120v Relay Flickering on and off very quickly ?!

shawn-

hi there im new here but know very few about electronics and would like some help

i have a module that remote activate a 120v accesory ( a relay ) and bought a heavy duty 120v voice coil relay so i plugged it and the relay is going on and off on & off very quickly , but when i plug it to the 120v directly there is no problem , if i plug a 120v light bulb at the remote module instead on the relay it lights up just fine ??


im guessing after going true the module the 120v alternating to much ? ...

please help me ... i hope its a easy fix , thank you so much

PropNut1960

You didn't give a lot of details but it sounds like what ever is supplying power to your relay coil doesn't have enough current to keep it pulled in or is not the correct voltage. Is the relay coil 120VAC?

Duane Degn

It sounds like you're trying to power the relay directly from the Stamp. As PropNut1960 suggests, the Stamp can't provide enough current to keep the relay on.

Drawing too much current from the Stamp can very easily kill the Stamp.

Here's a link to a Nuts & Volts article about using relays with a Stamp.

It would be a lot easier to help if you provided a schematic or diagram of your circuit.

shawn-

yes sure !

what type of info do you need

the module that i modified originaly is very simple , you plug the module in youre 120v wall plug , and the other end of the module is a house 120v plug but its controled by a rj11 wire and is connected to the main module thats a climate controler

now the module that i want to modify is quite simple


perfectly normal operation of the module

120v going in , rj11 gives signal , 120v is now comming out of the module
120v goin in , rj11 gives no signal , 120v is not comming out

now my project witch is finished at 99% and looks wicked well .. its not working well !

my project , take the 120v output of the module , and plug it to the heavy duty;s 120v voice coil

very simple , now in theory when the module receives the rj11 signal, 120v comes out of the module , the 120v now goes though the heavy duty relay turning it on and now i can plug what ever i want on the heavy duty relay like a 240v heater ! ( that was the hole ideal

everything is working as planned except when the heavy duty relay gets a signal it doesnt get a steady signal it gets a pulsing signal making it turning on and off veryy quicky ( if i plug my module like this its a fire hazard ..... my relay will end up taking fire because of high current 240v 6a , it will melt the 2 contact point in 2 min like this ... )

there must be a resistor or a capasitor i can put on the line and make it steady again ?

it must be a safe solution because example if its only a matter of a resistor to be added to the heavy duty relay's voice coil and then without me knowing burns and the relay flicker's again then its not good at all ... i rather have a system that if something like the resistor burns then the signal cannot be closed looped then the relay will never open

if i plug the relay direcly on the houses 120v it works perfectly , some how the module transfers the currents slighly alternative to extremely alternative ?

all this just to ask how to make my heavy duty relay work constant grab and not going on and off

btw this module is made and designed to be used as a heater controler 10 amp max at 240V

you put a 10amp or less 120v ( this is Wayyyyy more then what ever the voice coil is pulling ...) heater and it will control the room..... i wanted to put my high power relay to control my 240v heater....

if i plug a light bulb at the end of the module it will light up

my relay acts exactly like a jewelers engraver , turns on and off like 30-60 times a second like hz ?



please help me ! im sooo close to my goal !!


















lets take the Second picture

the bottom connecting ,

first on the left white 120v in ,
second middle black 120v in

third on the right black 120v out
fourth top black 120v out

third & fourth is the + & - 120v of the Heavy duty relay

the 2 bottom round hole of the box is the the 240v in & out

hope this helps ??

thank you !!!

Mike Green

Unfortunately, that's not very much help. The issue here is not the 120VAC side of the circuit, but the part that's connected to the RJ11 jack. Specifically, the relay coil is designed to be controlled by a specific voltage (to turn the relay on) and requires a specific amount of current. How much is that? What ever is on the other end of the RJ11 jack has to supply that. In addition, most relay coils are designed for use with DC current. They have to be specifically designed to be used with AC or they will chatter (turn on and off rapidly like maybe what's happening?)

It would help to have some sort of schematic to show how things are connected together and to have datasheets for the parts involved. I tried a simple websearch for the number printed on the top of what looks like a relay (# NT90TNAS110CB) and couldn't find anything.

Mike Green

Like I said, it's impossible to say for sure what needs to be done to make this work properly without a diagram of what's connected to what, including the insides of the module that you modified, and some identification of what the parts are. You haven't even stated what's supposed to be on the other end of the RJ11 jack. It sounds like there's a relay that's supposed to be running off of DC that's being powered by AC and the 60 times a second interruption of the power is what's making the relay chatter. Since this whole thing is operating directly off the AC line and is designed to switch pretty high power loads, there's no way I can make any recommendation without more information ... it's too dangerous.

shawn-

i tried to post pictures but it wont work here ... im posting the same question on a other forum

here you will be able to see valuable information

please feel free to ask me any question ( simple ones please, i have very low knolage about electronics , but im very good in house electrical 120v-240v ect )


the web site -- >

http://www.electronicspoint.com/120v-relay-flickering-and-off-very-quickly-t257813.html#post1533601

Duane Degn

It looks like the RJ11 jack connects with the coil of the relay marked "NT90TNAS110CB". I that correct?

What at the other end of the line that connects with the RJ11 jack? (This is important to answer. If you're powering it directly from a Basic Stamp you may damage the Stamp.)

What is connected to the load of the "NT90TNAS110CB" relay?

Is the load from the relay "NT90TNAS110CB" used to turn on the other relay?

Mike Green

The pictures posted just fine, but they don't show the information needed.

JordanCClark

The coil on the NHG relay is rated 110VDC... Not an expert, but I'd say that's the first problem...

shawn-

no the module is fine just giving low hz i guess so its causing my relay to go on and off very fast

if i plug a light bulb to the same exact location there will be no problem ... now how to transfer pulsing 120v to stable 120v ? a resistor or something ?

shawn-

i updated my pictures on the other forum

http://www.electronicspoint.com/120v-relay-flickering-and-off-very-quickly-t257813.html#post1533817

module in its original state + modules internal relay up close

shawn-

i updated the picture on the other web site

http://www.electronicspoint.com/120v-relay-flickering-and-off-very-quickly-t257813.html#post1533817

PropNut1960

As Jordan mentioned, looks like that relay has a DC coil. If you are connecting it to 120VAC it's gonna chatter like crazy.

shawn-

no the heavy duty relay has a 120v ac voice coil and when i plug it on 120v direct the relay works perfectly no chattering

when i plug it to my module some how the 120v that comes out of the module makes my relay chatter like crazy

there is no problem with the relay , the relay is working perfecly , the 120v signal coming out of the module is having a pulsing issue

JordanCClark

It occurs to me that you are not trying to hook this up to a Stamp. Which means this is really the completely wrong section in which to post this problem.

However, I'm still willing to help, because that's just how I am.

Note where I circled on the picture (you can click on it to make it bigger). This relay is rated for 110VDC. That means that when you connect an AC signal to it, it will only be on half the time. That's why your circuit is chattering. The reason that a lamp works okay is because the bulb is a resistive load. It's actually turning on and off well.

EDIT: I see there's a bridge rectifier on the board, so the coil on the NHG is likely to be correct. This is activated by a dry contact, right? Is there a spec sheet for this unit?

So let's back up a moment. What are you using to turn this relay on and off? (I'm assuming that this is happening through the RJ11 connector.)

Here is a link to the NT90T Datasheet.

Also, the contact on the NHG relay is rated at 40A/240vac. Is that not enough the handle whatever load you are looking to use?

shawn-

i found the solution ! it was very simple !

the big heavy duty relay was bolted to close back and blocking the voice coil plate....

simply bent the metal a little and it works perrrrrfectly !!! ))

akward situation hun ? .... lurned it the hard way i guess !

thanks !

JordanCClark

Curse those mechanical problems! Glad you found your solution.