Bachmann Power Booster

[Sundance71]

I have been running three to four consists on my layout for months. I have a Bachmann EZ Command 5 Amp Power Booster supplementing an EZ Command Control Center. All of a sudden I have no power to my track and the red OVERLOAD light is on (on the Power Booster). I removed all but one locomotive ... same red light and no power. I took all of the engines off and very carefully inspected the track to see if something was causing a short. The red light is still on.
Does anyone have an idea how to fix this problem?

 

[PMW]

I have had similar frustrations. You said you inspected the track but did you spend some time looking under the layout? I once found a feeder wire I dropped but never hooked up to the bus touching a stationary decoder which was powered by the bus which caused a hard to find short. Perhaps it's something like that.

 

[PowrCab]

Hi.
This is my very first post in MRF !

Was thinking, if you used spikes to hold track down, might a loose one be caught between a point and a running or stock rail shorting out at a switch(TO) ? Can you vacuum track ? Or would that pull up ballast you might have ?
Another idea: Make a small track off layout..Hook up to that and see what happens..If still bad then you know it's control components, not layout...
Good luck

 

[Sundance71]

Thank you for the suggestions.

This morning, I started out by inspecting the track again. I had taken off all of the engines, but left the cars. Turns out, one of the cars was slightly ajar. I couldn't see that it was ajar, but when I tried to move a string of cars, one of them slid rather than rolled.

I don't quite understand why a non-powered car would cause a short. But, regardless, I'm back in operation.

 

[PowrCab]

Yabba dabba dooo !!!

 

[flyboy2610]

If the car has metal wheels, it may have been causing a short circuit by bridging two rails of opposite polarity on a turnout.

 

[Sundance71]

Excellent point. I have a lot of turnouts!