It doesn't matter, those are non-polarized capacitors. The leads are made that way because they use the same machinery as they use for polarized caps. Just connect one from each brush to frame as you indicate.
Thanks GRJ! I was stalled until I got your reply as I was afraid if they were polarized I'd short out the AC Commander not knowing which leg was which.
In the end, the more I looked at the directions and the motor itself, I determined that my proposed connections from the center post of the motor ("field/common") to the new lugs (the green arrows in my post immediately above) were unnecessary. The screws I connected the new lugs to (one already had a wire holder on it that's visible on the right one in the photo I posted immediately above) are already grounded through the motor frame which is grounded through the armature and connected gear through to the wheels and the outside rails. The AC Commander instructions stated getting the AC Commander's "common" through direct frame connection "wasn't recommended." So I took the AC Commander common connection to the right side lug I added (the one where there was already a wire holder) where I connected the one side cap's common leg.
I'm not quite done yet and I only had enough time last night to try it out in conventional and verify it would go forwards and backwards and that the prime mover sounds were playing. I'll do a more detailed write up of what I did after I completely finished for anyone coming across this post in the future that wants detailed comments on how to do it for the first time.
But I went from this
To this:
In an afternoon.
The gap between the engine and heat sink of the AC Commander board (the big aluminum plates about the middle of the engine) isn't really unused space. As visible in the photo below, this is where the housing for the speaker goes. The plastic housing for the speaker takes up a lot of space but I felt it was worth it as I expect it provides better resonance for the sound. I positioned it directly below one of the smoke stacks to give the sound a good place to escape from. In a total piece of good fortune, the speaker housing was just the right diameter to wedge into the cab shell and stay there with nothing but friction. You can also see below where I soldered an antenna wire onto the outside hand rail that runs the length of the locomotive. I plan to add a second one to the other side before I finish, but the kit only included a single antenna wire.
The one big piece left concerns the coupler connections. In my one criticism of this kit, it seems to assume you're converting a PW celebration version of a locomotive with an AC motor where the coil couplers have two wire plastic connectors. But this 65 year old "original PW" engine has single wire couplers without connectors. I suppose I could try to solder onto the positive pin on the board connector but I'm not going to try that "kludge". I just need to find a source for the current style coil coupler connector with wires already attached and solder a connection to the existing wires.
Attachments
Images (3)
The coupler connector is the standard JST EH family 2.54mm connectors used on a wide variety of TMCC stuff. I finally "bit the bullet" and bought a stock of them with the pins and a crimp tool so I could whack this stuff out custom. You will only need one wire to the coil coupler as the other one is already frame grounded, right? I forget without checking, but one side of the coupler connection on the AC Commander will be frame ground, run the wire from the other one to the coil coupler.
gunrunnerjohn posted:The coupler connector is the standard JST EH family 2.54mm connectors used on a wide variety of TMCC stuff. I finally "bit the bullet" and bought a stock of them with the pins and a crimp tool so I could whack this stuff out custom. You will only need one wire to the coil coupler as the other one is already frame grounded, right? I forget without checking, but one side of the coupler connection on the AC Commander will be frame ground, run the wire from the other one to the coil coupler.
If you zoom in the photo I posted above after I placed the electronics into the engine you can see the front coupler connector on the far right of the AC Commander board. As you're looking at it in this photo the left pin is the power. Before I put the board in I looked at the tracing on the back and the common pin [pins #3 and #6 on the connector between to the coupler connectors as shown on page 5 of the AC Commander manual at http://www.electricrr.com/Manuals/Ac-V5-Inst.pdf ] seemed to be on the same board trace as the right side pin. You can see where I put a black dot under it in the photo above so I could remember the common side once it was put together. In that photo above you can also see where I've put a little piece of black heat shrink tubing over that common pin (didn't apply heat though) so I could temporarily wrap the wire from the coil coupler onto the left pin without shorting. Tonight I'll attach my legacy base to my test track and try the board out under command control, including the couplers.
GRJ - If you can make me two connectors with a green wire attached I'd be happy to pay you for them.
Black dot on the photo? What photo?
I have lots of 2-wire connectors in my parts box, email me an address and we'll get you set up.
gunrunnerjohn posted:Black dot on the photo? What photo?
I have lots of 2-wire connectors in my parts box, email me an address and we'll get you set up.
GRJ - I've reposted the photo I was referring to. It is immediately below. I've also added an arrow pointing to the coil coupler connector and if you zoom in you may be able to see the black dot I made on the right side pin to remind myself it was common based on tracing the back of the board before I installed it. To test it last night I put a piece of shrink tubing (did NOT heat it) over the right pin which is where the arrow in the photo below is pointing. This way I could loop the single cable from the coil coupler to the left side pin and ensure the coupler worked via my Cab2 without risking shorting against the common pin on the right side. The connector visible in the photo is for the front coupler. The rear coupler connector is on the other side of the board.
I sent you a private message with an address to send the connectors to. Thanks GRJ!
Attachments
Images (1)
As noted in the immediately preceding post where I was responding to GRJ, I got the coil couplers and the rest of the unit tested under command control with my Cab2 last night.
My section of test trace had two curves with a straight in between. I could get the engine to move on the curves but not on the center straight section. After much track and roller pick up cleaning to no avail, it turned out my yellow motor brush wire wasn't solidly soldered onto that lug. When the engine straightened it lost contact but as soon as the engine turned with the track made contact again. I also discovered the two motor brush wires were backward. Both issues were easily corrected.
I thought I'd been very clever with soldering the antenna wire to the end of the metal railing inside the shell's cab section. I cleaned the metal and tinned it on the first shot. The wire attached quickly and seemed strong. I'd not had to apply a lot of heat. But in rectifying the backward wiring and broken solder joint I accidentally tugged the antenna cable and broke the solder joint. Getting it back on wasn't as quick and after 2 tries I could tell the metal railing was getting too hot and melting the hole it went through on the cab body slightly. So I abandoned what I thought was a very clever idea rather than really damage the cab shell. I coiled the antenna on the floor of the locomotive between the engine and the AC Commander. It seemed to work fine that way. I may try taking it back to the metal railing but rather than solder it just wrap the wire around it, coat it with liquid electrical tape and then slide a small bit of heat shrink tubing on it and apply some quick heat. My LionMaster Challenger has the antenna wire connected to the metal hand rail from the factory and that sure did seem a very professional antenna solution.
I'm not sure if the Railsounds from ERR is Railsounds 5 or not. I put it in my Cab2 as Railsounds 5 until I learn it's not. Either way, diesel sounds great compared to no sounds at all out of this locomotive in it's first 65 years of life. It's a major improvement. Horn, bell and coupler sounds. Crew/tower talk as well! Plus the separately fireable couplers and directional lighting. I do think I'm going to replace the original bulbs with LEDs sooner rather than later. Particularly in the front there is very little ventilation now and all of the electronics are up there to boot.
The setting of RS4 or RS5 doesn't matter, I always just leave it at it's default of RS5. The new ERR boards are RS5 based, so it's even correct. 
The best place for the antenna in a plastic shell is around the top, not near the chassis.
