Life-Like C-Liner

Scale:
N Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:

M1



This installation is for N Scale Life-Like C-Liner uses TCS M1 Decoder and was performed by J.M.

First install an M1 in the A-unit of the C-liner by following the instructions below.
First install an M1 in the A-unit of the C-liner by following the instructions below.
First remove the shell by holding the locomotive upside-down, pulling the bottom of the shell away from the frame, and then pulling the trucks (with the frame attached) up out of the shell. After the shell is removed from the frame the next step is to wire up the motor. In order to get to the motor, open up the frame by removing the two screws on either end of the locomotive. Then follow the instructions under section 3, 4, and 6 in the CN Installation Book. Attach the orange wire to the bottom of the motor and the gray wire to the top of the motor. Make sure that the orange wire is routed as far to the right (refer to picture below) as possible. This will allow clearance for the frame to fit back together and THE LOCOMOTIVE WILL NOT OPERATE if the orange wire is not in the correct place.
First remove the shell by holding the locomotive upside-down, pulling the bottom of the shell away from the frame, and then pulling the trucks (with the frame attached) up out of the shell. After the shell is removed from the frame the next step is to wire up the motor. In order to get to the motor, open up the frame by removing the two screws on either end of the locomotive. Then follow the instructions under section 3, 4, and 6 in the CN Installation Book. Attach the orange wire to the bottom of the motor and the gray wire to the top of the motor. Make sure that the orange wire is routed as far to the right (refer to picture below) as possible. This will allow clearance for the frame to fit back together and THE LOCOMOTIVE WILL NOT OPERATE if the orange wire is not in the correct place.
The next step is to remove the forward light. The board that the headlight is attached to will be reused, but the headlight will not be. Remove the headlight from the board, refering to pictures below, and get rid of the headlight, but save the board. The original board will be used to supply power to the decoder.
The next step is to remove the forward light. The board that the headlight is attached to will be reused, but the headlight will not be. Remove the headlight from the board, refering to pictures below, and get rid of the headlight, but save the board. The original board will be used to supply power to the decoder.
After the headlight is removed from the board attach the red and black wires to the light board. The light board will be installed into the locomotive upside-down so that the pads are accessible for attaching the red and black wires. The red wire should be soldered to the pad that goes to the right side of the locomotive when it is running forwards and the black wire should go to the left side of the locomotive when it is running forwards. (This is depicted in the picture below.)
After the headlight is removed from the board attach the red and black wires to the light board. The light board will be installed into the locomotive upside-down so that the pads are accessible for attaching the red and black wires. The red wire should be soldered to the pad that goes to the right side of the locomotive when it is running forwards and the black wire should go to the left side of the locomotive when it is running forwards. (This is depicted in the picture below.)
The next step is to hook up the forward headlight. Use a surface mount LED with magnet wire along with a 680 ohm resistor which can be purchased from TCS. Connect the red magnet wire to the blue wire from the decoder and the green magnet wire to the white wire from the decoder. Then apply Kapton tape to the back side of the LED so that it doesn't short out to the frame.
The next step is to hook up the forward headlight. Use a surface mount LED with magnet wire along with a 680 ohm resistor which can be purchased from TCS. Connect the red magnet wire to the blue wire from the decoder and the green magnet wire to the white wire from the decoder. Then apply Kapton tape to the back side of the LED so that it doesn't short out to the frame.
Then tuck the LED down in where the original headlight was so that it shines out of the headlight in the shell, but does not shine out of the windshield. Test the A-unit and replace the shell.
Then tuck the LED down in where the original headlight was so that it shines out of the headlight in the shell, but does not shine out of the windshield. Test the A-unit and replace the shell.
Now follow the same process for the B-unit. There is one exception, however. The B-unit does not have a light, which means that you will not have to wire up any lights, but it also means that you do not have a board to get power from the track. Instead of using the light board, as we did in the A-unit, we reused the tabs that we clipped off of the motor. More information is below. The following pictures are for disassembly of the B-unit.
Now follow the same process for the B-unit. There is one exception, however. The B-unit does not have a light, which means that you will not have to wire up any lights, but it also means that you do not have a board to get power from the track. Instead of using the light board, as we did in the A-unit, we reused the tabs that we clipped off of the motor. More information is below. The following pictures are for disassembly of the B-unit.
This picture shows how we attached the red and black wires to the frame. It also depicts the white, blue, and yellow wires, which can be cut off as they are not used in the B-unit. In order to attach the red and black wires we folded up the tab that we cut off of the motor and stuffed it into the slots in the frame that are for the headlight board. We then stuck the wires into the motor tabs and put enough solder on them to hold them in place. The red and black wires can then be routed up over the edge of the frame to provide clearance for the shell.
This picture shows how we attached the red and black wires to the frame. It also depicts the white, blue, and yellow wires, which can be cut off as they are not used in the B-unit. In order to attach the red and black wires we folded up the tab that we cut off of the motor and stuffed it into the slots in the frame that are for the headlight board. We then stuck the wires into the motor tabs and put enough solder on them to hold them in place. The red and black wires can then be routed up over the edge of the frame to provide clearance for the shell.
The final installation of the M1 in the B-unit of the C-liner. The locomotive is now fully converted to DCC and can be tested on the track.
The final installation of the M1 in the B-unit of the C-liner. The locomotive is now fully converted to DCC and can be tested on the track.

Important Soldering Tip

Please do not use any flux either liquid or paste on the mother board. Over time, the acidic properties of liquid or paste flux will begin eating away at the fiberglass PCB and will damage it. Use only Rosin-core solder or no-clean flux approved for electronics use.

TCS recommends the use of Kester "44" Sn63 Pb37, .015" diameter Rosin-core solder. Kester part number 24-6337-0007.

You can order this solder from the following retailers:
Digikey - PN:KE1110-ND
Techni-Tool - PN:488SO6775

Other solder tips

When stripping wire, only strip a tiny little bit of the insulation. Strip no more than a 1/32 of an inch. When the wire gets tinned with solder, the insulation will shrink back more. Try to not expose any more wire than half the length of the solder pad at most. In no case should solder or exposed wire wire ever be outside the boundary of the the solder pad you are attaching a wire to.
Click here for important information on properly Stripping and Tinning wire