GE Lighting Contactor

[bman98]

Hello,

I recently acquired a building and all of the exterior lighting is staying on 24/7. After looking around, I found a set of GE lighting contactors that are labeled for the outdoor lighting. Some of the labels say 'photocell' but I have walked the outside of the building and cannot seem to find any photocells. Either way, something is not working correctly. Is someone able to tell me how these work or how they are wired? I can see where the lines come in and where the loads go out but I can't figure out how these are triggered. Is it possible to connect these to a time clock rather than a photocell? I have attached 6 photos to this post. Thank you very much.

 

[jumper]

Since you are an apprentice, we can try and help explain what is going on, but you will need a licensed guy for the actual work

 

[bman98]

Since you are an apprentice, we can try and help explain what is going on, but you will need a licensed guy for the actual work

Yes, I plan to have someone else do the work but I would like to know what is going on here and what needs to be done. Thanks!

 

[jumper]

Yes, I plan to have someone else do the work but I would like to know what is going on here and what needs to be done. Thanks!

Hopefully someone here can help. Middle of the day is usually slow, so have patience and be prepared to answer questions. The more info members have the better they can respond.

 

[infinity]

If you look at photo #3 you'll see that you have a 12 pole, probably mechanically held (latching) contactor. The three wires (wht, yel, or) on the top (photo is sideways) are for the control. These are identical to Asco 917 contactors.

 

[bman98]

If you look at photo #3 you'll see that you have a 12 pole, probably mechanically held (latching) contactor. The three wires (wht, yel, or) on the top (photo is sideways) are for the control. These are identical to Asco 917 contactors.

So the orange and yellow wires could be connected to a time switch for control? (I assume the white is just common neutral) When the time switch clicks on will that trigger a connection for the other circuits connected to to the contactor?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

So the orange and yellow wires could be connected to a time switch for control? (I assume the white is just common neutral) When the time switch clicks on will that trigger a connection for the other circuits connected to to the contactor?

Yes, but that design contactor needs an on command and an off command. Just a standard time clock or photo cell won't work.

 

[infinity]

So the orange and yellow wires could be connected to a time switch for control? (I assume the white is just common neutral) When the time switch clicks on will that trigger a connection for the other circuits connected to to the contactor?

It's most likely that the contactor is either open or closed (there are some other odd variations) and is controlled by providing control voltage on the latch and unlatch terminals (yel, org, wht in photo). That is three wire control and these can be controlled with a 3-way switch. If you wan to use a two wire control circuit you could use an accessory relay to use a simple single pole switch, SP time clock or SP photocell.

For ASCO the sell a cevice called accessory #47 which converts the contactor from 3 wire to 2 wire control. There are other wiring schemes that use momentary switches which allow for control from multiple locations.

 

[bman98]

If you look at pictures 4-6, I see two other components. One of them looks like it has some type of low-voltage wire connected to it. Any idea what those two parts are for?

 

[Mgraw]

The photocell could be almost anywhere, including the roof. Also this system could have a switch somewhere to bypass the photocell. Fairly common at some supermarkets I have worked in.

 

[steve66]

If you look at pictures 4-6, I see two other components. One of them looks like it has some type of low-voltage wire connected to it. Any idea what those two parts are for?

Those are relays. Possibly made to convert an on/off signal from a photocell to a pulse-on / pulse-off signal to drive the contactor (assuming its a mechanical latching contactor). The newer GE part numbers seem to use "L" for a electrically held lighting contactor, and "MC" for a mechanical latching contactor. Yours has an "ML", but I would assume that was an older designation for a mechanical latching contactor.

Some of the better digital Intermatic timers can provide pulse outputs to drive a latching contactor. And I believe you can always use relays to get a pulse on/ pulse off signal from any standard output. But I don't have a wiring diagram offhand.