Smoked my new remote control

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hello, Just received my RB-Fir-128 remote actuator. connected it to a 12 volt battery and immediately the black and red leads smoked and melted. Suspect the unit is toast… have no idea what happened. did not short anything. Battery is from/for an exit sign…

Just want to activate a 12 volt solenoid remotely. nothing complicated. checked with your tech support before ordering and was told this item would do the trick.

now what? Also…item came with no paperwork, wiring diagrams, instructions. just the unit in the box with two remotes.

Please respond as soon as possible.

thanks,

Choptankmolly

2

It sounds like one of three things may have happened:

  • Inverted polarity (positive and negative mixed up)
  • The leads from the battery may have contacted each other, creating a short
  • The current required by the actuator was too high for the unit

What current does the solenoid require?

3

Thanks for the quick response. was quite careful with the polarity from battery to remote. Solenoid is very small and requires very little current. have activated it from very small 12 volt phone charger for instance. At this point, if, indeed, the unit I purchased is the correct one, and I"m out $60 bucks, I gotta say I’m a bit frustrated. but need this to work. Was there supposed to be any schematics or instructions or anything along that line? Can I purchase, through RobotShop some appropriate cables to connect to the power source? the tiny two pin connector is fine if I had something to plug it into that would make connecting to a battery a bit easier. Or should I just cut off the connector and do it that way?

Anyway, May have to order another one as this one is useless…

Thanks for the quick response by the way…

Choptankmolly

4

The connections should be very straightforward with the red and black wire going to the power supply and hte black wires to the actuator.
The datasheet can be found here: www.firgelli.com/Uploads/RC-datasheet.pdf