Well folks, it has finally arrived. While waiting for it, I printed off and studied the ESU documentation on how to do the conversion. Boy, did I get confused. I am not an electronics expert. Well, this is now a plea for help
I assume that, as my 3021 is quite old, I will need to cut off the interface plug on the end of the decoder?
It says that I need to cut all the wiring in the loco. Ok, I can understand that.
Also, I see that from the ESU documentation, the Marklin wiring convention is different to ESU. Well, I have checked all 17 of my analog locos and they all have black wiring throughout. So, when did Marklin adopt this colour convention?
Looking at the ESU diagrams, I understand the following (colours as Marklin/ESU):
Connect the (red/red) wire to the centre pickup shoe,
Connect the (brown/black) wire to the outside rails,
Connect the (blue/orange) wire to the left motor terminal,
Connect the (green/grey) wire to the right motor terminal.
This is where I really get confused.
It talks about the Marklin 5 pole High Performance Drive and three anti-interference capacitors. I do not have these. I have a LFCM. Do I cut these two which are connected directly to the motor leads and the the motor housing. The kit I ordered has come with two 'choke coils'. Aren't these what I have been told to cut out in the first place? If not, do I need to fit them and where?
Where is the original Marklin (common rectified track voltage) orange/blue wire. I don't know as mine are all bl**dy black :-((
My light bulbs are the original incandescent style. What are the rating of these and are they ok to use?
Paragraph 6.7.2 of the ESU documentation talks about Connecting the light outputs as well as AUX1 and AUX2. Surely, to make the lights work, I just:
Connect the (grey/white) wire to the bulb at the front of the loco?
Connect the (yellow/yellow) wire to the bulb at the rear of the loco?
What does it mean by 'function output headlights' and 'function output rearlights'? What do I do with the (brown/red///green) and (brown/green///violet) wires of the AUX1 and AUX2.
What are AUX1 & AUX2 ?
The documentation then starts rabbiting on about DC and cordless motors. What are mine??
Please bear with me. I know that, to those of you who have done it many times before, it will seem plain sailing. To me and others like me who have not done this before, it is not well explained. No doubt, I shall receive plenty of advice, possibly even from those of you who had all black wiring inside their locos. I look forward to doing my next loco once I have performed this one.
Thanks in anticipation. Alan