sanazae Relays aaa) E> Google Seleccionar icioma Search Con tera de Google Traductor web © www. beaet.com Use £110 go to ful acrean wtivngading coos ww beat.com ele. [ies , Ceo te Fae OMe EL Ul | aoe = Cre Relays Foreword: The Contacts: The Electromagnet: hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm weasanazae Relays pulls the armature down and contact is made between 2 of the contacts (and, in this case, contact is broken between 2 contacts). as a side note, the ‘armature’ is the part that moves. The contact is on, or is part of the armature. The terms ‘normally open’ and ‘normally closed’ refer to a pair of contacts in a relay or switch, For the simplest of relays (like the one in the photo at the top of the page, see close-up below), there is only one pair of contacts, the movable contact and a stationary contact. With no voltage applied to the coil of the relay, the contacts are open. If you used the relay to make/break the connection in a circuit, the connection would be broken with no voltage applied to the coil. If you had a relay with two pairs of contacts (like the one in the demo above), there would be one pair of contacts that could pass current (even with no voltage applied to the coil) and one pair of contacts that could not pass current (until sufficient voltage was applied to the coil). As an example. Let's say that you needed to control two lights, one red, the other green and the green light was lit most of the time. With a relay with both normally open contacts and normally closed contacts, you would connect the green light to the normally closed contact and the red ht to the normally open contact. With no power applied to the relay coil, the green ight would be lit. The red would be off. When the lights needed to switch (green off, red on), you would apply voltage to the relay coil and the relay would engage. This would break the normally closed contacts (breaking the circuit for the green light) and make the normally open contacts (closing the circuit for the red light). hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 208sanazae Relays Copyright: Perry Babin avin beaet.com In the previous example, the green light was connected through the normally closed contacts, Since it was going to be lit most of the time, it would generally be more efficient not requiring the coil be energized. This doesn’t mean that it's always best to do it this way. If there was in a situation were a loss of power or a failure of the relay would prevent the red (warning) light from lighting, it may be better to power the red light through the normally closed contacts. Two Reasons to Use a Relay: A relay will allow you to use a small current to control a larger current. Generally, a relay coil has a relatively high resistance and will require only a small electrical current to engage the contacts. Typically, the contacts are rated to carry much more current than it takes to engage the relay. This means that a relay can be used if you need to make/break the circuit path where there is a relatively high current flow and the control circuit can only supply a small amount of current. In your vehicle, the ignition switch cannot pass a significant amount of current without being damaged. You probably also know that the engine starter motor needs significant current to be able to start the engine. Since it would almost instantly destroy the ignition switch if you were to try to power the starter motor with the ignition switch itself, manufacturers use a relay (also known as a solenoid) as a buffer between the ignition switch and the starter motor. In old Ford vehicles, the solenoid was mounted on the fender. On other vehicles, the solenoid was mounted onto the starter. If you ever have to work on the starter, you see that there is at least one small wire and at least one very large wire. The small wire drives the coil of the solenoid. The larger wire supplies power to the actual starter motor. In this application, the relay/solenoid is used to allow a small current to control a larger current. In car audio, the most common use for the relay is a buffer for the remote output of the head unit. Since the head unit's remote output is limited, the relay allows you to power many more devices than you could with the remote output otherwise. The second reason to use a relay is to isolate two circuits. If you needed to control a very high voltage circuit with a 12 volt controller, you could use a relay. Since a relay coil is ‘generally’ isolated from the contacts, you typically have complete isolation pst dcae% comielays hen 323sanazae Relays hipstwww.ocae'comietays him 2aRelays sanazae 523 DDO IDG a hipstwww.ocae'comietays himsanazae Relays Yep! You guessed it. This is a 4 Pole Double Throw relay. It operates like the SPDT relay but it has 4 sets of isolated contacts. Examples of Common Relays [The following are examples of different styles of relays. When you click on an icon, the image will open in a new tab or window. When it opens, it's likely going to be smaller than actual size, For most browsers, you can click on the image to view it full size. Close that window/tab when are ready to view another example. This is a simple single pole single [This is a single pole his is at throw relay. You can se: ble throw relay. This is | double throw relay. The | double-throw relay. there is no normally closed the standard Bosch type [terminals on this 0 0 The only time that this relay. This one is made hat it be used ir relay will pass current through its |Tyco. contacts is when the coil is Relay Specifications: There are two specifications that you must consider when selecting a relay for use in an automobile, the coil voltage and the current carrying capacity of contacts. The coil voltage for relays used in automobiles is ~12 volts. This means that if you apply 12 volts to the coil, it will pull in and stay there until the applied voltage is removed from the coil. The current rating on relay contacts tells how much current can be passed through the contacts without damage to the contacts. Some relays have different current ratings for the NC contacts (which are held together by spring tension) and the NO contacts (which are held together by the electromagnet). If you need to pass sig through the NC contacts, you may want to check the manufacturers spe: ications for hpstwww.ocae'comietays hmsanazae Relays the relay. The Famous Bosch Relay Bottom View: The most commonly used relay in car audio and security is the Bosch type relay (AKA: 5- pin relay, AKA: 5-prong relay, AKA: 5-terminal relay...). Although Bosch is no longer producing the relay (Tyco purchased the relay division from Bosch), it's still referred to as a Bosch relay. On this page, it will also be referred to as a Bosch type relay. The photo below is the bottom of the relay. Take note of the markings (85, 86, 87, 87a, & 30) near the terminals. 85 and 86 are the relay coil terminals. 30, 87 and 87a are the hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 1asanazae Relays various contacts. This is a double-throw relay and has five terminals (two for the coil and three for the contacts). A single-throw relay would have only four terminals (two for the coil and two for the contacts). Internal Construction of Bosch relay: The following diagram shows what those external terminals are connected to on the inside of the relay. When there is no difference of potential (voltage) across terminals 85 and 86 (the coil), the relay's movable contact (connected to terminal 30) is held, by spring tension, against the electrical contact which is connected to terminal 87a (the normally closed contact). In other words, when no voltage is applied the the relay coil, terminal 87a is connected to terminal 30. When 12 volts is applied to the relay coil (terminals 85 and 86), the movable contact (connected to terminal 30) is pulled down/in by the electromagnet (coil) so that it physically contacts the electrical contact which is connected to terminal 87. Again, in other words, if battery voltage is applied to the relay coil (terminals 85 and 86) terminal 30 will be connected to terminal 87. The red dashed line shows the path in which electrical current flows from/through terminal 30 to the contact of terminal 87a when the relay coil is NOT energized. hipstwww.ocae'comietays hm azsanazae Relays Side View: hipiwww.beaet comirtays.him 92asanazae Relays hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 1023++ 06-10-29 00:06 P2 7 Oya 8) AYR INURE AIR. hpstwww.ocae'comietays hmsanazae Relays Click HERE to make this applet fill this window. Click HERE to make this applet fill this window. Testing Relays: The following section shows testing for a Bosch type relay but the procedure is the same for most relays. Generally the only differences are the number of poles or whether it's single throw or double throw. Set your meter to ohms. If your meter is auto-ranging, it will have only one ohm mode and the meter will select the appropriate range automatically. If the meter is not auto- ranging, it will have several ohm ranges (like the one below). If it's not auto-ranging, set it to the lowest resistance range. hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm a8sanazae Relays hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm yaasanazae Relays Click HERE to make this applet fill this window. If the meter isn't auto-ranging, set it to the range that includes 75 ohms. Touch the probes to terminals 85 and 86. Do you read approximately 75 ohms? If so, the coi You will do this with the relay coil disconnected from the power source. Quenching Diodes: Anytime that a relay coil is driven by a circuit that is not specifically designed to drive a relay, you should use a quenching/suppression diode connected in parallel with the relay coil. The diagram below will show the connection of the diode. Initially, you may think the diode serves no purpose because the voltage applied to the relay cannot pass through the diode. This is true when the relay is energized. The diode comes into play when the power source is removed from the relay coil. When power is applied to the relay coil, a magnetic is created and energy is stored in the coil. When power i removed, the magnetic field collapses causing a reverse voltage to be generated (it's called inductive kickback or back EMF). The back EMF can easily reach 200 volts. The diode will absorb the reverse voltage spike. This voltage, if not absorbed by the diode, will cause premature failure of switch contacts and may cause the failure of power switching transistors. You can use virtually any type of rectifier or switching diode (i.e. 1N4001, 1N4002, 1N400x... or Radio Shack part #s 276-1101, 276-1102, 276-1103, 276-1104). bi a hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm weasanazae Relays The following diagram shows 2 different voltage graphs. The top graph shows how the parallel diode quenches the reverse voltage. The bottom graph shows the unsuppressed voltage. This voltage can damage low voltage transistors and switches. You can right click on the diagram to zoom in on the graphs. Note: that you energize the relay by applying positive voltage to either 85 OR 86 and grounding the remaining terminal. The only thing that changes when using the quenching diode is the fact that the positive terminal and the striped end of the diode must be together. If the positive control lead is connected to the diode's anode (unstriped end of diode). There will effectively be a short circuit to ground possibly causing damage to the control circuit (if the control circuit is not properly fused). A 1 amp fuse will carry more than enough current to energize the relay's coil. Relays with Internal Suppression Circuit There are some relays with internal suppression circuits which make the external diode unnecessary. The suppression circuit is generally a resistor or a diode parallel to the relay coil. The relays with a diode suppressor will have polarity sensitive coil connections. This means that the proper relay coil terminal (the positive terminal) must have the positive voltage applied to it. If the relay is connected improperly, the relay may be damaged or in some cases ply won't operate. The following two images show why you need to be careful when using relays with suppression diodes. In the diagram, you can see that the anode side of the diode is connected to terminal 85. This means that terminals 85 has to be used for the ground terminal for that particular relay (this is from the Tyco datasheet). The second image shows a wiring harness for a relay that came with a car alarm. The diode is connected with reverse polarity (compared to the Bosch internal diode). Generally (maybe always with the Bosch type relays) terminal 85 is considered ground when there are internal diodes, If you were to use this relay socket with a Bosch type relay that had an internal diode, there would be no way to make the combination work unless you cut the diode from the socket. hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 1928sanazae Relays COD 1 form C, CO with diode 85 87 87a | SZ LL, —, —; a hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 1628sanazae Relays hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm wessanazae Relays Pull in Voltage: Drop out Voltage: Resistance: Dc AC Remote Input Current: hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm vw23sanazae Relays Pioneer Gmxeo2 Ls Autotek 7150 36 Punch 200x2 14-45" Autotek 200x1 7 Coustic TAmp162i 22 Orion 275SX, 28 Crossfire (cFAI0000 5 Lanzar Vibe 250) 17, +Punch amplifiers may draw slightly more current when the power supply fuse blows. This generally causes no problem because the increase in current is still below the current normally drawn by other ampli at least one very popular brand of amplifier that draws as much as 500ma of current when the amplifier fails. This is enough to damage the remote output switching transistor in the head unit if the fuse is missing or is of the wrong value. A relay in the remote circuit will completely eliminate the possibility of damaging the head ui this situation. It's been mentioned quite a few times that the Bosch relay's coil has a fairly low resistance (~75 ohms). It has also been suggested that you could use a different relay with significantly more coil resistance so that you draw less current from the remote output of the head unit. The relay below is from Radio Shack. Its stock number is 275- 248. It has a coil resistance of ~400 ohms which means that it will draw “1/5 the amount of current of the Bosch relay. In the following image, the red wire is the fused power source (10A max - even less for small wire like I've used). The blue wire is the remote from the head unit. The black wire goes to ground. The green wire goes to the remote input of the amplifiers and to fans if you have them. hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 1928sanazae Relays hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 2023sanazae Click HERE to make this applet fill this window. Possibly Helpful Links: Switches Controlling a Relay with a Switch Cooling Fans TECH TIP: Relay control: A relay can be wired so that it will operate when the ground connection is made/broken (instead of when the 12 volt connection is made/broken). The diagram below shows the connection. Remember that it doesn't matter which connection (power or ground) is made or broken as long as the circuit driving the relay coil is made/broken. Click the switch position selector to toggle the switch. hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm 2128sanazae Relays REASON: If the switch has to be a significant distance from the relay (and you put the switch in the 12 volt source wire), the 12 volt source wire will have to run a long way also. If this wire happens to get shorted, it will keep blowing fuses and the short circuit may be hard to find. If you switch the ground connection, the worst case scenario is that the relay will turn on when the wire becomes shorted to ground. This will also make it much easier to find the shorted part of the wire and you won't blow any fuses. Relay Terminal Connect When switching power with a Bosch type relay, if the situation allows, apply power to terminal 87 and use terminal 30 for the output terminal. REASON: If the relay is wired so that terminal 30 is the input and terminal 87 is the output, the circuit will work exactly as the previous example but when the relay is switched off, terminal 87a will become energized. Terminal 87a could be insulated to prevent any problems but wiring it as shown in all of the diagrams will prevent any additional problems. You should remember: Relays electrically isolate the control circuit from the circuit being controlled. Relays allow a small amount of current to control a large amount of current flowing in a separate circuit. A diode should be connected across the relay coll to prevent a large voltage spike when the voltage source is removed from the coil. soy te SOE URL alae r. Cd hpstwww.ocae'.comietays him easanazae Relays You May Be Interested in My Other Sites All Sorts of Stuff: Basic Macro Photography: Air Rifle Links and Demos: Basic Computer Operation: Basic Go-Kart Mechanics: Click the Banner Above for More Information Save on shipping costs and time - Now available a5 2 download Click to visit a friend's new car audio tech site. SE ==> f= hpstwww.ocae'comietays hm za