I have a 1947 302 AC and it did not run and I suspect it was the e-unit so I tried to rewire it but almost destroyed a lionel controller doing so because I more commonly focus on DC powered locomotives. My question is how do I wire this to run on standard AC power without an e-unit but still have all the features like the smoke unit and headlight constantly on all the time. I can post pictures of it if necessary. Also, is the coil on top of the motor important?
First, no 302AC’s were made in 1947, they were made in 1948 and in 1950 through 1952. They have a 4 wire connection from the tender to the engine, a reverse unit in the tender and smoke unit in the boiler. By the coil on top of the motor I assume you mean the field. Yes it is important, no universal motor will work without one.
If you want to run the engine without the reverse unit that can be done, but the engine will only run in one direction. To do that only two wires are needed from the tender to the engine, one from each pickup truck. For the motor, connect one field wire to one of the tender wires, connect one brush wire to the other tender wire. Connect the other field and brush wires together. If the engine runs in reverse, then swap the two field wires. Connect the light and the smoke unit in parallel to the wires from the tender. That’s it.
All Gilbert S gauge engines have universal motors with the exception of some 0-8-0’s and 4-8-4’s that were made with permanent magnet field DC motors. The universal motors work on DC or AC track power equally well, but there are some caveats. First, these Gilbert motors draw a lot of current so a minimum of 75VA DC power pack is required, 100VA would be better. Gilbert made a DC power pack for their DC engines, it was rated at 150VA. Second, using accessories that connect to the track requires a more complicated wiring arrangement because a lot of these accessories will not work with DC.
Still working on the wiring, but if none were made in 1947 then which one has the cast metal shell and the sheet metal tender?
If it is a 4 piece shell with wire handrails it is a 1948. If it is a one piece shell w/o wire handrails it is likely a 1950. There is a date stamp on the underside of the boiler shell. Sometimes it can be seen with a good light, most times it requires dropping out the chassis to see it.
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Seems that it is a 1950 model.