Replacing tether - wires are different

You can always ohm it out with a basic multimeter.

@Knight007 posted:

Hi all - I'm attempting to replace the tether on my PS1 1218 Class A steamer via splicing the wires together.  Problem is, when I striped the wires down, I find that the replacement tether has a blue wire and the stock tether has a yellow one.  The red, black, and white wires appear to be the same.  Am I correct that the yellow wire can be spliced to the blue one?  Are the wires / sockets in MTH tethers all in the same order, or do I have an incompatible replacement here? The replacement was acquired from gunrunnerjohn.  Just making sure before I blow up my boards.

It looks like that tether just has different color coding. I would use a meter to test which ones connect to the wheels and pickups. Then the last two are for the motor.

Unfortunately I don't have a working multimeter right now. Seems like this issue would have come up before, if MTH is using multiple color codes in their tethers.  Are there known instances where MTH made tethers with the plug wired in different orders?  Could this new tether have come from a PS2 engine that would be different from a PS1?

Which is more expensive -- replacing the electronics or buying a $10 multimeter from Harbor Freight? Just asking.

PS2 tethers have ten wires. You can get a decent multimeter at Harbor Freight for 10 bucks, less on sale. Must have tool when working on modern trains.

Modeltrainparts beat me to it.

Pete

Granted, but I'm not particularly knowledgeable about what ohm levels I'd be looking for or even how to use the meter on something like this.  This seemed like a pretty straight forward replacement job which is why I even attempted it in the first place.  In all likelihood the blue and yellow wires are the same, but I'm looking for some reassuring knowledge from someone that has encountered this situation in the past before I act on that assumption.

@Knight007 posted:

Granted, but I'm not particularly knowledgeable about what ohm levels I'd be looking for or even how to use the meter on something like this.  This seemed like a pretty straight forward replacement job which is why I even attempted it in the first place.  In all likelihood the blue and yellow wires are the same, but I'm looking for some reassuring knowledge from someone that has encountered this situation in the past before I act on that assumption.

I work on models all the time. I have replaced tons of tethers. When color coding does not match a use a multimeter. PS1 tethers are straight forward. Two wires for the motor. Then one for common ground and the other for hot power. If you don't want to use a meter, then your going to need to get creative and figure out what wire is what. I think buying learning how to use a multimeter is better than blowing up electronics.

IIRC that was a problem with both MTH and Lionel, that you couldn't rely on the color codes.

All you would be using the ohm meter for would be to verify which wire goes to which pin, socket, or wire before splicing in the new harness correct?

Turns out the replacement tether I have is "upside down" from the original.  Whereas the original plugs into the locomotive with the tether cord facing up, this new one faces down. Note the proximity of the pin holes relative to the "wavy" edge of the plug.  My guess is the order of the wires going to the pin sockets in the plug are reversed or otherwise in a different order from the original as well.  Does anyone have a diagram of the wires going into the plug so I can suss out the order?  In the picture, the original is on the left and the replacement is on the right.

Barring anyone having info on the wire order, does anyone have a tether similar to the left one that they would be willing to sell?

@Knight007 posted:

Turns out the replacement tether I have is "upside down" from the original.  Whereas the original plugs into the locomotive with the tether cord facing up, this new one faces down. Note the proximity of the pin holes relative to the "wavy" edge of the plug.  My guess is the order of the wires going to the pin sockets in the plug are reversed or otherwise in a different order from the original as well.  Does anyone have a diagram of the wires going into the plug so I can suss out the order?  In the picture, the original is on the left and the replacement is on the right.

Barring anyone having info on the wire order, does anyone have a tether similar to the left one that they would be willing to sell?

Since you've cut off the original, just check continuity on each wire/socket combination and that should show how to match up the connections on the new tether.

Thanks - that's a good idea

In the end the best course of action that succeeded is simply getting a tether that exactly matched the original.  The wires / plug in the tether with the blue wire where in a completely different order from the original.