Decoder question - any risks of damaging my loco?

[JonoVegas]

I have an expensive to me, Piko Loco which has a built in SoundTraxx for sound. I am running just in DC mode and use track magnets to trigger bell and whistle. Chuff sound is great to me. Running on about 75 feet of LGB track. I have a DC 10amp power supply.

Believe it or not I run the loco with New Bright cars which have great Christmas decorations, animation movement and lights.

The NewBright tender is wired to the car behind it and so on to the next car. There is some type of DCC controller in the NewBright Tender but I am NOT using the NewBright power supply nor controller. So simple track power is getting me 90% of the lights and animation movement. I am not getting the Light Posts on each car to turn on with simple track power (even though simple track power turns on the other car lighting effects).

Here comes the question. In testing, if I use the NewBright power source and the NewBright controller, I can get the car Light Posts to turn on by pressing the New Bright "Forward button". This "Forward button" on the NewBright controller also provides forward power to the track for any loco. Can I connect BOTH my 10 amp power supply and the NewBright Power supply to the same track setup at the same time? Will two different power supplies on same track cause problems? Only reason for me doing this would be to use my 10amp power supply to run the train and use the toy NewBright power supply to get the car Light posts to work. I don't want to risk my expensive Piko loco/tender electronics from getting burnt out by two power supplies on same track.

Thanks for any guidance

 

[PhilP]

Can I connect BOTH my 10 amp power supply and the NewBright Power supply to the same track setup at the same time? Will two different power supplies on same track cause problems?

NO!

Don't do this..
Whilst I do not know just how the NewBright system works, this is definitely not a good idea.

Your 10A supply would swamp whatever the NewBright puts out, and it would be very easy to have opposing polarity supplies from the two systems.

PhilP

 

[JonoVegas]

Thanks PhilP, that's what I was afraid of with two power supplies on same track.

I'll have to try and trace the cars Light Posts wiring back to the NewBright tender board. Then see if I can some how modify the wiring to "power on" the same as the other lights on the cars. The other lights come on with simple power to the track from my 10amp power supply. There is a ribbon light connecting the cars and the source is a board in the Tender. Can I use a multi meter to detect when there is power on a particular line to try and determine the wires I am looking for?

 

[PhilP]

These are not very common, this side of the pond, and I have never had one to play with. - We tend to get really nasty, plastic-tracked Christmas sets, normally sold in garden centres here in the UK.

I do believe there may be a Bachmann product? - But not 45mm gauge track.

I doubt it will be 'DCC', and the tender is obviously getting power from the track, I assume?

What happens if you run the train backwards? - So reversing the polarity on the track.

I would guess there is a 'control signal' sent from the NewBright controller, but not sure how you would emulate this.

PhilP