Qewiic Quad relay no longer able to be powered after supplying 12v @ 500ma to barrel.

Bought a quad relay last week and upon powering it the red power LED lit up. I2C command from Pi was sent, the relay switched blue/on for about 1-2 seconds and then the power went out. I had read of other occurrences of 12v supply “killing” the board. I did the troubleshooting of my own and jumped the back of the board while supplying a 5v/1a supply to the barrel and the power LED lit up. Ended up making the jumper permanent with solder and 5v supply, but this shouldn’t have killed the regulator at an allowed voltage range.

The command was issued with nothing connected to the board except required connections… Qwiic and the barrel. Nothing had been connected to the relay terminals, as I was still in hardware testing.

This leads me to believe the 7-12v regulator has stopped working and leaving the bypass jumper functional at the alternative 5v setting. Is this a defect that is known for these boards since I’ve been seeing a few instances?

Yea, it sounds like a defective board - Was it purchased from us? If so head over to www.sparkfun.com/returns (contact vendor if purchased elsewhere) and we’ll get ya squared away

Yes, was purchased through the SF website directly. I got it powered by using the 5v bypass jumper and it is working correctly without using the higher voltage. I intended to do that eventually to keep the Pi ecosystem its contained in at the 5v to simplify wiring without the need for a buck converter. I’ll hold on to it since I got it working, but my board is not the only one to have this problem. The other reports I’ve read are all saying the same thing, low amperage <1A power supply - board powers up - command sent to change relay status - relay actuates - board powers down permanently without the jumper modification. I couldn’t find it, but what is the current draw on the 5v relay system? Could a standard Pi 2.5A power supply provide enough leftover juice to power itself and the quad?