Moonman posted:When you cut the cord, which one is hot?
Some were produced out of phase, Lionel made a plug adapter to "re-phase" them without cutting.
I am really enjoying looking at different people's wiring/panels on this thread!
RAK posted:I am really enjoying looking at different people's wiring/panels on this thread!
Amateurs compared to these guys!
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BobbyD posted:Moonman posted:When you cut the cord, which one is hot?
Some were produced out of phase, Lionel made a plug adapter to "re-phase" them without cutting.
Not the anomalies, any modern cord - the answer is -
Polarized solid black, white or brown insulation -> Ribbed, grooved or Polarized solid black, white or brown insulation -> Ribbed, grooved or striped side is neutral, smooth side is hot.
Clear insulation lamp cord, silver conductor is neutral, copper conductor is hot.
It is the center post of the 3 positions of the plug - top diamond - empty - center -hot - bottom on square end - neutral
If one wants to cut the plugs one has to know how to identify the wires to maintain phasing.
I have two Lionel 180W bricks powering both of the variable channels of my TIU. The MTH Z500 is powering the TIU Aux input.
When I did this, I cut the connectors off of the 180W bricks not knowing about the adapter. If I had known, I wouldn't have cut the connectors off (I did save them though). I then connected MTH 40-1015 (cut in half) to the cut-off end using butt connectors. 
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BobbyD posted:RAK posted:I am really enjoying looking at different people's wiring/panels on this thread!
Just finished wiring mine. 
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struggling to get back to o gauge after 8 years away with health problems and now a new trainboard. Guys, have a mth z4000, tiu, aiu, wiu- all sat on the shelf 8 years. How should I connect to run dcs, although I have many proto 1 engines (20 premier steam, 20ish premier diesels, all less than 10 hrs run time each). Only 3 proto2 engines. Believe z4000 2 inner fixed terminals are 10 & 14 volt. Have the left inner terminal(2nd from left) connected to the fixed 1 on tiu, the left variable handle on z4000 goes to var 1 on tiu then to distribution point then to atlas track. there are no outputs connected to the 2 fixed out terminals on the tiu. also, 6 years ago, bought a new lionel zw with legacy control units & 1 lionel engine, but all sit in box unopened. Is the lionel equipment the best way to run my many mth proto1 engines or somehow set up the z4000/tiu to run proto1 in conventional mode. I use atlas track, a 27 ft by 17 foot new trainboard. help the new trainboard is here
bucca posted:struggling to get back to o gauge after 8 years away with health problems and now a new trainboard.
Bucca, start a new thread for this. You'll get a lot more help that way.
This may be a mute point by now with all the stuff I've seen so far, and by the way I wish I had known about the adapter cord. I did the same thing, bought a brick, then saw the special plug end and thought, "what the?" Called the store I bought it from and the guy told me, "look for the wire with the tiny white writing on it, that's the red wire." Found the tiny white writing, and it is tiny, cut the plug off, took Banana connectors, saw that above some place, stripped the wire, attached the bananas, ate and orange, and then plugged it into the TIU Fixed in port. I like the on/off switch. I hate leaving my layout on all the time.
The DCS Companion Guide seems to indicate that for a larger layout it would be better to distribute the TIUs throughout the layout to keep the TIU to track runs shorter and uniform. My thought is that this would require the 180 brick to TIU to be longer, 3 feet in my case to accomplish this. Does this make sense to make such as cable? I have also been told that a 14 gauge cable would not fit in the compatible molex male connector. Has anyone used a 14 or 12 gauge wire?
Thanks for your help,
Thanks, Does anyone have the correct part number for the banana plugs?
Thx.
I have a 14ga speaker cable running to the Molex Connector, so I think that isn't a major issue. Perhaps those telling you this stuff should read the specifications. 
Compatible 3-pin Connector: Molex 0003092032, Mating pins: Molex 0002092103, pins are for #14 to #22 wire.
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Thx. So the crimp is the middle portion of the pin and the area by the head holds the pin in the white housing? Do I also crimp the openings furthest away from the head? Center pin is hot and square end is common?
The part number for the Lionel PowerHouse Power Supply to MTH TIU Adapter, which converts the Molex plug to banana jacks, is PH-TIU. It works with 135 and 180 watt bricks and is available from C.T. McCormick Hardware for $14.95 plus shipping.
Stackm746 posted:Thx. So the crimp is the middle portion of the pin and the area by the head holds the pin in the white housing? Do I also crimp the openings furthest away from the head? Center pin is hot and square end is common?
The crimps are the two left hand pairs of tabs in John's image. The "arrow" wings are what hold it in the connector.
The two crimps are both required. Closest to the pin head is the bare wire, the insulation and wire is crimped on the opposite end to help reinforce the connection.
