Help! ARC Pro powerbase showing overload, no idea why

[JeremyG]

I purchased the ARC Pro Platinum GT Set (C1374) for Christmas for my kids, and it was mostly working fine. Every now and then there would be a red light on the powerbase, and the app would show a power overload but it kept working.

I reconfigured the track and now nothing works at all. I've tried everything in terms of the usual troubleshooting, including making a simple small oval circuit and even using the powerbase on its own but to no avail. 

There are two dip switches underneath the powerbase, labelled 0 and 1. I've moved them independently and together to ON or OFF but that also hasn't helped.

I have also looked carefully through the track itself to find debris but there isn't any - I even took a hoover to it just in case.

The track is on carpet, which I thought might be a problem so I got a piece of plywood and placed the small oval on that but the same result happened.

The powerbase recognises the 4 controllers correctly, but the red light keeps flashing and it won't control ANY of the cars I have.

Please help, my kids are pretty much ready to kill me......

[Dr_C]

Sorry to ask some really basic questions... but is it definitely flashing red as opposed to flashing orange?

Assuming red, next question... with the power base on its own, with no track connected, and no cars on the track piece which forms part of the power base... what happens when you plug in the 15V supply? Does it immediately start flashing red... or does it flash orange first and then start to flash red?

[woodcote]

Hi Jeremy - hopefully your kids have spared you so you can read this...

 

Just a couple of questions:

 

1) When does the red light come on? Is it straight away or is it okay before you put cars on the track?

 

2) Is there anything you can do to make the red light go away - even just using the powerbase on its own with no other track pieces attached to it, no controllers switched on and no cars on track? Just powerbase and one powersupply (try both, one at a time).

 

I have to say that I'm a bit concerned that it seems like you've always had red light & overload warning in the app. That might suggest a longer-term issue that has rumbled on and now become terminal. A call or email to Scalextric Customer Services in the morning might not be a bad idea.

[JeremyG]

1. It starts green when the power is put in, and within 7-10 seconds turns red - there are no cars on the track.

2. Even the powerbase on its own with nothing attached still causes the same issue. I've also tried just one PSU, in either of the 2 recepticles, to no avail.

When I say I've "always" had a red light, that isn't true. It's been like that for perhaps a week or so. I hadn't really noticed it before because we rarely use the app and so don't look at the powerbase much.

Is there a direct number for customer services that I can call? It looks like a replacement powerbase costs about £140 which I really don't want to spend unless I have to! Am I right in saying that C8435 is the correct part for this set? It's called an "upgrade kit" but I think it's exactly what is part of the Platinum GT set.

[woodcote]

The Customer Services (and Technical) contact details are here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/contact

 

I don't think I've never seen a flashing red light - only a permanent red with a short/overload - so I know what Dr_C is getting at. Flashing orange is normal for when power is on, but there no connection with the app. Does it go through orange to red? Or could it be orange? That would mean the overload is a red herring, but something else fundamental is not working.

 

I'd suggest as one last thing - without using the app and carefully following the ARC Pro manual, rebind the controllers to the powerbase and then re-connect the cars to the powerbase. As everything comes ready-to-run with the Platinum set you may not have done this yet, but it's worth trying, just in case something weird happened and all the cars lost their IDs. By doing the rebinding and ID-ing, you are essentially returning everything to its original configuration.

 

Oh, and another question... Did you ever try running anything in analogue (ARC Air) mode, using the switch on the left side of the powerbase?

[Andy P.]

 barring there is a phyiscal short i.e. braids or metal causing a fault you may have a faulty transformer or circuit board. Contact customer service as woodcote has suggested.. they usually can sort you out.