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I've hard wired my Athearn engines, but would like to reverse the motor direction on a second F7A in an ABA consist. I tried reversing the top/bottom motor clip wiring to body/truck tabs, but still goes in normal direction. Can anyone tell me how to make this work in an analog situation, or if it's possible to run tw engines together, one pusing/one pulling? Thanks
Dave Jansson Member # 2233
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What you're trying to do is reverse the rotation of the motor vs. the applied DC voltage input. there are two ways to do this: 1) Diasassemble the motor and reverse the magnets; not a trivial task. 2) Reverse the inputs so the top lead (normally connected to that clip) is fed from the frame and vice-vera. To do this, isolate the motor from the frame by removing it from those flexible mounts, bend the two brass contacts that dig into the frame back in place, and solder a FLEXIBLE wire to that clip (take it off the motor first BUT BEWARE - it holds the contact brush and springs in place and they will try to "bail" on you when you take it off). Do the same with the top clip and then connect the wires to the (now opposite) electrical points, truck clips and chassis. My advice is to use slide-on electrical clips for the truck leads - they're available at any auto parts store and fit quite nicely. As for the frame connection, if the unit has a headlight clip try that, otherwise drill and tap a hole on the frame itself.
Good Luck!
williamrah Member # 3006
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Thanks, Dave
I had done exactly the things you suggested before the post. I found out earlier today that I had apparently reversed the trucks from front to rear. When I switched them back, the engine worked backwards as I had expected. I guess I had canceled out my effort. I'm wondering if I could have just switched the trucks from back to front to reverse the engine. It's hard wired now anyway and I added new dual icrolights in the process. Thanks again.
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