Wiring Voltage And Amp Meter

[mike0416]

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Hi Kal,

Maybe I missed something because I looked on the forum but no one has asked the question. I can't seem to figure out how one wires the voltage meter pin connection to the wires themselves by following the instructions on page http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel-part-2?page=9. I purchased the power supplies and meters from you, so you should be familiar with them, however I attached pictures just in case.

Obviously the pin connections connect to the pin on the meter itself, but what method did you use to connect the lead to the wire? Maybe I'm confused, but I need additional wire to connect the lead to the relay, shunt, and power supply, right? Did you solder, use a wire nut, etc.? Also, what terminals did you use, if any, for the transformers and power supplies?

Thanks.

[kal]

Hi!

To extend the wire I recommend soldering some of the 22 ga wire to the ribbon cable and using a bit of heat shrink tubing to cover it up.

Good luck!

Kal

[kal]

Hi!

To extend the wire I recommend soldering some of the 22 ga wire to the ribbon cable and using a bit of heat shrink tubing to cover it up.

Good luck!

Kal

[mike0416]

I’m using hookup wire. Does it matter what wire I use for each hookup? Also what the best way to splice the ribbon to expose each wire?

[kal]

[kal]

[mike0416]

Hi Kal,

Good news! MOST things seems be working fine in my control build! What a gratifying experience. The brewing will be the icing on the cake, but I can't say this hasn't been fun. The control panel powers on, SSRs are woking, pump receptacles work, and all timers and PIDs light up. Besides me having to hook up a couple of lights differently (my boil light goes on when I switch the 3-way to HLT and my HLT light goes on when I switch to boil plus one of the four alarm switches doesn't light up the alarm light) but other than that I'm all good... with the exception of the voltage and amp meters . Hopefully you can help.

Here's what happened. I turned on the power and everything lit up except the voltage and amp meters. I got nothing (no display at all - totally dark on each). I then turned switch the power +/- wires on each adjustable power supply since I thought I had them crossed. Then, both power supply lights turned red - yea! If I was using my volt meter correctly they were each showing about 4.5 volts. Just to double check I touched the heat sink on each - got shocked on each one: I didn't think I'd get shocked from touching the heat sink (would you expect that to happen?). Anyway, after a while both lights went out on the power supplies, no heat from the transformers either (the don't seem to be getting power, but the voltage meter on the bus where they're connected reads a solid 123 and change. I'm at a loss. Oh, and I'm using the nylon standoffs that came with the order from you so they're not touching the back plate.

Please advise. Pictures below. I undid the amp meter wires so you could get a better look.

Thanks,
Mike

[kal]

Some things to consider:

Check out the Volt and amp meters troubleshooting tips here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25460

I'm assuming you sourced your own power supplies as we always include nylon standoffs instead of metal to avoid shorts against the backplane. How did you mount the power supplies to the backplane such that they're not pressed against the backplane? It looks like you may have used some rubber washers? They may not be deep enough and/or the metal screws may have shorted some traces against the backplane. Sometimes some of the component leads can short against the backplane too. That's why we include long nylon standoffs.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Disconnect the meters, power supplies, and transformers. Remove the power supply mount screws too and just rest the power supplies on a piece of cardboard or similar to make sure they're not pressed/shorted against the backplane.
2. Hook up only the transformers. Make sure you can get 12-30V AC on the output side (not sure what size/type you got so I can't comment on the exact voltage). If you can't, the transformer is defective or incorrectly wired.
3. Hook up up the power supplies. Make sure you can adjust to just under 5V DC on the output. If you can't, the power supply is defective or incorrectly wired.
4. Hook up the meters to power only. Make sure you get "0" on both meters. If you can't, the meter is defective or incorrectly wired.
5. Hook up the shunt to the amp meter, and 240V to the volt meter. You should now see amperage when something's used on the panel (like a pump or element) and the volt meter should show around 240V. If you can't, the meter is defective or incorrectly wired.

P.S. Generally speaking it's impossible to follow wiring in pictures (not just your pics) so I'm afraid I can't confirm your wiring at all from your pics. Where the pictures are useful is that they show me is that you used metal screws to mount the power supplies and that they may be pressed against the backplane (unsure, as I can't see underneath). Sometimes large headed bolts can also short some of the copper traces on the top or bottom of the power supplies to the backplane. This is why we include nylon standoffs to ensure there are no issues.

Good luck!

Kal

[kal]

Some things to consider:

Check out the Volt and amp meters troubleshooting tips here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25460

I'm assuming you sourced your own power supplies as we always include nylon standoffs instead of metal to avoid shorts against the backplane. How did you mount the power supplies to the backplane such that they're not pressed against the backplane? It looks like you may have used some rubber washers? They may not be deep enough and/or the metal screws may have shorted some traces against the backplane. Sometimes some of the component leads can short against the backplane too. That's why we include long nylon standoffs.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Disconnect the meters, power supplies, and transformers. Remove the power supply mount screws too and just rest the power supplies on a piece of cardboard or similar to make sure they're not pressed/shorted against the backplane.
2. Hook up only the transformers. Make sure you can get 12-30V AC on the output side (not sure what size/type you got so I can't comment on the exact voltage). If you can't, the transformer is defective or incorrectly wired.
3. Hook up up the power supplies. Make sure you can adjust to just under 5V DC on the output. If you can't, the power supply is defective or incorrectly wired.
4. Hook up the meters to power only. Make sure you get "0" on both meters. If you can't, the meter is defective or incorrectly wired.
5. Hook up the shunt to the amp meter, and 240V to the volt meter. You should now see amperage when something's used on the panel (like a pump or element) and the volt meter should show around 240V. If you can't, the meter is defective or incorrectly wired.

P.S. Generally speaking it's impossible to follow wiring in pictures (not just your pics) so I'm afraid I can't confirm your wiring at all from your pics. Where the pictures are useful is that they show me is that you used metal screws to mount the power supplies and that they may be pressed against the backplane (unsure, as I can't see underneath). Sometimes large headed bolts can also short some of the copper traces on the top or bottom of the power supplies to the backplane. This is why we include nylon standoffs to ensure there are no issues.

Good luck!

Kal

[mike0416]

Hi Kal,

I bought them from you, but either I lost the screws that they came with or they didn't ship with the right hardware. It was a while ago so I'm not sure which is which but I'm usually pretty good at keeping my stuff together. The standoffs are indeed nylon though. The screws are metal.
I'll try your suggestions. If not I'll just buy them again from you. I'm so close! I just think it's odd that BOTH did not display, which made me think of the transformers. Here's the ones I bought off of your affiliate link, in case this helps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019BW9VZ2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkId=3eaaba4783fb72628bdd00e875ba3bcf

Thanks,
Mike

[kal]

Go through the steps and see what you get at each step. That's the best way to figure things out, systematically. Good luck!

Kal

[kal]

Go through the steps and see what you get at each step. That's the best way to figure things out, systematically. Good luck!

Kal

[mike0416]

Will do, Kal! BTW, not sure if there are any issues with the powersupplies or not so here's the order info:
Mar 2, 2017 13:54:46 EST
Transaction ID: 64R417803A145153G

[kal]

The only way to know if there's an issue with the power supplies is to test them. Let us know what you find out.

Kal

[kal]

The only way to know if there's an issue with the power supplies is to test them. Let us know what you find out.

Kal

[mike0416]

Hi Kal,

So, I just tried what you said. I get good voltage (~16V) on one transformer. The other one seems to be defective (the power side shows ~124V, so it seems to be wired correctly. I'll order a new transformer. That may take care of the volt meter (the one with the busted transformer).

For the amp meter, the transformer seems fine as mentioned, but I'm not getting anywhere near the 5V on the power supply. I did see the red light on before and it doesn't now, so maybe they shorted for whatever reason. I've ordered two new ones from you. I'll use the screws and standoffs that come with it so we'll see how that goes.

Two other side questions:
1. When I was testing the voltage on the shunt it seems that I did not get any voltage when testing the two low voltage wires that go into the amp meter (it was showing something like .104 or sumn' - that is what I would test right? If not, where do I put the voltage meter contacts to test voltage going from the shunt to the amp meter?). Is it possible that the shunt was shorted? I'm not sure if this is even possible or not, but I did see my electrician friend blow the fuse twice when I asked him to check it. Maybe one was the transformer that it now NG and could the other be the shunt?
2. On a totally separate note, one of my mechanical relays (the one to the HLT) has a loud hum. Is this a bad relay and I should consider getting another or it is due to bad wiring?

Thanks,
Mike

[kal]

[kal]

[mike0416]

[kal]

[kal]

[mike0416]

Thanks Kal. I'll give it all a go.