Square D Contactor... need urgent help!

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Luketrician

Luketrician

Senior Member
Location
West Pawtucket
I'm not familiar with this type of Contactor but..is there a way to check the OLs to verify that they are not tripped? Sounds like there is a set of auxillary contacts that are not making up to hold the contactor closed..

Are there any Line diagrams or schematics for this control setup? I would just start going through the wiring checking one wire at a time to make sure each wire is going where it's supposed to be.

Hope this helps.
 
ceb58

ceb58

Senior Member
Location
Raeford, NC
Greg Swartz said:
So, the next question is: How do I handle this?

Obviously, the customer is not responsible for ANY of this... but what do I do to the employee?
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Not a lot. Friday afternoon, cold and is ready to end the week. You can REMIND him of taking his time to make sure there are no more screw up's. He probably knows how pissed you are and is just waiting for the wrath of Greg to be applied. File this one in the crap happens category. But you have learned we are here to help each other, even if it is from a nice warm recliner:grin:
 
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bjp_ne_elec

Senior Member
Location
Southern NH
Greg Swartz said:
So, the next question is: How do I handle this?

Obviously, the customer is not responsible for ANY of this... but what do I do to the employee?
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Greg - is this guy a JW? If so, did he claim to have any controls experience? If a guy was a JW working Residential - he probably never saw a Stop/Start switch, but then one would question his Apprenticeship Training. Hard to say - as I didn't interview him. But if you send a guy that is unqualified, then some of the blame has to lie on the one who hired him.
 
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jim dungar

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Wisconsin
Occupation
PE (Retired) - Power Systems
You have an IEC style starter, the part number will be something like LC1Dxxx. The grey switch you keep moving on the overload relay simply switches it between automatic (pushed in) and manual reset (sticking out).

280V is not an available coil voltage for that starter.

You need to perform proper step-by-step troubleshooting of your control circuit. First determine where your control voltage comes from. Then with the START button pushed in, what is the voltage from the Starter terminal A1 to the overload relay terminal 96? If this is the same as the source of your control voltage, then your control is good and your starter coil is bad. If there is no voltage then you need to keep making voltage measurements working toward the control source. My next location would be the connection between the start and stop buttons (this is probably terminal #13 on the starter).
 
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charlietuna

Senior Member
get back to basics---you have four wires to the start-stop station,two wires to the start button which is n/o(normally open) and two wires to the stop button which is n/c (normally closed). Now think back at basic motor control teachings where you have the controller's control wiring diagram. the three motor overloads in series with the starter's coil with an auxillary set of contacts which are n/o (normally open)--then wire the four control wires into the starting circuit--you remember where the stop button is in series with the main coil and how the start button makes the circuit and the auxillary contact locks in the circuit to the coil...... make a drawing and put the thing together !
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
emahler said:
what is your voltage at the coil while you press the start button?
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ceb58 said:
Start with the basic. Do you have voltage to coil? Did you blow the coil?
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My thoughts (Danger, Will Robinson!): I agree with these guys. Troubleshooting is a process of elimination.

If you read voltage at the coil terminals and it doesn't pull, the coil is burnt open. Double-check it with a continuity tester or ohmmeter.

The coil should be marked with its voltage. The 280v reading may be a poorly-calibrated meter reading 240v.

Contactor coils can be powered line-to-neutral or line-to-line. In other words, both sides might test as hot.

Working while pushing in the armature manually tells that the OL passes current, but not whether its contacts are okay.
 
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jrannis

jrannis

Senior Member
Location
Fort Lauderdale/ Miami
280 volts? I cant even think of where that came from!
You might have more than one problem with the "screw in the wire" situation.
Ive seen the guts blown out of those little contactors just because someone put the wrong type fuses back in them. They still had the hardware store label on them.
Still, it could be wired wrong.
I checked out your website and resume. Semper Fi.

You will get more mileage out of the situation if you say nothing about your helpers mistake than if you let him pay for his crime.

I thought we decided that we were not going to work stuff hot.
 
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frenchelectrican

Senior Member
Location
Nord'est Wisconsin et Paris France
280 volts ? Eh now that is instering combation but let me swing this in blind format due I can't really see excatlly what it was done there.

Did any chance the control tranfomer got wire crisscrossed like buck/boost ?

The reason why I mention that due somehow you got apx 240 volts there and add the control transfomer voltage to it and end up 280 volts.

Did that guy used two diffrent voltmeter to make sure it is correct ?

That what I will do in first place get diffrent voltmeter to verify it. after that then track it down.

Merci,Marc
 
K

khixxx

Senior Member
Location
BF PA
Have you tried disconnecting the wires from the relay contacts so just the coil is hooked up. Use a separate power source to energize the coil (suicide cord). You can check the Overloads by doing a resistant check over the contacts or voltage drop.

I am not a big fan of pushing in contacts with a screw driver.
 
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hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
If this is a line voltage starter control circuit, you can get 280 volts at the coil if this starter operates at 480 volts, I have worked on lots of automated car washes that have 480 three phase. On side of the coil uses one leg of the incoming voltage, routes it thru the overload relay contact,then to one side of the coil. If the overload relay is not tripped, you will get 277-280 to ground off of that side of the coil as it is constantly hot. Taking a wild guess, your probably putting in a remote station for the vacuum in the detail area.
 
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emahler

Senior Member
hillbilly1 said:
If this is a line voltage starter control circuit, you can get 280 volts at the coil if this starter operates at 480 volts, I have worked on lots of automated car washes that have 480 three phase. On side of the coil uses one leg of the incoming voltage, routes it thru the overload relay contact,then to one side of the coil. If the overload relay is not tripped, you will get 277-280 to ground off of that side of the coil as it is constantly hot. Taking a wild guess, your probably putting in a remote station for the vacuum in the detail area.
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it's a 208V system, as per the OP...but you would be correct if it were a 480V system, and a 480V coil....

my money is that it's a bad control circuit to the coil...or as was said here, the stop circuit. Overloads are probably fine.

but it's just a guess...
 
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emahler

Senior Member
c'mon greg...it's 8am colorado time...what's the problem? inquiring minds want to know...

heck, i almost feel like its my service call...:D
 
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emahler

Senior Member
just got a call from a buddy of mine in Colorado....apparently yesterday an EC and a JW were working on a carwash system, when the EC realized the JW was a complete idiot....the EC just broke down and killed the JW with his bare hands....EC is sitting in the pen on a $1mil bail...think that could be greg and his man?
 
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