ARC PRO Cars not working

[T1707822722]

Hi guys,

Just got a set for my son after 25 years not having one myself - so things have obviously changed quite a bit.

Anyway, to start off with everything worked perfectly, but then cars started to drop out of the game one by one. Both controllers and bluetooth connection to phone with race control are working fine, all lights are green (to start off with). Car engines seem to be working also as they move a bit before stalling again (after repeated attempts to fix the cars).

I have cleaned the cars from inside, as well as the braids. I have angled the braids close to the guider and in sort of V-shape as instructed in the manual, but still the cars either move a short distance slowly, or not at all. The App gives error message "A track power overload has been detected - track power has been disabled. Check the following: car braids are lying flat / track is clear of debris". Orange/red light flashes on the power unit when this happens. Track is absolutely fine and no debris, and actually the last car was still running fine when the other one already stalled. Not sure how to proceed in getting the cars back on the track...

[Andy P.]

When that happened to me it turned out being a thick piece of metal, likely from a wire brush, that had worked its way into a lane changer piece.

By thoroughly cleaning and taking apart it worked again.

My theory is that the piece would heat up and then touch to things to cause a short.

Check all of your lane changing pieces for such issues.

Failing that, make the smallest possible oval and test to see if the issue happens again.

Keep adding to the track /adding cars until a problem occurs.

If the problem occurs after a certain track length or when a certain number of cars are on the track you likely need a second power supply.

If it happens even with a small track and only 2-3 cars then there is likely a fault in the power base which needs replacing.

You can contact where you bought it or Hornby directly.

[T1707822722]

Not an issue with heating. Took the track apart and made simple oval, everything cool as cucumber, and cleaned all track pieces. Same thing. Both cars would move about 2-10 cm and then stop. Same error message on phone, all green lights on the power system until trying to accelerate with the cars. Very frustrating with a brand new set! Can it be something with braids?

[Andy P.]

You do realize that you have an ARC AIR and not an ARC PRO...?

Have you updated the powerbase with the wrong firmware?

[T1707822722]

Ok, Arc Air then. And no - I have done no firmware updates. As I explained earlier, the cars one by one just stopped working. One car first, and the other still worked fine for a few days before stopping also.

 

[Andy P.]

Those are DPR cars and have a plug inside for the digital chip.

Double check those are plugged in correctly as the power to the motor does go through there.

Otherwise carefully open up the powerbase and check for loose wires.

Failing that the powerbase is likely faulty and needs replaced either from where you got it or by contact8ing Hornby directly.

Good luck!