Hi Guys,

I have a Taigen M-26 Pershing (snow leopard) and it has tail lights that light up when you go in reverse. My Taigen M-41 is the same way, but I had a Heng Long M-41 that had the tail lights on whenever the headlights were on (I can't remember if the tail lights flashed when the headlights flashed or not). I like this much better, so before I open up the M-26 and figure it out for myself I thought I better ask here first to se if anyone has done this before or has any tips for me. So the question is ... What's the best way to make the tail lights stay on all the time? Maybe piggyback them onto the headlights in a parallel circuit?

Any tips will be appreciated,

Gary (Max)

I didn't know that the Taigen board did this. I added a convoy light to my PzIII and ran it in parallel with the headlights. It stays on all the time. I did that because the convoy lights are on the upper hull with the headlights and I didn't have the tailight plug (it's smaller than the other two-pin plugs). So, I guess I accidentally avoided your challenge.

From your description, I guessing that is a feature that is hard-wired. So, you're best bet is to rewire them in parallel with the headlights.

That's what I was thinking, piggybacking them onto the headlights in parallel, and unless I hear of something better I'll probably get to it the middle of this week or so.

Wiring them in parallel should work, not sure if the current going to each LED will be affected but if the original HL M26s were wired this way, then I don't see it being a problem for the Taigen ones. Btw maxu52, PM sent .

Yep the Pershing rear light was wired directly to the HL board in parallel with the headlight pins, coming down from the 8-pin wire bundle that goes to the upper deck.

Should be pins 2 + 3

I think this is the picture you are looking for

Just solder them to the same leads on the upper hull connector. If you really want to you could tap into pins 6 and 7 on the lower 8p connector coming out of the motherboard so you dont have to have a disconnect for the upper hull when you remove it. Tapping it from the lower hull is probably the better idea.

Even after reading the title of this thread twice, I was trying to figure out what an M-26 Lightning was...
Caught myself thinking "Man, don't know the M-26 Lightning, but I bet it's Fast!...".

Then I read the title again and "DOH! Never Mind"...

Its been one of Those kinda daze...

-gus

And then you got me, Gus. I read the first two lines and rushed up to the top to see if I misspelled the title, then went back and read the next line. Doh! Shoulda read your whole post before I scrolled!

I think you're right, Erik, it would be way more convenient if the wiring for the taillights hooked into the lower 8-pin. I'm not sure if the HL and Taigen M-26s are the same cuz I only have the Taigen, but I did have both HL and taigen Walker Bulldogs so I knew they were very similar except for the lights being wired to reverse on the Taigen. It stood to reason the Pershings would be the same, and I like the HL effect better with the tail lights always on. That's on the list to get accomplished before the weekend, so I'll let you know how it turns out, and thanks for all the help. I may seem lazy to some, but thanks to you guys I now know what I'm doing before I turn the first screw, and that's the way we like it!

Got your PM, Cap, and I'm gonna send a photo of my Opa in uniform for ya, but give me a bit. Very hectic right now, I'm sure you can relate.

And Pat, don't let me forget I want to talk to you more about convoy lights. I have some ideas but not yet enough experience. For example, I still don't know if (when I finally get upgraded) a hobby grade TX would have a channel I could use just to turn the convoy light on and off. Lots to learn yet.

Yea the quickest way to trace the HL is just to unscrew the top hull connector and look at the back of the small pcb board and follow the traces to see which wires have the LED power going to it. Then tap them near the plug at the bottom. I might actually be able to make something up for you. We will talk soon.
Also yes it is quite easy to turn on LED lights with a RC remote. There are controllers for it as well, allowing lots of multiple options like blinking headlights, bright, dim, etc. RC car light systems are a cheap easy way to do that. Some of the good ones will apply brake lights when there is no throttle and turn them off while there is throttle. Then there are ones that apply a blinker when you turn as well It would be pretty easy to mod one of these for another project. Just search around for RC LED controller and you will be surprised.

thanks for the diagram. But, what does the two-pin lead between the airsoft gun and the control board do?

That is the contact switch that signals the airsoft unit has been fired and that the motherboard needs to perform track recoil and output cannon sound. If you disconnect it you will not get a track recoil when you fire, nor will you get sound.

Thanks for the explanation. I can live without the cannon sound if it means skipping the track recoil.

You should check out RCTA's Dragon SMD which is a solder-less pass-through that allows you to remove the track recoil on Taigen tanks for about $20 with free worldwide shipping. Kevin has some nice stuff over there. The Mako2 board also provides this feature plus the anti track recoil option.

This what you're talking about? http://rctanksaustralia.com/shop/ind...roducts_id=216 Looks interesting...

OK, I tapped into the lower 8 pin plug (I like the way it came out) and now I have rear lights, but the front light don't work!! For some reason when I plug in the rear, the front don't work, but if I unplug the rear they do work. When the rears are plugged in I'm not reading as muck juice at the front lights. Hmmm.

But, that's gonna have to wait at least until tomorrow, cuz I'm burnt and that was enough electrical work for one day, and the new slip ring arrived from down under so tomorrow after work I'll be on that. I'll get some video so you guys can check it out.