I finally have two DM&IR Lionel powered 8158 engines. One of them is already wired with a set of pickup rollers on the non powered truck so it doesn't stop on wide radious switches. I want to run them together but I don't want the problem of the E-units being in different positions. So I was going to run both motors off of one engines E-unit. What gauge wiring should I use? I am probably going to use some kind of quick connector so these two engines are not always connected by wires. I have on hand Mpi Maxx R/C connectors #2830 male & #2832 female. The package says AWG 22 wires. Does that mean 22 gauge? I'd think 22 gauge might be too small for old large motor Lionel engines. Should I wire them in series or parallel?
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
Original E-unit wire was 24 gauge.
Various parts dealers carry 24 gauge super flex wire with a choice of plastic or cloth insulation. The plastic insulation is available in blue, green, red, and yellow. The cloth insulation is black.
If they have electromechanical e-units and universal motors, you will need at least 3 wires to wire them in parallel. You have to wire the fields and the armatures in parallel individually to preserve the reversing function. This would normally require 4 wires; but, since one end of the field winding is grounded to the motor frame and therefore connected between locomotives through the outside rails, you can omit that wire. However, I recommend using all 4, because, if one locomotive momentarily loses contact with the outside rails, its current will be supplied through the couplers. Unless the couplers are dummies or made of plastic, the current may flow through the tiny spring that opens the knuckle, burning it out. Leave both e-units connected; but, to run the locomotives together, cycle one into neutral, then shut it off.
Since your connectors do not have enough pins, I suggest smaller type of Molex connectors, which are not hard to find: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=standard_062&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=wire_to_wire_connectors
Wiring them in series is much more complicated, would not be nearly as simple to undo to run the locomotives separately, and would result in the locomotives' running slower when connected together (something that is not necessarily undesirable).
"AWG" means "American Wire Gauge", also called "Brown and Sharpe", and is the wire gauge used in America for electrical wire. The rest of the world simply measures the wire's cross-sectional area in square millimeters.
Are you sure those aren't GP35s?
Bob Nelson
I like switching so I'm not going to lock them in one direction. I took both hoods off. The wires are opposite colors from one engine to the other. I thought there would just be 2 wires per engine. So if I wire them parallel they won't slow down? I think Lionel called them GP38s but magazines called them GP9s. I will have to use a connector with more than 2 wires. I will look at the link one person posted above.
Are there any connectors sold at Radio Shack that I could use? There is one in the small town I live in but no hobby shops in town. The nearest hobby shop is 15 miles away. I will wire the ground wire so nothing is fried.
Radio Shack sells Molex connectors, but only in the larger of the two sizes that are made. You can get a package with two pairs of the smaller size 4-wire connectors from Mouser for $3.75 (plus shipping). The Molex part number is 76650-0065. The Mouser number is 583-76650-0065. Here is a link to a picture: http://www.mouser.com/Search/include/LargeProductImage.aspx?path=molex/lrg/76650-0065.jpg&mfrName=Molex&mfrPartNum=76650-0065
You may want to use the second female connector (without pins) to cover the pins of the male connector when running the locomotives separately.
I think if you wire the two pickup rollers together, the E units will stay in sync. You can synchronize them initially using the E unit on/off switch.
My experience is that, sooner or later, one unit will step while the other one doesn't.
Years ago, I use to wire four single motored diesels to one Eunit. Used tethers with tiny connectors between engines. I put mini switches inside the shells to disable the individual Eunits in the "slave" engines. That way, I could pull the shell and reactivate the Eunits if I wanted then to run separately. Tethers are easier to buy now than to make them up.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
It's not necessary to have any switches other than the one that is normally provided to stop the e-unit from cycling. The e-unit disconnects all the motor wires when it is in the neutral position. So, if you put all the slave locomotives into neutral and then shut off their e-units, they can be connected to the master locomotive without their own e-units' interfering with their operation. There should be no need to open up any of the locomotives.
I don't see the point of having the "drag resistance" of a non running powered engine behind a powered unit. I have had some engines that won't spin the wheels when pulled if there is no power going to the drive motor. I have in the past tried using two engines on the same track and like mentioned above,,, one engine will eventually go into a different cycle of the F-N-R than the other one. I picked up some regular straight phone cords. These are the cords between the landline phone itself and the wall. I got two grey 12" long straight (not coiled) cords with male ends. I also got one black 84" long straight cord and two inline little "box" connectors, which have two female receptacles. I opened one up and it has 4 wires. I'm not really sure if I will go this route using straight phone cords as I don't think they would clear between the trucks and the frame. I don't want them to be easy to see. I'm hesitant to notching or putting a hole in a shell for wires. I might just go with one of the 4 wire connectors above or buy a 2nd set of connectors that I mentioned above.
"I don't see the point of having the "drag resistance" of a non running powered engine behind a powered unit."
I don't either, and I wouldn't suggest doing that. The point of cycling the slave locomotive's e-unit into neutral is to disconnect the slave locomotive's motor from its e-unit, which is what happens when the e-unit is in neutral, so that the motor can be connected in parallel with the master locomotive's motor and be controlled by the master's e-unit.
The point is that it is not necessary to install any switches or other means to disconnect the slave unit's motor from its e-unit. The slave e-unit itself can be used to do that just by locking it into neutral.
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