quick breaker question..

mayhem01

mayhem01

Member
Sounds like we have a few fellow electricians in this forum...Joe, Thats sweet that you have 240v. I live in a house built with knob and tube wiring, and fuses instead of breakers. I also only have 212v. A good drawing always makes it a little easier to work with electricity. So next time you have some electrical work, Take a moment and make a little sketch. let some people check it out. I have even made drawings that look good to me then someone will point out something I missed or didn't think about. Theres many ways to skin this cat. but again if you have a blueprint of what you want to do it helps keep track of things as your working...GL
 
legallyflying

legallyflying

Well-Known Member
I have a question for the Sparkys. So I installed a 2 pole, 120v coil, 30 amp definite purpose contactor yesterday. I have the line going into one side (and also another set of wires powering things downstream) and the other side is connected to 2 6.5 amp permanent capacitor blower motors. 6.5 amps each.

When I energized the coil it made this LOUD buzzing sound. The fans were working but the contact was NOT good as I could see it arcing between the contacts. I flipped the activation leads around..,still buzzing.

Spent some time reading forums but quickly got lost in electrician jargon and things beyond my comprehension.

A couple thoughts/theories

1. Is the fact that I am controlling two motors with capacitors causing the coil not to engage properly?
2. Could the fact that I'm using a controller that is powered by the same line in source that is going to the relay? When I said I have the line in and another set of cable running to the line in...tht second set goes downstream and powers my climate controller which activates the relay.
3. I have a bunk relay even though its brand new?

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
J

joe macclennan

Well-Known Member
Did you order one of those mars relays from that guy in illinois on ebay? I had one do the same thing. It powers one of my lumateks tho. So I suspect it doesn't have anything to do w/ your fans. I am interested in said sparky's response as well.
 
legallyflying

legallyflying

Well-Known Member
It was from Texas. I got it to work. I just unscrewed the wires and screwed them in again. It seems that the posts were somehow binding the coil up.

I took the line and load wires off and cycled the relay about 20 times. I wiggled the posts a little an then it started making a good connection. Seems to have worked itself out.
 
legallyflying

legallyflying

Well-Known Member
I would disconnect the line and load and then hit it with the trigger a bunch and see what happens. My lighting controller relays from the same guy went off without a hitch. Well, they did after I cross wired my timer and torched it when I flipped the breaker. Lol
 
mayhem01

mayhem01

Member
Legallyflying, Your powering stuff with the same wire that pulls the contactor in? or on the load side of the contactor?
Okay read it a few more times. sounds like on the line side. Do you have a volt meter to check voltage when everything is running and it's buzzing?
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
There are basically 2 reasons that the contactor is buzzing. One is the contactor is bad, which is my bet, or the control voltage is not adequate to pull the relay in, which is rare. I would not use the terminals on the contactor as a juction point, they should be spliced before the contactor. Your breakers look like shit, and they should be replaced You should be able to get everything you need at Home Depot. If you want , you could get a price from an electrician to repair the panel, and then give the bill to the home inspector. That panel should never have passed close inspection, which is what they are paid for. Good luck and don't burn anything down. Peace
 
mayhem01

mayhem01

Member
Jimdamick said:
There are basically 2 reasons that the contactor is buzzing. One is the contactor is bad, which is my bet, or the control voltage is not adequate to pull the relay in, which is rare. I would not use the terminals on the contactor as a juction point, they should be spliced before the contactor. Your breakers look like shit, and they should be replaced You should be able to get everything you need at Home Depot. If you want , you could get a price from an electrician to repair the panel, and then give the bill to the home inspector. That panel should never have passed close inspection, which is what they are paid for. Good luck and don't burn anything down. Peace
Click to expand...
I have experience with contactors as I'm sure you do. I can't help but think saying voltage is rare is subjective, and that the contactor is "bad". I assure you I don't want this to be where we jab each other. I usually see dirty contactors from carbon buildup, but Legally said they were new I believe. I think because of the setup it's an unstable voltage/current issue. If the wires are daisy chained with that many devices including 2 caps would you agree that a snubber or M.O.V. may be needed? I think the Breaker pic was from someone elses question, Not Legallyflying.... Yay for Teamwork
 
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