How To - Upgrade Ditchlight LED's - Walthers Mainline ES44 GEVO.

[@jlwii2000]

Good job Deryk! You're job was very well documented and neatly done to prevent issues. Looks way better!

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks James! I really appreciate it! So far this was my most in depth 'How To' video.

[@jeffreyrule8143]

Second time watching your video. Just got my new Walthers EMD SD70 loco and they improved the ditch lights. Now I want to update my Gevo ES44. Thank you again.

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear they improved them.

[@paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

Very well done. Dim lights that aren't suppose to be dim are very disappointing. Your solution rocks !!! 😷👍

[@DGModelworks]

I couldn't agree more! Thank you so much!

[@krisnelson1807]

I have the Mainline 70ACe which I think I will be doing the same process to. Thanks for the great video!

[@DGModelworks]

Awesome! Glad it was helpful!

[@krisnelson1807]

@@DGModelworks Where did you get your 0603 SMD's from? I now have two locomotives that I am going to do this upgrade to.

[@DGModelworks]

@@krisnelson1807 I actually bought them from Ebay.

[@krisnelson1807]

Just finished up this upgrade to my ES44! My very first of its kind! Nervous as all get out popping the ditch light housings off!! Thank you for the mass of inspiration and amazing how to. Took a lot of the stress out!

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

You made that look so easy, when I was trying to add int he LEDs I might have cursed some trying to get the lights facing out. I like your idea of shrink wrapping the wires to keep everything nice and neat.

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks Joe! You can do it!

[@chrisridd9423]

Good job with those SMD LEDs! It is amazing how thin the wire connecting them is, compared to the original wires going to the original gigantic LEDs!

[@DGModelworks]

Yeah, they are much smaller. Thank you very much!

[@paulmcmahon1129]

That's great! Thanks very much for showing how to do that. Looks much better now!

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks! Glad to help

[@TechnoNut96]

I was actually just looking at this issue last night, thanks for uploading!

[@DGModelworks]

hahaha, good timing! Hope it helps.

[@davidmuse7004]

Great job Deryk! Watching this makes me wonder about redoing some KATO 70MAC's that seem to be setup the same way. This is well done, both the redo of the ditch lights and the video. Great share. Muse

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks, I really appreciate it! yeah the same concept. should work just fine.. Go for it!

[@csxbaltimoresubdivision7746]

Great video, I use details west castings because of how much light bleed there was,looks great...

[@DGModelworks]

Cool, thanks!

[@spacecalander]

I love built in resistors, i love loksound for that.

[@DGModelworks]

Yeah, I think this used the resistors of the stock Walthers board. But Loksound rocks!

[@TolgaEastCoast]

@@DGModelworks Holdup, loksound select and V5 have resistors on them? Cool!

[@wehearttrains8479]

Did the same thing to our Mainline ACe, nice job

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks! Makes a big difference doesn't it.

[@wehearttrains8479]

@@DGModelworks Sure does!

[@joeraderblackrockcentralrr]

excellent step by step Derek

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you!

[@martensiersma3304]

I used Woodland Scenics nanolights to convert an a Walthers SD70ACE. They light up the tracks!

[@DGModelworks]

I bet those are bright! HAHAHA

[@Bryce_TBS_Films]

Would this be the same process for there sd70 ACes? I have 4141 but I ordered 9096, 9014 had to order 96 from walthers paid $40 more but worth in my opinion.

[@205004gs]

Just what I wanted to see! Thanks :)

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you! I hope it provided some useful info...

[@mgr_video_productions]

Great video! What an improvement over the factory ditch lights. I think the Walthers Mainline SD70ACes also suffer from the same dim ditchlight issue as the Walthers GEVOs.

[@DGModelworks]

Yeah, the SD70ACe's also suffer from the same thing. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the compliment!

[@travismartin4740]

I have 4 sd70aces that have the same problem

[@johnwatson8820]

great job as usual deryk,greetings from suffolk uk,avid ns fan,take care.

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks John! 👍

[@joshuawilliams8024]

Good job on 10K followers Deryk and the video

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks! I appreciate it! Thank you for helping me reach 10k ;)

[@patrickhalsey3231]

Thank you Derek, well done vid

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you very much!

[@INKDRAILS]

Very informative video DG! I have 1 locomotive that I have to upgrade my lighting on. It is not a Walthers but an Athearn so I will see if I can use some of the same methods in your video!

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks man! It will basically be the same on your Athearn. Have to wiggle/break off the ditch light housings also.

[@CentralJerseyRailfan]

I have an Athearn Genesis 2.0 SD80MAC I want to the ditch lights on as well due to their dimness. Mine is a DCC ready model that I fitted with an ESU Loksound 5 so the technique you showed for the Tsunami2 version might not work best for use ESU users. Good work!

[@TolgaEastCoast]

Excellent tutorial, I got those bulbs on order for a couple Atlas projects. Question, would it make sense to do a similar technique to light the number boards up? Say I'd probably use slips of styrene and paste the numbers on there, and stick a light behind it. Will the light flow thru?

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks! I'm not sure about the number boards. I've never tried it

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Looks great. I Have some N scale Katos that need the same treatment. I'll send them to you. 🤣

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks so much for watching Ron! I'm not sure I'd want to attempt this on N scale. This was quite a bit of work for HO, let alone doing it with something half the size, HAHAHA

[@JohanPaaSnippenTo]

Nice work on your loco😊

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks! I have another update video to make on this loco..

[@gregoryamer]

Nicely done

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@CM-ARM]

Thank you for showing how it's done. Even though I am a N Scaler I appreciate the help. I was wondering if you could put plugs onto the wire 🤔, something like plug and play?? Just a thought. Chris

[@DGModelworks]

Thank you! You could absolutely put plugs on the wires to allow complete removal. I was actually considering doing that.

[@markbirk8855]

Very very Nice video. I learned alot from it. What does a person do if Norfolk Southern and the head light is at the top? How do we get to it to change it? Thanks for info.

[@DGModelworks]

Only the the ditch lights were changed in this. Nothing was altered with headlight

[@BradLobregt]

Great video... thank you.

[@DGModelworks]

My pleasure! And thank you!

[@taylorbaggarleyunionpacifi5399]

Yes I have deryk I got big news for you her this after so many years of doing dcc ready I finally got say this word for ever I am going dcc sound for my layout I am really excited about it speak on that what control would good starter in dcc sound for a layout like mine

[@DGModelworks]

Congratulations. NCE Powercab is a good starter set.

[@taylorbaggarleyunionpacifi5399]

DG Modelworks thanks deryk I will try it

[@Kevin-ev7hw]

DG where did you get the Kapton tape at? Thank you

[@DGModelworks]

I got it at Midwest Model RR...here is the link to it. Also don't forget if you use coupon code DGMODELWORKS at checkout you will save 5% midwestmodelrr.com/?s=kapton+tape&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1

[@jeffreyrule8143]

Thanks.

[@DGModelworks]

You're welcome

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

nice upgrade Deryk. thanks for sharing. whats your opinion of the performance of walthers mainline locomotives? I'm a fan of their rolling stock but I do not own any locomotives as of yet

[@DGModelworks]

Thanks Dave, the Walthers drive is one of the best in the market. That's one very good thing about them. Gregg from Fishplate Films discusses this in depth.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

DG Modelworks thanks I’ll have to check him out. They look decently detailed for the price point too. What decoder do they come with

[@DGModelworks]

If you get DCC version it comes with ESU Essentials sound. It's ESU's limited sound decoder.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

DG Modelworks hmm I think I’d rather go dcc ready and get full esu version.

[@OffroadTrucker740]

Can they have keepalives installed? I noticed there are two aux ports on the decoder

[@DGModelworks]

No Keep alives cannot be installed on this stock Walthers board....Keep alives do not connect to aux inputs.

[@highballproductions2738]

Could I theoretically do the same thing to the bachmann ES44AC?

[@DGModelworks]

I'm not exactly sure what type of setup the bachmann uses.

[@kerr-duanemerrington1323]

What size led did you use for this upgrade?

[@DGModelworks]

0603 SMD Warm White

[@kdtrproductions4983]

Kinda super glued my ditchlight and cant get it off 😂 Any solutions how to take it off

[@DGModelworks]

Yikes. I'm not sure, I never had to remove anything super glued.

[@kdtrproductions4983]

@@DGModelworks Fortunately I did get it off but I did damage the ditchlight so im just gonna order new housings and LEDS for it

[@unumprovident101]

I have the norfolk southern version of the ES44AC and even though I have programmed the ditch lights they won't flash back and forth for me

[@DGModelworks]

Hmm, that is strange.

[@unumprovident101]

@@DGModelworks I programmed CV 51 to 42 and CV 50 to 58 but the ditch lights do not flash when I push the horn button

[@stevepsmoldycannoli3732]

@@unumprovident101 If you haven't corrected the issue, then recheck the wiring for the SMDs. My model has two red and two black leads twisted together by color. If yours was the same, you may have to trace them back to the board for proper connection, or eliminate those wire leads altogether, and wire the SMDs straight to the board's tabs. Improper connection to the board tabs will yield a null effect for those CV functions.

[@paulmcmahon1129]

For alternate flashing ditch lights, ( not some UP, CP, CN et al), try setting CV36 to 128 (grade crossing logic). It worked for me !

[@nicksanto882]

It’s too bad the rest of the wiring is so sloppy. For a few extra dollars you could have a detachable shell and a couple pads for speakers. Your improvement is very fine. This could be a much more comprehensive upgrade very easily with a Decoder Buddy.

[@ohpoleez]

Step 1. Don't buy a Walthers engine.