Relay that will work with 2s lipo

[Neil Powell 1Participant @neilpowell1]

Hi,

I'm at the testing stage for my twin motor twin rudder bait boat. Took it out yesterday and although it needs a few tweaks all was good.

When i brought it home last night and started the remedial work i noticed that there was an issue powering it on. i am using latching led switches wired into automotive 12v relays. investigation shows that the switch is fine but the relay doesn't seem to energise. there is voltage going in to the constant but it doesn't always go out to the device.

Initially i was going to buy a new one but then it dawned on me that the voltage of my lipos might not be enough to energise the coil in the relay.

Does anyone have any suggestion for relays that work reliably on 7.4 – 8v range.

Thanks in advance

Neil

[Neil Powell 1Participant @neilpowell1]

[Neil Powell 1Participant @neilpowell1]

Just some more information on this. I've just tested the relay again with a set of fully charged 2s lipos 8.2v's and there are no issues with the same relay. I suspect my hunch that the relay has to have a minimum voltage is correct.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Have you been through the catalogues of the likes of RS components? Do you have any specifications of the relay? It should state the required voltage as a range in the specs and even sometimes on the relay itself.

[Dave Cooper 6Participant @davecooper6]

Hi Neil,

Rather than go with relays (electro-mechanical), it may be better to use some 'solid-state' devices eg Thyristors for your switching requirements.

To make the correct selection you need to measure (or, estimate) the min' and max' of current, voltage and resistance you want to use.

A company such as "Switch Electronics" has a good selection of these devices at very reasonable prices. They will also have a 'data sheet' for each device that you can match your estimates with. You may also need a simple circuit to make all this up into a working system – try Youtube for a video explaining how to do this.

Happy Fishing !

Dave

[Author]

Posts