# DCC and Passenger cars



## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

I have a few sets of passenger cars that I want to use with DCC. Currently they are wired for lighting on DC with grain of wheat bulbs using track pick up. I have LED strips that include the resistors that I want to use in these. I would like to turn the lights on and off with the DCC controls. What is the best way to do this? I have seen DCC lighting controllers but these cost more than I am paying for the NCE DCC locomotive motor controllers. There are spare lighting functions on the locomotive controller, can I just run a plug between the cars in the constant and use that? There is only one locomotive and three cars to this set. Should I just use one of the NCE DCC locomotive controlers and only connect the light functions to the passenger cars (there are 4 different light functions)?

Is there a better way to do this that I am not aware of? How do you do this?


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

You could use one or all of the lighting functions on the decoder but obviously your loco would have to be permanently coupled unless you used a plug. You might be better off with a separate stationary decoder, I've never done it but I'm sure someone on here can better advise your best course.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I think a stationary decoder is for turnouts and such. You could install mobile decoders in each car and give the car number address. The cheapest ones would at least have a headlight on and off function.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

I can get a 10 pack of NCE decoders for the locomotive for $119 at my LHS. The lighting only ones start at $20. This is why I was wondering about using the same one as in the locomotive for the cars. I do like the idea of connecting the cars with a plug. This set is always used together.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

The nice thing about using a decoder in each car is that the
light output is 12 v DC that you need for those LED strip
lights. 

Still sounds costly tho.

Why not use an isolated track section where you 'park' your
cars and power it through an on/off switch so you can
turn off the car lights? 

For your strip LEDs, You would need a diode rectifier and possibly a voltage
reduction resistor if you used only the existing, usually 14 v modified
AC, of the DCC track. 

I don't bother with turning off the lights in my passenger cars or
lighted cabooses. They don't draw enough power to affect my
loco operations.

Don


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

A stationary decoder is just the same as a mobile decoder ( but with slightly different addressing) without the motor output and can be used to control any on/off function like signals, turnouts or lights.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

using a bridge for dcc car lighting is relatively easy, for dcc control the drawback is that most loco decoders have a 100ma limit [per function], so max is five leds controlled on each function [at full brightness], i don't know what function only decoders have for a current limit ..an alternative may be the 'snap' type reed switches in each car to magnetically turn lights on and off


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