ERR Upgrade Question

You don't ,
If you leave all the old stuff hooked up just push the whistle button on your transformer or what ever like you used to . The AC commander is going to work just like an E unit in conventional but won't have anything to do with the whistle.

David

For starters, why don't you fix the e-unit. They arn't that hard to work on.

Al

Unless you run the train in TMCC mode, the AC Commander isn't going to solve your smoke switch issue, install a switch to solve that.

As far the E-Unit, you can either fix it, buy a replacement, or install an electronic reverse board.

It is possible to use the AC Commander to run the whistle in the tender, you'll just have to add a 5 volt relay or use a logic circuit to accomplish the same thing.  The ERR AC Commander puts out a 5V logic signal when the horn button on the CAB1/CAB2 is pressed, that can be used to drive the relay previously mentioned.

David,

Thanks for your reply.  I am running a ZW with 4 PHs controlled by Legacy.  I think the AC Commander will deafult to command, not conventional.  A work-around might be to control the locomotive as an Engine, and work the tender whistle with the TRack.

Al,

Thanks for your reply.  I dont know how to fix the e-unit, and then there would still be the issue about the smoke switch.  I am trying to hit two birds with one stone.

John,

Thanks for your reply.  The air whistle tender has a relay which doesnt always activate.  If I ran a wire from horn/whistle pin on the the AC Commander to the whistle relay, would that work?  The AC Commander manual doesnt cover that, only horn circuit cards.

I am hoping that an AC Commander will fix all three issues, the smoke unit on/off, the sticky e-unit, and the sticky whistle relay.

You can't use the existing whistle relay, it's not the right type.  You need a relay that responds to 5 volt logic signals.  I suspect if this were me, I'd probably do it with a bit of logic.

The AC Commander will control the smoke unit, but it has to be in TMCC mode to exercise control of it.  I always want a manual switch to totally disable smoke when I don't want it.

If the whistle relay doesn't work with the transformer, its not likely to work with AC Commander. If the relay does not close you may want to try a drop of oil at the pivot points on the other side from the contact. Does the whistle work if you manually close the contact?

It will never work with the AC Commander, the whistle relay is intended for a lot higher current.  Perhaps a diode and a darlington transistor pair would be the ticket for the AC Commander.

Where are you going to put the AC Commander board?  It's not going to fit inside the 675.  Is there room in the tender for the board and the whistle?

The whistle relay does work, just under certain conditions, like with the locomotive in neutral and with lots of power and near the power leads to work.

I understand that the AC Commander will not work with the whistle relay.

It looks like there is plenty of room in the cab of the 675 for the AC Commander, I guess.

The size of the ERR AC Commander is 2.75” L x 1.25” W x 1.15” H.  See how that fits in with your plans.

Those problems could be caused by dirty track, dirty wheels, and/or dirty contact rollers. Make certain EVERTHING is clean. Check the contact rollers under the tender trucks. There should be a wire from each going inside to feed power to the whistle relay and motor. If necessary, clean the whistle motor, too.

Maybe the E-unit plunger is dirty or magnetized. The small contact fingers may be dirty or bent away from their contact points on the E-unit drum. They should just touch the E-unit drum gently.

The 675 is one of Lionel's best runners. It may just need to be cleaned and lubricated in a few spots to run like a champ.

I think you may need a plan B.  These are photos of an AC Commander laying on the bottom and side of a 2025 which is pretty much the same loco as a 675.  The board isn't gong to fit INSIDE the cab without a significant portion hanging out the back.  The board in the photos is going into a tender that he 2025 will be pulling with a RS board, speaker and a tether.

Chuck,

Best advice yet.  Thanks for the pictures.

Looks like I have more cleaning to do.

I think it's going to interfere with the tender hanging out that far!

The only steamer I've found that will actually allow mounting the boards inside is the MTH SP Daylight.  I have one that is PS/1 that I'm going to convert to TMCC, it's like a cavern in there.

Alternate Route - Try Dallee at http://dallee.com/   Replace your E-Unit with an electronic E-Unit for $40.  Install a miniature slide switch for the smoke unit.  Dallee also has complete sound systems.