WIreless Water Pump wiring mystery

[oldschool]

I've got a project planned to remotely switch on an water pump 400 feet from my garden and purchased this set-up:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Channel-Auto-...058?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aaaf9230a



It has 8 terminals - "+" and "-" (with 12v in between), then each marked "ABCABC".

I've seen other modules with "NC, C, NC", but mine is confusing.

When I hook up the 12v, hit the clicker's "A" and "B" I get nothing from the "ABC..." terminals any combination. The module has an LED indicator light and it doesn't ever light up when I use the fob clicker.

Does it need ac power on the terminals I choose in order to work?

I want to use the RF module to either power up a small 220v relay which would then operate the big relay thus running the pump, or, maybe this RF module has the capacity to power the big relay and eliminate the smaller relay. I could test it if I could get any power from the module terminals. What am I missing?

thanks,
oldschool

 

[daddles]

Don't they include hook-up instructions with it? Oh, those must be an extra $20...

I'd guess from your picture that those black boxes are electromechanical relays because of their ratings. When you power the board and press the control buttons, do you hear the relays click? If not, then something is wrong.

You should be able to trace the wiring on the PC board from the relays to the terminal connections. If there are three connections to A, B, and C, then I'll bet the relay is a typical SPDT relay and it should be easy to find the actual connections using a continuity tester. If only two traces go to the terminals, then it's probably being operated as a SPST switch.

 

[oldschool]

Ha! Good one on the instructions. I shoulda coughed up the twenty.

The red LED on the board never lights. Bad sign? Clicker fob lights up when pushed. Good sign.

No clicking from the relays. I assume they have to be powered by 12v terminals to operate? Do the relays need AC voltage to operate? Wouldn't think so.

Here's a close-up pic of the relay. I've never seen these symbols: 3 dots/straight line, squiggly line. If someone could explain the lower two lines on the relay, I'd appreciate it.

 

[daddles]

If they are electromechanical relays, you should hear a click when they operate. And they don't need an applied voltage to work. If they are solid state relays, you wouldn't hear any sound.

The symbol ~ means AC and the line over the dots means DC. The fact that the relay has both AC and DC ratings means almost certainly that it's an electromechanical relay. Therefore, the fact that you don't hear any clicking when you press the fob is a bad sign.

I assume you're applying 12 volts of the proper polarity to the board when testing it.
If you've done this, then I suspect it's time to contact the vendor and discuss an exchange. Or at least ask for help after explaining what you've done.

 

[oldschool]

Thanks for the symbol clarification. Every little bit helps me learn.

I had the right polarity connections.

I heard back from the vendor and they are contacting tech dept. to supply instructions.

But after learning from you, I suspect an exchange is in order. Figures.

Next time I'm going to tell them to pick one out of the parts bin, throw it back and get another because the first one is gonna be bad. Happens more than I care to think about.

 

[daddles]

Well, no one likes to pay for something new and get one that doesn't work. And vendors don't like to deal with the failures either. However, getting a wireless control unit like you have delivered from the far east for $20 is a rather good price, at least to my thinking. For that kind of money, I'd probably allow one failure. If they send you another one without requiring you to send the first one back (shipping will probably cost you more than you paid for the whole thing), keep the old one -- it could be handy for spare parts down the road.

 

[oldschool]

Update: After contacting seller and a back-and-forth emailfest, we determined that the module is bad. Bummer.

I did discover that there is a "Learn" button on the board and that it needed to be pushed to mate the remote fob clicker. Hope! But alas, it didn't do the fix. Just my luck.

Seller has been gracious and is sending another unit. I guess I've got some spare parts to add to the tons of stuff here. I also have an unfinished important project - garden irrigation pump.