KB370: LED Lights in Locomotives

This article was last updated on Nov. 29, 2011, 5:55 p.m. | Print Article | Leave Feedback

I have this N-scale Proto A/B unit.

I went to install the decoder in the A unit to the headlight, its an LED.

My question is that once it was wired up and place on the track, I hit my headlight function and the light lit up then burnt out.

This is my first wired decoder I ever installed with a head light.

Can you tell me how to properly wire the led headlight to the DZ123 decoder so the light doesn't burn out?


In looking at the DZ123 Decoder sheet, it suggests that I check the Decoder Manual for details.

In the Manual, it notes that LED type headlights will need, typically, a 680 Ohm, 1/4 Watt resistor wired in series to keep from burning things out.

The connections vary depending upon the internal wiring of the locomotive.

See drawing below:

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