Thank you for the tip, Lutz.
I did it in a slight different way, I was using the most unsimetrical pick up shoe (I don't have the original packaging, so I can't remember the item number) and turn it 180 degrees. A drop of super glue solved the stability problem.
I have used 2 and 1/2 73400 for lighting the whole wagon.


Adrian

Hi Adrian,

you're welcome!

The number you most likely used was #73406 (which is mainly being used for the new 282mm cars and has the same contact shoe length as the one from my picture above.

I just finished the conversion of the same Hobby ICE (#29875) to HLA, but with mfx Sound (ESU #62467). Different to your method, I used the new white LED strip #73401 (1-1/2 in the steering car and 2 in the middle car) and the car lights can be switched by the loco decoder (which saves me the need for any pickup shoe(s) at the intermediate car(s).

The result looks like this:

Hi Bob and Adrian,

the part# is 610739; if you have this ICE (#29795), you should also be able to find the pcb# in the spare parts drawing of the associated usage booklet.

No (assuming you mean this delta decoder pcb #603729). As you can see on the picture I just unsoldered the few wires going to the slider (black, soldered at the wire pad on the left side, just above the pad for the catenary contact), ground (brown), motor (black, blue, green) and LED pcb (violet, gray and yellow). There is nothing more and I felt it being simple enough to recall the wiring again later by this picture.

As known, this Hobby ICE version came just with the standard 3-pole DCM; that's why it is also neccessary to convert it to a 5-pole HLA in conjunction with the new pcb and the sound decoder (but a "normal" decoder with NEM plugs would be ok too if the sound version isn't desired, like ESU #61600).

Märklin uses a dedicated "simple" decoder (#100295) together with this pcb in their ICE model #29795; the advantage there is that the required stabilized voltage is already provided (brown wire from the decoder). In essence, this ICE model would be even a better basis for a sound conversion since it comes already with a HLA. See also next picture.


The bottom view of the pcb with my conversion looks as follows.



Adrian,

your steering car (and most likely the whole ICE-2 model) is probably not #29785, but rather #29795, which has indeed no direction dependent LED switching, but rather this one here:



You'll find the switching parts within the explosion drawing of the ICE model #37712 (the LED pcb itself has already the two red LED's).

Hope this helps you in succeeding also with your conversions.

No Bob!

#29795 is the complete ICE-2, #100295 is the "simple" decoder used within #29795.

For your train conversion you'll need the interface pcb #610739 from set #29795 which I mentioned and showed already above. You will also need the HLA motor parts (magnet #389000, rotor #386820, motor cover #386940 and inductors #515520). You can then mount any decoder with an 8-pin NEM plug (#100295 from set #29795 is just one of them); I used a ESU mfx sound decoder with ICE sounds. If full sound is too expensive, mounting just the single shot pcb and 16Ohm LS from set #29795 is also a possible alternative; the four pieces have the part #519000, #508607, #207648 and #206749.

Never mind. The booklet for set #29785 has part #603731
Märklin's website today indeed shows only the remaining standard service parts for this train.

The two pictures above show a) the ICE engine #29875 converted with a ESU mfx sound decoder with its 23mm 100Ohm LS and b) the original engine from #29795.

Very easy - in the explosion drawings of set #37712, as well the reversing contact stuff in the steering car that Adrian asked for. And - needless to say, also from Märklin's excellent service people.

If you want to have current conducting couplers with your Hobby ICE's you have two choices:

a) replace the couplers with those from the "high value" product line
(part numbers #395640, #374340 (2) and #374060) or
b) mount the corresponding contacts to the original couplers (each one #374090/#374100 for every coupling).

For the steering car light reversing; there are again different options:

a) switch the LED's using a decoder
b) use the well known Märklin mechanical reversing wheel contacts. They have part #574058 (contact holder), #574059 (contacts, two needed) and #310880 (contact spring). You will also either need a second pcb #109421 for the "white" LED's or -preferably - the dedicated light switching pcb #603588, which is used in #37712 and several other steering cars.

If you have any further question, don't hesitate to ask.

BTW: I did/will not buy any spare parts at LokShop since their prices are quite higher than those of my dealers here. For comparison you might also want to compare with the spare parts of Bahnhoefle.de.

PS: Sorry, there was a typo in the part#'s for the current conducting contacts. The correct numbers are #374090 and #374100. As long as the orignal coupling still has the two studs you can mount the contacts easily (use a soldering iron and a flat screwdriver). When done it looks like one the second picture (there with the coupling for the ICE engine).

Hi Mark,

Sure! #210240; it's length is 38mm.



#291180 with 30mm is also suitable; just the middle cutout is slightly out of the center.



Again, for such kinds of conversion items I can just recommend you to take a look at the valuable explosion drawings of the high-end ICE model #37712 - which is for example included also in the 1997 Märklin spare parts CD.

Here a few more pics which might be helpful.

First the one Bob had asked for earlier showing the engine with the original (DELTA) decoder mounted.



The following two showing the steering car with the LED reversing parts (these were actually factory built-in with the first delivered sets #29785 like shown here).

I finally got all the parts for converting the ICE 2 from fx to mfx. Still missing the contact holders, but this are necessary for the steering car.
The problem is that I do not have any instructions (pcb #611654 and ESU #62647). I got only German language from ESU.
I suppose that I should connect a wire for the red light from the middle point of the light block to somewhere to the pcb, but I have no idea where. Also I can only guess that the connection points must be some of the ones I numbered in the second picture.
I suppose that the red and brown wires for power supply, should be connected as I have indicated, but this is only a guess.
What is the usage of the violet wire from ESU decoder?
May I have some tips from anyone of you with more experience than I have?


Thank you,
Adrian

Mark,

After burning two lights, still no resoult.

The circuit consisting of gray wire and orange one should get the withe lights, and the circuit consisting of gray wire and the middle point (should be a yellow wire) should get the red lights. Am I right? The point is that I can't get the red lights.

Than I shoud conncect somehow the white light circuit to the front lights connection and the red light circuit to the back light connection.



1+2 and 3+4 should be connected together (following the stripe logic)

May I connect the wires on the back side of the light connector?

How shall I do it? I do not afford to burn more lights?
Thank you,
Adrian