Hello. I have a Marklin 3709 BR 85 locomotive with a good DC-DCM 5-pole motor, but a bad OEM c90 (6090) decoder. I’d like to replace the decoder and be able to use the front & rear Telex couplers. I already have two conversion kits -- a basic 60760 kit and a bit more flexible 60904 kit. My three questions . . . .

1 – If I use the decoder from either kit, do I need to also replace the motor? (I don’t think so, but I’d like to be sure.)

2 – Is there any way to enable the Telex function with the 60760 kit’s decoder? The manual shows only two controllable functions = lights & acceleration/braking delay -- see also Question #3.

3 – Is the 3709's Telex power draw compatible with the 60904 kit's decoder? (It's a 60902) I think old/new Telex circuits require differing milliamps to operate. The 3709 draws 165-170 mA for each Telex coupler. I’d hate to fry something.

FYI – I have some simple experience from converting a nice #3039 E110 loco with a 60760 kit. I’m happy with its performance and would prefer to use the 60760 decoder for the BR 85 if I can. I don’t particularly care about the smoke function, and would disable it if necessary.

Thanks for your advice -- DumbGuy

Hi D.....G..????? A name might be nice.


Here is my version on how I converted the 3709 to have White LED lighting and how I wired up the Telex couplers. I also include improvements for the smoke unit and better ground contacts.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~.../pdf/60921_into_3709.pdf

Hello D..Y (I hate to call you names
I have converted this same loco using a Märklin sound decoder 60945

To fit the docoder 60945 was difficult but possible by cutting the plastic link inside the body between the 2 sides.
Telex are directly driven by the decoder . The output is programmed as an "old Telex". Current is OK even with the 2 telex in parallel.
If you are interested I will make more pictures
You can see a little bit of this modified loco in this movie: BR85 with sound and Telex
Cheers
Jean