Who makes this connector used on LIONEL passenger cars?

Had to edit the thread's title since the connector is not a JST product.

Anyone recognize the manufacturer.  I'd like to avoid Lionel's $2.50/ea. price.

Thanks.

Carl, FWIW, I use these 2 pin 1.25mm jst style connectors for all my LED passenger car upgrades.  The wire is probably 28awg.  Don’t need much more than that for the led conversions.  If you want something bigger you could go up to 2.0mm, 2 pin connectors.  Use your search engine to find the ones you prefer.  

Ted, thanks for the product i.d. and reference.  I'll go with what you've shown for the LED lighting application.

GRJ found the ones LIONEL uses and they're a discontinued Molex product that Mouser.com has on hand.

Molex 51005 and Molex 51006 connectors.  They're an EOL product at Molex, so I suspect Lionel will stop using them at some point.

I use the JST EH and PH connectors most of the time for my wiring chores.

CARL; what TEDW said. Those small 1.25 JST PH connectors work great for lighting, up to about 500 ma. I have used probably about 60-70 pairs by now.

Here is a current listing and pricing on ebay from my watch list:

Note this price is in Canadian dollars, so with shipping = about $2.07US. About a dime a pair; pretty hard to beat! 

Rod

Ted and Rod, thanks for the recommendation on the JST's.  Just placed my order.  Have an immediate need for 15 pair, so I'll have a few extra until the next order.

As it turns out, when I was all over eBay, Amazon, and the internet searching for what I thought (incorrectly, of course) were JST connections that LIONEL used, I found these same JST connectors and put them in my eBay shopping cart.

Thanks, again.

FWIW, the JST-PH connector series are 2mm pin spacing, not 1.25mm.  Just as well, the 1.25mm spacing connectors are really difficult to work with if you ever have to re-pin a connector.  JST doesn't make a 1.25mm connector that looks anything like those pictured, all of the JST 1.25mm connectors are latch lock style, that's the JST-GH or JST-GVH series.

GRJ, so the eBay listing shows connectors that are NOT JST's?

Whatever they are, I'll put my digital caliper to them when they arrive in mid'February and report.

Pingman posted:

GRJ, so the eBay listing shows connectors that are NOT JST's?

Whatever they are, I'll put my digital caliper to them when they arrive in mid'February and report.

Carl I think you will find when they arrive that they are indeed 1.25 mm pin pitch, but they may be incorrectly shown as PH style in the listing, who knows? As grj says they would be a bear to re-pin, I don't think I would even try. I am not sure what is meant by latch-lock. They simply push together with a small click, and pull apart the same way.

There seems to be lots of confusion in JST models, or maybe it's just me. For instance there are two types of 2.54mm pitch connectors, XH and EH. At a quick glance they look identical, but I don't think one will work with the other. No idea why they make the two different styles. I have a bunch of XH on hand, which seem to work well.

Rod

Correct, I use both the EH and XH, and they are indeed not compatible.

I think I can explain why they both exist.  JST makes "clone" connectors for other connector makers styles.  I believe the Lionel 2.54mm connectors were originally Ledco connectors.

So just curious, which of the JST connectors is compatible with the Lionel Ledco type? 

Rod

The JST-EH is the same as the Lionel Ledco 2.54mm connector.  The JST-PH is the same as the widely used 2mm connector on Lionel stuff, don't know who originally made that one.  And, of course, the JST-ZH is compatible with the 1.5mm connectors used on a lot of Legacy stuff.  Add in the Molex PicoBlade 1.25mm, and you have most of the connectors covered.  The Molex Micro-Fit 3.0mm connectors are the black latching connectors used for power to motherboards and to motor driver boards.

OK thanks for that info John!  Are the JST-XH 2.5mm compatible with any train manufacturer's stuff?

Rod

Yep, the XH connectors are use on Williams stuff.  I also use them for my lighting kits.

FYI, its Leoco, not ledco.

http://www.leoco.com.tw/wire-to-board-connectors/

Pete

OK, but since there's no source for them retail, I didn't retain the exact spelling.

Carl, if you are still with us on this, I was glancing through the All Electronics current catalog (yes, a real live PAPER catalog!) and came across what looks like the original connectors you referenced. (allelectronics.com)

Its called a LOSI connector set, Micro T/B/DT, cat # CON-860. $1.00 a pair. 

Check it out, Rod 

Actually, I can't imagine that's the real brand name since they're a Molex connector.

The Molex 51005 are the female parts, and the Molex 51006 are the male parts.  Mouser still has them in stock, I ordered some for my parts box, just in case.

Pins are 50013-8000 for the female pins and 50012-8100 for the male pins.

Rod, I am still with you and appreciate the depth of the discussion and information  supplied.

GRJ and others, what wire would you use with the Molex connectors?  I checked on LIONEL's website in the passenger car parts lists that use the pictured Molex connector, and LIONEL lists 24 awg super flex product by the foot.

For what I need, that old bugaboo, S&H, kills the economics for parts that aren't critical for my application.  In this case, I'd like to assemble 10 female Molex connectors to mate with the LIONEL connectors in some new passenger car shells.  But Mouser charges $7.95 to ship.

And where I am not trying to mate to a LIONEL connector, the JST's will work just fine w/o having to assemble anything.

Thanks, again, for all of the help--it's been an education.

I'd stick with the JST connectors, they're everywhere and cheap.

GRJ, I'll just wait 10 months and buy the 7 I need at the next LIONEL 50% off sale.

Rod Stewart posted:

Carl, if you are still with us on this, I was glancing through the All Electronics current catalog (yes, a real live PAPER catalog!) and came across what looks like the original connectors you referenced. (allelectronics.com)

Its called a LOSI connector set, Micro T/B/DT, cat # CON-860. $1.00 a pair. 

Check it out, Rod 

Rod, an internet search using your information lead to listings on eBay, allectronics.com, and another.  They are conveniently selling them as wired pairs with prices varying. 

"Losi" is, apparently, repackaging the Molex connectors and selling them under their own name as part of their line of RC parts.

Thanks for running this down, Rod.  

Pingman posted:

...  But Mouser charges $7.95 to ship.

Mouser has an economy shipping method that is, I think, 3.95. You have to click on the "other shipping methods" at check-out to see it. It's a bit longer wait for delivery; about a week and a half on my most recent purchase.

For $3.95 you can get 10 pairs of pre wired connectors shipped to your door.

You can buy them ready to use for far less than making them yourself.

Pete

Leo, thanks for the tip on the alternate shipping charge--much more likely to order with that available.

Pete, I've already placed an order for the JST's and the long delivery time isn't a problem given the pennies per pair cost and my project timeline.  My primary interest in the MOLEX connectors was to secure the corresponding male connectors to mate with the OEM LIONEL female connectors in a group of passenger car shells w/ lights I recently purchased.  Given my druthers, I'd prefer to maintain the OEM connections where possible.

Carl, I was refering to the "molex" connectors, not the JSTs. 

These are the ones found in the 21" passenger cars.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Pc...047675.c100005.m1851

Pete

Pete, my apologies; I misread your earlier post.

I checked the eBay product you linked, and it appears to be different from the one I purchased from LIONEL for use with the 15" UP passenger cars in 6-31712.  This is a screenshot of the parts list for the "Chatham" coach included in that set listing the 2-pin connector.

The connectors look very similar and perhaps the 21" cars use a different connector.  I have never had much luck chasing 21" passenger car parts on the website, not enough photos and too many "unavailable."  I'll go back and check the 21" parts lists for the item and compare part nos.

Again, Pete, apologies for my misread.