Post war layout shorting issue

If it is a post war ZW then the breaker inside is a 15 amp breaker. The 10 amp breaker by Digi-key should go off first. "Check your wiring right now!!"

Also in the photo it looks like you have 2 ZW's phased together and that could be your problem. Check your layout after unhooking the ZW's from each other, also there should be no voltage between the two common posts of both ZW's. Take the plug out of the wall on one ZW and reverse it and try again.

Lee Fritz

Any chance the rollers are shot on the A & D handles of the post war ZW..   Try handles  B or C ,  they're probably not used as much. 

Yep! check out the phasing as mentioned above first.

Gregg posted:

Any chance the rollers are shot on the A & D handles of the post war ZW..   Try handles  B or C ,  they're probably not used as much. 

Yep! check out the phasing as mentioned above first.

Usually when a roller is shot you don't get any output. However in a very rare case it could short out.

Lee Fritz

I just post from my own experiences, We have 8 post war ZWs powering the layout  and have run across the issue of lights flickering and sometimes a   train stopping.  The fix.. move the ZW  handle slightly or  try  a different handle.

Is this the FIX?.... I have no idea but don't rule it out just yet.

Do you have an ammeter and do you know how to use it?  The best way to start trouble-shooting is with a voltmeter and an ammeter.  Take all equipment off the track, and start measuring current draw. Isolate sections of the layout if you see any readings that don't make sense.  Trace them down to smaller and smaller sections until you find the problem. 

Put a load on the ZW and measure the current. Then see if its breaker clears, and at what amperage reading.  It's possible that the internal breaker is defective.

If there is a 6 amp load on each of the 4 ZW outputs or 9 amps each on just two, the internal breaker will pop first.

Thanks all for your great replies. Jerry

I tried the other Transformer in the picture and everything works fine. Looks like it was in the circuit breaker in the ZW? Could you give me some suggestions on how to repair this faulty circuit breaker.

Thanks allJerry