I am using the v2.0 7-12VDC quad relay in a project and have had multiple quad relays stop working. The power LED no longer turns on and it doesn’t respond to qwiic.
I had it connected to a 12V, 2A supply that was using a splitter to also send power to the relay channels. Is using this splitter the reason it is ceasing to function? The relays worked for a time, and then would cease to function with no visibly failed components that i could identify. Any help with this is greatly appreciated
The power LED just shows the status of your power input, are you sure your power supply is still working?
Hi Chris, The power source is still functioning. The arduino board and qwiic LCD screen are all still functioning properly. The quad relay seems to be the only non-functioning part. Going back through my initial records, it looks like the first quad relay that failed was during the initial testing and build, so it was hooked up directly to it’s power supply without a splitter. So i’m not so sure that the splitter is causing the failure anymore.
Any suggestions on how i might go about troubleshooting the dead relays to find the point of failure?
This board actually has two separate power sources. The relays and LEDs are powered via the barrel jack and the control circuit is powered via the Qwiic bus. Without power from the barrel jack, the control circuit would still respond to commands and think it was turning on relays, but the LEDs wouldn’t light and the relays would never turn on.
If you’re getting no LEDs, that would indicate a failure in the barrel jack power supply circuitry but the controller section of the board should still be responding. If that’s not responding it would have taken a fairly catastrophic event with the power input to take out both the relay section and the controller.
Are you switching motors or other inductive loads with the relays? If you’re powering the board and switching an inductive load with the same power supply that could definitely cause high voltage spikes that could propagate from the power jack all the way into the control side of the board. I’d recommend using a completely separate power source for what ever it is you’re switching on and off with the relays, that will prevent any transients on your load side from finding their way into the electronics on the board.
Hi Chris, I tried this again with a new relay and separate power supplies and it failed as well. Any other suggestions? Not sure i want to keep throwing relays down this hole, but can try something if we think we’ve got it figured out.
Did the second one fail in the same way as the first? (no power LED)
Are you still able to communicate with the board even though the relays are not working?
Something similar just happened to my quad relay board. I could not get i2c.is_ready(0x6D) to reply “True”, so I switched power supplies. I am using 12V adapters. I just ordered two more quad relays to keep moving forward, but should I use a 7V supply this time? What should I try next the quad relay that is no longer working? I can not get I2C to respond and red led does not illuminate. Thank you!
TS-Chris:
Did the second one fail in the same way as the first? (no power LED)Are you still able to communicate with the board even though the relays are not working?
When i added the code that checks the qwiic connection, it doesn’t come back with the message that it cannot communicate. So i’m assuming it’s able to communicate with the board
I purchased two more quad relays, and a 9V power supply. I am connected to an OpenMV using the qwiic connecter to male jumper. The LED for the barrel jack illuminates, but when I scan for the I2C address, it does not return the slave (quad relay). Is 3.3 V enough power to power the logic side? Does the quad relay have a pull-up? I did get two single relays working with the openmv. thank you for your guidance.
I have a new Quad Relay connected to the ESP32 Things Plus. The relay initially worked using the Example code with the Arduino environment. The device is connected to a 12V supply (delivering 11.5V) After about 10 mins, the power LED went off and the Relays stopped clicking / lighting up. The code appears to keep running with the Serial Monitor output. All the rear solder points are unchanged from default. Also, I had an ID-12LA RFID sensor and an Adafruit SHTC3 Temp/Hum sensor attached. The results are same with or without those. I have not connected any devices/loads to the relays.I have tried 3 different 12v source - all with the same results. Any ideas why it would just stop working? Photo of layout attached.
Mine did the same thing on a 12v 500ma power supply. I ended up getting a 5v supply and jumped the voltage connectors on my Quad v2 to get it working again this is the third instance I’ve read about the supply killing the quad board…plus mine.
