Voltage Too Low--Damaged Relay

[fifty60]

Can low voltage damage a relay? I have a 120VAC relay, but the actual control voltage was 100VAC. The relay is a big HP rated ice-cube relay, which should handle 1/2HP and 16A, which is well within the size of the motor.

The casing that houses the contacts has a big black mark right next to the contact pads. Can this be cause by low voltage to the coil not opening the contact all the way or something along those lines?

 

[templdl]

Can low voltage damage a relay? I have a 120VAC relay, but the actual control voltage was 100VAC. The relay is a big HP rated ice-cube relay, which should handle 1/2HP and 16A, which is well within the size of the motor.

The casing that houses the contacts has a big black mark right next to the contact pads. Can this be cause by low voltage to the coil not opening the contact all the way or something along those lines?

Low voltage can tease the contacts where they will not pull in solidly. This can result is the contacts arcing which often results in contact surfaces being damaged and could result in puddling the contact surfaces where the contacts end up sticking together.

 

[Bugman1400]

The typical symptom I see with contactors or relays that don't have enough voltage or current is chattering.

 

[J.P.]

I have installed a few buck/boost transformers for just this reason. The controls don't have enough voltage to operate properly.

Make sure your motor/ motors are in the voltage range you have. If so just use a small buck/boost to raise the control voltage.

 

[mgookin]

Can low voltage damage a relay? I have a 120VAC relay, but the actual control voltage was 100VAC. The relay is a big HP rated ice-cube relay, which should handle 1/2HP and 16A, which is well within the size of the motor.

The casing that houses the contacts has a big black mark right next to the contact pads. Can this be cause by low voltage to the coil not opening the contact all the way or something along those lines?

The spec sheet for that relay should tell you the voltage range for the make and break.