Track Problem

It is the loco unless maybe that is your biggest loco (though you never say what kinda supply you use....and breakers blow from current draw(amp)... voltage is almost irrelevant... unless maybe it bounces.

First, check that wheels & rollers a clean (clean them, don't trust eyes)

Inspect roller wires and chassis grounds/wipers. Then check that plugs are seated. Inspect wires and plugs, look/feel for heat off boards and especially the motor.  Partially broken wires can restrict power and cause heat there; look close.

After you do that, then the real questions from others will mean more

A bcr is to keep the loco alive for a split second in case of bad track connections (and maybe memory function too)  It may be bad, but I kinda doubt it.    It seems like a bcr swap would be too easy.... try something really hard first   .....

PS-2 5V do draw more current then 3V or PS-3.  So transformer may matter if a real small one.  Is it really time based at the 2 minute point, or can it be random like a short at the truck pickup wires in a curve or over a switch?

When breaker trips what does the engine do?  Immediately go dark and quiet, or does it play shutdown sounds like a lose of power?  If dark and quiet sounds like the board is doing something bad and shorting.  Normally a 5V board might do that.  I would not expect that in a 3V unless the motor drive components are having problems.  Symptoms matter.  G

It is a 2V PS 2 and the entire layout goes dark but the engine does go through the shutdown sequence. I checked alll of the wiring inside and out and there doesn't seem to be any loose wires. I am using a Z1000 to my TIU. I have a ZW 275 too, is that safe to hook up to the TIU?  I tried hooking it up to a DCS explorer and I almost burned it up so I was afraid to hook it up to my TIU. I am going to install a battery and see if that may be the problem.

 When you say the entire layout goes dark. Other than the engine. What else is the Z1000 powering ?  Can you only run just the track portion itself and the engine in question.  This will rule out the power supply.

 You can use and old ZW with a proper fast blue fuse. I used to get the 10 amp ones from Radio Shack. Years ago I switched to PSX breakers.

It just powers the track. I have four drops and they all go dark and I have to reset the breaker on the power brick. The PS 3 loco runs fine without any problem so this really has me stumped. There isn't anything that gets hot inside or smells like it is burning. Although I forgot to mention that I cannot reset the breaker on the brick unless I move the locomotive to a different section of track and it only seems to happen when it is approach switches or crossing over them on curves.

Would this work with my ZW  and if so what Amp fuse would I use?

  What kind of track are you using ?

  Has this engine ever run before on the layout with no issues ?

  Look at the rollers of both engines. Do they look the same as in contour ?  It appears that engine has a problem with your track turnouts if the problem only occurs there. Can you get yourself low enough and watch the engine go through this area and see if you can see a small arc. Not familiar with this Loco.. The roller maybe touching something and bridging it to the outside rail. I know some engines have a taper on them to get them away from such things.

The locomotives rollers are perfectly alighed and this is the first time i have run this engine on this layout. It is the only locomotive I have that does this. I have been able to view it track level rolling through the turnout and there isn't any arcing or electrical anomalties.

 I’m guessing it’s a problem related to both this particular engine and the switches on the layout. Are all the switches the same configuration such as 042 ?  Does  the problem occur going any direction through the switch both straight and curved.  Is there something in the switch track that could cause roller  to ride up and ground against the chassis.
 The fact that you need to remove the engine from the switch track to reset the breaker is the common of the problem. Looks like a roller is could be touching an outside rail or a wheel is contacting the center rail. Run it as slow as possible. Try tipping the engine up when it trips the breaker. Observe where the roller is and what it’s touching as well as the wheels. If something looks suspect. Try insulating the area temporally with electrical tape to see if it solves it.

I ran the locomotive for over 10 minutes today without doing anything. I am now totally stumped. I did however keep it under 70 MPH. The breaker was blowing right before the sqitxh or right after.

As rollers go into a curve, the centering of the roller changes unless it is under an end axle. If it lies inside the fore/aft wheelbase, it tracks to the inside some. If it extends beyond the WB, it has an overhang; tracking wide. There can be bumping of rails if it tracks is bad or roller isn't level.  (partial echo)

I'd want to test the amp draw of the motor, jumped. I've not had a motor keep drawing harder as the rpm mounted unless it was small for the job. They normally level off or even drop current at speed. 

If new, this would worry me enough to return it or send it for repair.

You aren't pulling a lit passenger train or running a small light show on the supply too are you?

Yes, you can use automobile fuses, new or old, any config.; even the new tiny ones.  You want to fuse at about 8,9, or 10a. It depends on the draw you expect. Lowest without blowing is best.  If 8 works, that is best. If it needs 10, that's best.  You may even shoot for 11 or 12a as that much might pass a thermal breaker for a second or two.  (amps are amps for fuses/breakers for the most part/practical uses)

  If 8a is very close and only burns when throttles move fast or start up, you may want to move to a 7.5-8a slo-blow rather than 9-10a.  Fusing is a balancing act that responds well to fine tuning.

 Add a tvs to help protect boards (cheap) from voltage spikes (from derails, or even static cling and carpet shocks; which can wipe out a chip just as easy )  Fuses protect wires, board traces, etc., not any board components functions

Thank you very much and i am currently  using a TVS. So it is okay if I power the TIU with the ZW 275? Can I max the ZW out at 20 volts and if I am correct I can put the fuse inline from the ZW to the TIU?