EZ Command- troubleshooting.

[taku]

I have an EZ command unit and it was working great for several months.    ..then my mother-in-law came to town.   My son(almost 3) loves and respects the trains and knows enough to ask for help and wont run them without me.  My mother-in-law knows everything there is to know about everything and is a self proclaimed expert at everything.   One day while I was out of town and she was in town, she decided she was an expert on trains.  I had suspected that this might be a problem so I had actually unplugged the EZ command unit and set it on an adjacent shelf.  This was not a strong enough hint or deterrent.  I came home to find the unit plugged in and trains all over the tracks and derailed all over the place.  Things had obviously been dragged all around by hand and she flatly told me "I think somethings wrong with it, I couldn't figure it out."   
Now, I have no idea what happened, but the unit has no signs of life when I plug it in.  I do recall in the instructions that it explicitly said to connect to the track before connecting power.  Is it possible that if that was not done that she may have let the majic blue smoke out and the unit is cooked for good?   I took the cover off hoping to find a fuse or obvious fried connection and was unable to see anything that looked obvious.   After repeated pleas of "Daddy fix??" I had to tell my son that I couldn't fix it now.....  The look on his face was heartbreaking. (so far he thinks daddy can fix everything)   
Any suggestions or do I have to buy a new unit?

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Taku,

Do you own and know how to use a Volt-meter?  Every model train owner should have one. 

You can purchase a digital multi-meter at a discount tool seller such as Harbor Freight for very little money. 

(I've seen one on sale or with coupon for as little as $2)

We'll walk you through the steps once you have one. 

You could take it to a hobby shop, or to someone else with model train experience.  Is there a model train club nearby? 

Hope this helps. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

[Jim Banner]

I fully agree with Joe that every model railroader should own and learn to use a multimeter.  But in a pinch, a 16 volt grain of wheat bulb from the hobby shop will at least tell you whether you have power or not.  First strip a bit of insulation off the end of each bulb wire (if not already stripped.)  Then touch one bare end to one rail and the other bare end to the other rail.  If the bulb lights, you have power.

If no light in the above test, carefully touch one bare end to the center of the plug on the cord from the power pack (the thing that plugs into the wall.)  Touch the other bare end to the outside metal shaft of the same plug.  Be very careful not to short out the plug by letting the bare ends touch one another or touch both the center and the outside of the plug.  Still no light?  The problem is in the power pack.  But if it lights now and did not light in the first test, the problem is in your E-Z Command.

I am assuming that you have the power pack plugged into a live outlet for these tests.  If you have any doubt at all about the outlet, test is by plugging in a table lamp and see if that works.

Jim 

[the Bach-man]

Dear Taku,
If the unit was plugged into the wall first, and the track connection second, it may have shorted out.
Hope not...
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[taku]

Bach man,
I'm afraid it may have been.   Why is it so easy to fry it?   No Fuse?  If that's the case, is there a way to fix it?  When you say its proabably shorted out, is the problem in the transformer or the EZ command unit itself?

Regarding the volt meter or the grain of wheat bulb.....   I did not have a voltmeter handy at the moment bt was pretty sure it was fried.   None of the lights on the unit lit at all and I had an old bumper/track end that has a grain of wheat bulb in it and i get nothing there either.

I'm out of town right now, but when I get home, I'll check it more closely.

[Santa Fe buff]

Is it under warranty? You should contact the Service Department for help if you still can't figure it out.

Okay, here's a quick checklist of things that could have, but likely didn't happen:

- Are the wires okay?
- Is the track okay?
- When you shack the E-Z Command, does it sound like something small and loose is bouncing around everywhere?
- Are the plugs in the E-Z Command and power-pack plugging in properly and securely?
- Was the pack hot when you removed it from the outlet?


Try to test those parts, let me know after that.

Joshua

[ripvanwnkl]

Taku
As the Bach Man says, it's easy to short out (and permanently kill) the EZ Command if you plug the power cord into the wall  first before the track connector, especially if the track connector touches the I/O port first.  It's easy to do so please don't be too hard on your mother-in-law.  Please don't ask me how I know this.  I taped over the I/O port on the replacement unit to prevent it from happening again.  And I now ALWAYS make all connections to the unit before plugging into wall outlet.

If the EZ Command is still under warranty, mail to Bachmann for replacement.

My grandson and I love the EZ Command.  It (and EZ track) got us both into model railroading and DCC several years ago.   Although we've moved up to MRC Prodigy Advance, we still use the EZ Command to check out  DCC/sound locos and to run small "side" operations.  I also bought an extra for him to take to Illinois University where he's a member of his Engineering school railroad club and used his EZ Command to run trains in a Rube Goldberg competition.   

Good luck and Happy Railroading to you and your son!