Need Advice about cuttting plug off of Lionel 135Watt Brick to TIU

Don't cut the plug off.

Get the Lionel adapter set : http://www.lionel.com/products...c-cable-set-6-14194/

Or: Theres someone who sells the adapter already set up for the TIU: Lionel powerhouse TIU cable.

Anyone running proto1 should be using a z-4000. It has the programming buttons for p1 locos as well as the correct type of power output....

Jim Berger posted:

Anyone running proto1 should be using a z-4000. It has the programming buttons for p1 locos as well as the correct type of power output....

Well, that's a bit extreme.  You can run PS/1 on a wide variety of transformers, there's no real need to spend $350-400 to run your PS/1 locomotives.

Been running MTH PS-1 locos with Lionel 135 watt bricks through the TIU for over 20 years without a hiccup. I have a 135watt brick for each of the 4 TIU channels.

    Bill T.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Jim Berger posted:

Anyone running proto1 should be using a z-4000. It has the programming buttons for p1 locos as well as the correct type of power output....

Well, that's a bit extreme.  You can run PS/1 on a wide variety of transformers, there's no real need to spend $350-400 to run your PS/1 locomotives.

Have to agree - $350-400 isn't in the budget just because I bought a loco that came with a particular sound board.  I'm not that big a fan of the "canned" sound on a lot of current stuff anyway because it sounds, well, "canned."  Most of it's at way too high a volume as well.

Jim Berger posted:

Anyone running proto1 should be using a z-4000. It has the programming buttons for p1 locos as well as the correct type of power output....

i purchased a 4000 when they came out .it made programming ps-1 engines so much easier ,i just cannot imagine anyone with ps-1 not using it.plus you have the added wattage for future expansion. who has the same size layout and power requirements they had 5-10 years or more  ago? 

Any transformer that puts out a chopped sine wave flow is going to affect this particular locomotive like your Z-750 did.

Not all original Protosounds (there is no MTH official designation called PS1) behave the same when operating with chopped-wave outputs. Most of my first generation Protosounds work with my Lionel BW-80 at home and the Lionel ZW-L at the club. But my MTH Premier Pennsylvania K4 made in 1996 does not. It works fine with my MTH Z-4000.

The same is true of some other early MTH models.

Check the manual for the recommended transformers. You’ll see a lot of postwar Lionel transformers listed, including the big ZW. The MTH Z-4000 also outputs a pure sine wave flow. (The problem with using those older postwar transformers, however, is they generally don’t provide fast enough circuit breakers to protect your modern electronics in locomotives.)

As for those that won’t work, in addition to the MTH Z-750 and the Z-1000 and the Lionel ZW-L, you’ll want to avoid the Lionel CW-80 and really any other Lionel transformer made since 1990, plus the MRC Pure Power transformers.

By the way, I should’ve thought at this problem on the other thread you posted. It completely slipped my mind that your transformer could be the problem.

Jim R. posted:

...(The problem with using those older postwar transformers, however, is they generally don’t provide fast enough circuit breakers to protect your modern electronics in locomotives.)...

There are no modern transformers that provide that protection either. Breakers are for over-current, not over voltage or spikes, which the TIU protects from by way of TVS diodes. You can add them to any power supply option.

Jim R. posted:

As for those that won’t work, in addition to the MTH Z-750 and the Z-1000 and the Lionel ZW-L, you’ll want to avoid the Lionel CW-80 and really any other Lionel transformer made since 1990, plus the MRC Pure Power transformers...

The MRC Pure Power transformers are pure sine wave. Better than the Z-4000 even.

ADCX Rob posted:

Jim R. posted:

...(The problem with using those older postwar transformers, however, is they generally don’t provide fast enough circuit breakers to protect your modern electronics in locomotives.)...

There are no modern transformers that provide that protection either. Breakers are for over-current, not over voltage or spikes, which the TIU protects from by way of TVS diodes. You can add them to any power supply option.

Jim R. posted:

As for those that won’t work, in addition to the MTH Z-750 and the Z-1000 and the Lionel ZW-L, you’ll want to avoid the Lionel CW-80 and really any other Lionel transformer made since 1990, plus the MRC Pure Power transformers...

The MRC Pure Power transformers are pure sine wave. Better than the Z-4000 even.

Yes, obviously, Pure Power is pure sine wave, but some have reported MTH performance problems, mostly with horn sounds, on the MRC transformer. I had some issues with my MRC Pure Power dual control transformer with certain MTH models. It has nothing to do with its sine wave signature.

I do not recommend any postwar transformer for modern electronics without an additional circuit protection to cut those board-killing spikes. You should also consider such protection with modern transformers, to play it safe, but the slow breakers on the postwar transformers are an added problem.

KennyB,

The answer to your question is the triangle end is unused, the center wire is AC hot and the bottom pin or the square end is AC common. I agree with RickO, take a little time and get an adapter jack/wire and feed it directly to the TIU.

The TIU manual shows how to jumper from fixed to variable.

You can use the Z-750 brick to power the TIU with Accessory power. Using this method would permit the transformer power to go directly to a Variable channel.