talking about removing the shell from the body and not separating the cab from the rest of the shell. To punish myself for not reading your post properly, I took my SW9 and removed the cab from the body . When I carefully pressed on both sides of the hood, just in front of the cab, while pulling the cab upwards, the cab came free and I could lift it up. But before you can remove the cab, you have to remove the hand rails at the door of the cab. The battery box (I guess that’s what the step behind the cab is) is fixed to the walkway.

[tetters]

Thanks Kurt. Your penance was unnecessary although I do appreciate the effort.

I was able to finally separate the cab from the body. It was reeeeeeally snug! Now all I need is the decoder I ordered today and I can finish the conversion. I looked on the box for the DCC Ready logo. It wasn't there...lucky for them!

I'll post up a how to when I'm ready to do the full install.