Reef Pi troubleshooting

[Iranian45]

Hi all I just built a reef pi using rpi3 model b and an 8 channel mechanical relay

So far I just use it for power control. Pump and lights.

It was working fine the first week and all of the sudden the outlets aren't switching on and off. If I restart the pi it works again for a bit then stops working again.

When I click the outlets off/on in the app I can see the led light turn off / on but I don't hear the click

Thanks for any help

 

[crusso1993]

Hi all I just built a reef pi using rpi3 model b and an 8 channel mechanical relay

So far I just use it for power control. Pump and lights.

It was working fine the first week and all of the sudden the outlets aren't switching on and off. If I restart the pi it works again for a bit then stops working again.

When I click the outlets off/on in the app I can see the led light turn off / on but I don't hear the click

Thanks for any help

Let's see if we can get you some help...
@Ranjib @Diamond1 @ScottBrew

 

[Ranjib]

Hi all I just built a reef pi using rpi3 model b and an 8 channel mechanical relay

So far I just use it for power control. Pump and lights.

It was working fine the first week and all of the sudden the outlets aren't switching on and off. If I restart the pi it works again for a bit then stops working again.

When I click the outlets off/on in the app I can see the led light turn off / on but I don't hear the click

Thanks for any help

Can you check the log , do you see any error there . Or is there any error in your ui (under configuration section), if not your relays have gone bad probably , we have to independently test it . What version you are running ?
Unrelated , I would love to see a build pic , and I love gorme sabzi

 

[Ranjib]

Welcome to reef2reef , you’ll love it here

 

[Iranian45]

Hi @Ranjib thanks for the fast response.

I have the error below in the config section.

Dec 12 22:02:23
Failed to initialize i2c. Errorpen /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory

I will upload a build pic shortly, it is still in rough stages as I want to add ATO, Temp Sensors and some other things before I build an enclosure. Also, gorme sabzi was my favorite dish growing up.

 

[Iranian45]

It's not the best pic but this is what I have so far

 

[speedstar]

are you transistor driving the relays? or direct connect.

 

[Iranian45]

are you transistor driving the relays? or direct connect.

Direct connect

 

[speedstar]

Direct connect

I would guess you are not getting enough signal or ground ref maybe floating. All my problems went away when I switched to a true TTL signal and not just 3.3v high

I had your same issue, but with a weak click that didnt pull in the relay

 

[ScottBrew]

If you have access to a volt meter, verify that you have adequate voltage output from the power supply. how many watt or amp is the power supply? Check the specs on the relay board as to what voltage is minimum. Some boards are minimum 3.3v, some 5v. If you are powering the pi and the relay from one power supply should be between 5v and 5.25v. If it is below the minimum spec of the relay board, it may cause it not to work.

 

[Iranian45]

If you have access to a volt meter, verify that you have adequate voltage output from the power supply. how many watt or amp is the power supply? Check the specs on the relay board as to what voltage is minimum. Some boards are minimum 3.3v, some 5v. If you are powering the pi and the relay from one power supply should be between 5v and 5.25v. If it is below the minimum spec of the relay board, it may cause it not to work.

I am using a 5.25v power adapter for the raspberry PI. I was watching a video on youtube right now about the relays and it suggested I remove the jumper on the VCC & VCCJD pins would this correct the issue?

Sorry I do not know very much about this stuff.

 

[ScottBrew]

I am using a 5.25v power adapter for the raspberry PI. I was watching a video on youtube right now about the relays and it suggested I remove the jumper on the VCC & VCCJD pins would this correct the issue?

Sorry I do not know very much about this stuff.

I believe that the jumper is for when you use a separate power supply from the pi to run the relays. Still need more details about the power supply output. Can you provide a link to the relay?

 

[Iranian45]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNB2NGD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[speedstar]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNB2NGD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

same relays I ran that would work fine for a few days then fail. Once I used the ULN chip all the issues went away.

 

[ScottBrew]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNB2NGD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

same relays I ran that would work fine for a few days then fail. Once I used the ULN chip all the issues went away.

Not a lot of info about those particular relays. The 4 channel relay of the same brand says it is low level triggered. Agree with Speedstar, probably need a ULN2803 darlington transistor to drive the relays to boost the signal from the gpio pins on the pi. But first, I would verify that the power supply is providing enough power.

 

[Ranjib]

Hi @Ranjib thanks for the fast response.

I have the error below in the config section.

Dec 12 22:02:23
Failed to initialize i2c. Errorpen /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory

I will upload a build pic shortly, it is still in rough stages as I want to add ATO, Temp Sensors and some other things before I build an enclosure. Also, gorme sabzi was my favorite dish growing up.

Check if you have i2c enabled, if not enable it and reboot pi. I have covered this in the very first adafruit guide.

 

[Iranian45]

I just enabled it so we will see if this helps. I will keep you guys updated. Thanks for the help you guys are amazing.

 

[Iranian45]

@Ranjib That seemed to work thank you so much for your help.

 

[speedstar]

@Ranjib That seemed to work thank you so much for your help.

@Ranjib I get how this would clear the error, but how is it connected to the GPIO pins for relays?

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib I get how this would clear the error, but how is it connected to the GPIO pins for relays?

It’s not . It’s something reef-pi tries to use as part of startup ( ph, pca9685 chip requires it),