# Rewiring Lionel AC motors



## forgedcu (Oct 22, 2013)

I have a number of Lionel locomotives with circuit board issues. One in particular is (6-18857) Union Pacific Conventional GP7 #2397. I would like to directly wire the motor ( 6308332150	AC MOTOR / PULLMOR / F-3 / W/CAPACITORS) without the LCRU control assembly. We only run our trains in a single direction at a single speed, and run each of the three tracks for approximately 2 hours per day (20 minutes on, 40 minutes off). Working for a non-profit museum limits my budget for new engines, so I would appreciate any help offered.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You can wire the field wire to one of the brush contacts, the other brush contact to the center roller. The remaining field connection should be on frame ground (and outside wheels). This will allow it to go in one direction. If it's going in the wrong direction, reverse the brush connections.


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## forgedcu (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks for the super fast response, gunrunnerjohn! At the risk of sounding dumb, could you possibly answer another question? I attempted to connect the motor as described to my ZW transformer, but the red light lit up indicating a short. Am I doing something wrong? I attached an image of the motor in question. Do I leave the capacitors in place?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

This is how we should have it wired.


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## forgedcu (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks! Got it now. That is actually how I did it the first time. I guess the problem was with my first ZW showing a short, since it worked fine when I tried a different ZW to test. 
The National Toy Hall of Fame thanks you!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice to have a couple of spare ZW's to test with.


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## servoguy (Jul 10, 2010)

What is the purpose of the capacitors?


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

The capacitors filter out the EMI generated by the motor. The're for the benefit of the control system and not required for direct ac operation.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yep, the caps won't hurt anything, so I'd leave them.


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