Thanks, that is exactly what I needed to see on how to do this. Once I got to my fourth car it was going pretty smoothly and easily. Saw some other videos and they didn’t describe it as well as you did on the process. Thanks again.
I wish I would have watched this video a long time ago. I ended up cutting my Metra bi-levels, soldering wires, etc. because I couldn't figure out how to do it properly! Thanks for this info!
Excellent installation video..........would you please add videos for how to install 29-352 - FL12 Tail Light Control Decoder and 29-353 - FR11 Interior Light Control Decoder with the interior light kits and with the Daylight, California Zephyr, Nippon-Sharyo Bi-level Cab Coach and Super Chief observation cars.
(Ummm...) I've installed... (±100 of these: UP CoLA, NYC20C, PRR B'way, ATSF Super Chief, NRPC SW. Ltd, both Pullman, & Nippon Sharyo Metra bi-level gallery cars, + currently, my El Cap - truly the most difficult car is the El Cap bi-level tail car w/drumhead!), & yes, the first few were a little tricky, until I stopped 'shoving things around' and took a CLOSE l👀k at 1) the instruction sheets 2) the Car body shells' roof interior - Be VERY careful when adding the light bar into the roof-mounted positions, there are not only alignment tabs/slots for the light bar, BUT ALSO VERY delicate alignment pins for the window pane.lenses that can EASILY be inadvertantly & permanently damaged if you try to 'force the issue' with the light bar improperly oriented & aligned, causing further difficulties when reassembling the car to the chassis. As far as keeping both the car body & chassis properly oriented, (during the commuter car's "Experiencing Technical Difficulties" §ection), the interior surfaces of BOTH a) the Seating Insert/Floor AND the b) Car Body Shell's roof have an ALINGMENT INDICATOR ARROW pointing toward the SAME end of the car to help you realign the car body onto the chassis 'properly', aka 'as designed & engineered'.
Any chance we can get a video on installing these in dome cars (like on UP Excursion train, California Zephyr, Santa Fe Super Chief, and UP City of Los Angeles)?
Perhaps we could have a Tech Corner video about the FR-11 and FL-12 DCC Decoders. I know for a fact that the Superliner cars in this video can't accommodate the FR-11 decoder for these interior lights.
Need to see them light up and working. It's like watching someone rebuild a car engine get it finished, but don't get to see if it started and ran. As far as we know you installed something that didn't work.
Hey there, Michael, this comment is rather off-topic, but I wanted to ask: Will you be doing any videos on the KATO N-scale Portram/Centram light rail sets? They look very cool, but there seems to be a bit of a lack in documentation them, and I'd be very interested to see some informational videos for them.
Thanks for this. I couldn't work out the system from the instructions at all. The writing on the instructions is impossibly small to read. Plus it wasn't obvious to me that the light bar didn't hold the LEDs and that it didn't need to electrically connect to the power.
Did it, done. thanks for the instructions or I might still be trying to install that clear lightbar part. In my case it made no snap, and just sort of holds on in the one configuration that works (superliners).
Two things. On the Super liner cars. The groves go towards the roof. not into the passenger space. BTW. Would you tell the people who remove the clear plastic strips to cut them from the tree. not bend them. Pretty bad fourm when paying up the nose for these lights
Great video...you answered my question. These kits will fit all passenger cars that Kato makes ? I have the 10-830 Steam Engine and passenger car set, so which kit should I use for the passenger cars ?
You can use the same basic lighting kits - the 11-211 (individual) or 11-212 (six pack); considering the age of the cars you'd definitely want to use the orange tinting pieces that come with the kits.
if you aim a camera at it to film the problem it will go away. You must be thinking 'i will upload this to demonstrate this darn problem' at which point life decides it must remove the issue to add one last insult. I know it's a totally lame waste of time, not my fault, It's just how life seems to work. But hey at least it will be installed correctly!
The best thing I can suggest is making sure that your track and wheels are always clean and free of debris or tarnishing as any interruption in the flow of power to the cars will cause the lights to flicker. You'll also want to check over the connections inside the lighting kits themselves to make sure that the two leads off the PCB are making flush contact with the copper inserts.
The Pacific Parlour car, like our Superliner Lounge cars, unfortunately doesn't take an interior lighting kit because the side windows wrap around higher up onto the roof and there's no place to lock the light bar up there. It's one of the few exceptions.
Well that's a bummer. I wonder how one would go about lighting them... Also Is there any news on a phase IV Transition Dorm and baggage car set? Most Amtrak trains that use superliners have a Transition dorm to get to lower level cars such as the baggage car. I know the Empire Builder has one, I have rode that train a few times.
KatoUSAinc WHAT? I was able to get this lighting kit into my Pacific Parlor car (FR-11 chip and everything). What do you mean "one of the few exceptions"? Same with the Superliner Lounge, but without the chip.
Alex Derus I just checked the Superliners, and you're correct, my mistake. With the Parlour car, however, the car doesn't have the correct supports to hold the lighting bracket in place (it has the back bracket but nothing in front) so it's not a "true" drop in installation, which is why we don't advertise it as being compatible.
You probably need to adjust where you've placed the lens. If this is a very old dome car where the seats drop down into the car space, you have to split the light bar since newer cars have changed the tooling to let it go all the way across. Since you're talking about dome seats I assume you aren't talking about our Bi-Levels, so I don't actually know which specific release you're discussing putting lights in.
Chris Tomlinson For that, you'd probably want to contact Richmond Control Systems as they specialize in FRED lights and other tail lighting systems. Our N scale superliners, though they have clear plastic lenses in the appropriate place, don't have a baked-in option for lighting the tail lights.
Edit: I now have 6 kits out of 10 installed and now that the frustration has subsided I wish I had not wasted my money on these light kits. I am installing them in superliners, and surprisingly there are at least 2 versions of them, making the install different. Results on 6 cars - 2 with proper lighting, 2 half lit, and 2 with no light. I give up. Also, while installing these I have a test oval going and I have to say that for the money I spent on two engines, 10 superliners, an M1 track set and a dozen light kits .. I wish the F'n couplers at least worked.. Overall I am pretty disappointed in everything I bought. It sure is pretty though.
He can't show them working because most of them don't. (Superliners) There are to many things to go wrong with the installation. It is a very poor design and I love Kato products...not these Installing the parts is easy, but the pickups don't make a good contact. Trust me, you'll have to figure out how to modify to make them work. Waist of money.
![[Kato USA Tech Corner] (N) GG1 Disassembly and DCC Installation](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uGyd5YVtsdg/mqdefault.jpg)
It would have been helpful to see the kits actually lit and how well they actually light the interiors.
Thanks, that is exactly what I needed to see on how to do this. Once I got to my fourth car it was going pretty smoothly and easily. Saw some other videos and they didn’t describe it as well as you did on the process. Thanks again.
There are arrows inside the the car wheel and bottom part that indicate which direction the shell should sit
Would have been nice if you had shown how they looked when lit
I just learned something! Now this seems pretty simple!
I wish I would have watched this video a long time ago. I ended up cutting my Metra bi-levels, soldering wires, etc. because I couldn't figure out how to do it properly! Thanks for this info!
Excellent installation video..........would you please add videos for how to install 29-352 - FL12 Tail Light Control Decoder and 29-353 - FR11 Interior Light Control Decoder with the interior light kits and with the Daylight, California Zephyr, Nippon-Sharyo Bi-level Cab Coach and Super Chief observation cars.
You guys always make the best videos thank you 🙏👍😁
(Ummm...) I've installed... (±100 of these: UP CoLA, NYC20C, PRR B'way, ATSF Super Chief, NRPC SW. Ltd, both Pullman, & Nippon Sharyo Metra bi-level gallery cars, + currently, my El Cap - truly the most difficult car is the El Cap bi-level tail car w/drumhead!), & yes, the first few were a little tricky, until I stopped 'shoving things around' and took a CLOSE l👀k at
1) the instruction sheets
2) the Car body shells' roof interior -
Be VERY careful when adding the light bar into the roof-mounted positions, there are not only alignment tabs/slots for the light bar, BUT ALSO VERY delicate alignment pins for the window pane.lenses that can EASILY be inadvertantly & permanently damaged if you try to 'force the issue' with the light bar improperly oriented & aligned, causing further difficulties when reassembling the car to the chassis.
As far as keeping both the car body & chassis properly oriented, (during the commuter car's "Experiencing Technical Difficulties" §ection), the
interior surfaces of BOTH
a) the Seating Insert/Floor
AND the
b) Car Body Shell's roof
have an ALINGMENT INDICATOR ARROW pointing toward the SAME end of the car to help you realign the car body onto the chassis 'properly', aka 'as designed & engineered'.
Any chance we can get a video on installing these in dome cars (like on UP Excursion train, California Zephyr, Santa Fe Super Chief, and UP City of Los Angeles)?
Perhaps we could have a Tech Corner video about the FR-11 and FL-12 DCC Decoders. I know for a fact that the Superliner cars in this video can't accommodate the FR-11 decoder for these interior lights.
I don’t know why I never watched this video 😂😂 thank you
Next time you do an install like these kits would you show them "working." Otherwise, um, it's ok.
Again, thanks
I would have been cool if he showed the train with the lights on....
Need to see them light up and working. It's like watching someone rebuild a car engine get it finished, but don't get to see if it started and ran. As far as we know you installed something that didn't work.
Hey there, Michael, this comment is rather off-topic, but I wanted to ask: Will you be doing any videos on the KATO N-scale Portram/Centram light rail sets? They look very cool, but there seems to be a bit of a lack in documentation them, and I'd be very interested to see some informational videos for them.
Thanks for this. I couldn't work out the system from the instructions at all. The writing on the instructions is impossibly small to read. Plus it wasn't obvious to me that the light bar didn't hold the LEDs and that it didn't need to electrically connect to the power.
Did it, done. thanks for the instructions or I might still be trying to install that clear lightbar part. In my case it made no snap, and just sort of holds on in the one configuration that works (superliners).
Thanks, helped out a lot!!
"Dont eat this"
I find the lighting kits often flicker even when the track and the wheels have been cleaned
Two things. On the Super liner cars. The groves go towards the roof. not into the passenger space. BTW. Would you tell the people who remove the clear plastic strips to cut them from the tree. not bend them. Pretty bad fourm when paying up the nose for these lights
Can you please share a video tutorial about installing sound decoder and bug in n scale?
I'd like to see a video about the installation of a 7-504 lighting kit. Any chance of such a video coming out?
+Alex Derus It's definitely on the list to do in the future, yes
+KatoUSAinc could you guys do a amt train set?
Great video...you answered my question. These kits will fit all passenger cars that Kato makes ? I have the 10-830 Steam Engine and passenger car set, so which kit should I use for the passenger cars ?
You can use the same basic lighting kits - the 11-211 (individual) or 11-212 (six pack); considering the age of the cars you'd definitely want to use the orange tinting pieces that come with the kits.
Thank you!
How about Installing them in an amfleet car.. I have tried everything and I can't get the piece to snap into the roof...
if you aim a camera at it to film the problem it will go away. You must be thinking 'i will upload this to demonstrate this darn problem' at which point life decides it must remove the issue to add one last insult. I know it's a totally lame waste of time, not my fault, It's just how life seems to work. But hey at least it will be installed correctly!
Can you comment on the flickering? Any suggestions to improve this? Thanks.
The best thing I can suggest is making sure that your track and wheels are always clean and free of debris or tarnishing as any interruption in the flow of power to the cars will cause the lights to flicker. You'll also want to check over the connections inside the lighting kits themselves to make sure that the two leads off the PCB are making flush contact with the copper inserts.
How about adding a small capacitor to the kit?
Now to go buy a whole bunch!!
What about the Pacific Parlour Car, how does it go in?
The Pacific Parlour car, like our Superliner Lounge cars, unfortunately doesn't take an interior lighting kit because the side windows wrap around higher up onto the roof and there's no place to lock the light bar up there. It's one of the few exceptions.
Well that's a bummer. I wonder how one would go about lighting them...
Also Is there any news on a phase IV Transition Dorm and baggage car set? Most Amtrak trains that use superliners have a Transition dorm to get to lower level cars such as the baggage car.
I know the Empire Builder has one, I have rode that train a few times.
KatoUSAinc WHAT? I was able to get this lighting kit into my Pacific Parlor car (FR-11 chip and everything). What do you mean "one of the few exceptions"? Same with the Superliner Lounge, but without the chip.
Alex Derus I just checked the Superliners, and you're correct, my mistake. With the Parlour car, however, the car doesn't have the correct supports to hold the lighting bracket in place (it has the back bracket but nothing in front) so it's not a "true" drop in installation, which is why we don't advertise it as being compatible.
could the kit also be used to instal soindtraxx tsunami sound car kit?
Question : for the observation car, are you supposed to remove the dome seats?
No.
Then why doesn't the car fit back together after the lens is mounted?
You probably need to adjust where you've placed the lens. If this is a very old dome car where the seats drop down into the car space, you have to split the light bar since newer cars have changed the tooling to let it go all the way across. Since you're talking about dome seats I assume you aren't talking about our Bi-Levels, so I don't actually know which specific release you're discussing putting lights in.
It's the one that came in the Kato #106-024 smooth side passenger 4 car set.
If this is not the place to actually get an answer to my question, can you please direct me to where I can?
11-211 or 11-212 How do you know which part # to use for the cars... ?
211 are single packs, 212 are six packs, they're both the same light kit though.
Hello, will this kit work in the Superliner observation lounge car?
The superliner obs can't take an interior lighting kit unfortunately since windows go all the way up to the ceiling.
@@KatoUSAinc that's funny cause I did it. Installed it in the obs last weekend.
If this is not the place to actually get an answer to my question, can you please direct me to where I can?
Go to our website and use our contact form, or call our office.
Is there a led kit to put into the two red lights at the end of the superliner coach?? I need it bad.
Check with these cars' HO scale counterparts on that...
Is there a way to illuminate the tail lights of the Amtrak car?
Chris Tomlinson For that, you'd probably want to contact Richmond Control Systems as they specialize in FRED lights and other tail lighting systems. Our N scale superliners, though they have clear plastic lenses in the appropriate place, don't have a baked-in option for lighting the tail lights.
You could try this with their HO scale counterparts
Could you install a lighting kit in a bi-level cab car?
yes. Don't expect a video on this anytime soon, however. Not really sure if one is in the works.
Will this work for DCC?
Yes, our LED Lighting kits are fully compatible with DCC.
Edit: I now have 6 kits out of 10 installed and now that the frustration has subsided I wish I had not wasted my money on these light kits.
I am installing them in superliners, and surprisingly there are at least 2 versions of them, making the install different.
Results on 6 cars - 2 with proper lighting, 2 half lit, and 2 with no light. I give up.
Also, while installing these I have a test oval going and I have to say that for the money I spent on two engines, 10 superliners, an M1 track set and a dozen light kits .. I wish the F'n couplers at least worked..
Overall I am pretty disappointed in everything I bought. It sure is pretty though.
He can't show them working because most of them don't. (Superliners) There are to many things to go wrong with the installation. It is a very poor design and I love Kato products...not these Installing the parts is easy, but the pickups don't make a good contact. Trust me, you'll have to figure out how to modify to make them work. Waist of money.
flybird141 The pickups are quite thin so it's easy to put them in the wrong place, but with everything set they work just fine :)