05-01-2016, 01:47 PM
I've just moved into a house with an electric gate - never had one of those before. 
Thing is, the magnet lock doesn't work properly. I tested the magnet's input and found no voltage, so I took the control end of the installation apart. Now I'm a bit confused about what I'm looking at.
The PSU unit is a CDVI ARD12. It takes 230VAC at the top connection, and provides 12VDC at the bottom connection. Dangling underneath (classy bit of installation work, this) is a small relay board. The input to the replay board is 2 wires which come out of the back of the PSU. The ARD12 is mounted such that I'd have to dismantle the whole thing to see how those wires are attached. My meter says they have 2.5v across them, except when I press the remote button when that voltage drops to zero for about 2 seconds.
The relay board takes the 12VDC line from the PSU, and its output is 12VDC across the normally closed connection. That drops to zero when the remote button is pressed, indicating the relay board is doing what I'd expect. In fact, it all looks quite straightforward.
My problem is somewhere in the PSU, because the magnet works fine intermittently. When it's working, if I tap on the PSU case, the magnet sometimes releases. I can see the 12VDC output from the PSU drop to zero. At some point it might sort itself out, especially when I'm fiddling with my meter on the outputs. Then it's OK again, until the next time it fails. Seems I need a new PSU.
Here's the thing: I don't know what's controlling the signal which causes the 2.5V input to the relay board to drop. There's a separate box on the gate post which handles the remote, and the ARD12 takes its 230V power from that. But there's no "signal wire" of any sort, so how does the ARD12 know to drop the 2.5V in order to get the maglock to release?
It occurred to me that maybe the remote box just drops the 230V power to the ARD12 for 2 seconds. That would probably work, but then the lock could be directly wired to the ARD12 12V output. The relay wouldn't be required. So that's probably not the way it works.
It further occurred to me that maybe the mains flex from the remote box to the ARD12 is using the earth line as some sort of signal wire. If the ARD12 doesn't need an earth I suppose that would be possible. I can't find a circuit or wiring diagram for the ARD12, so I don't know if it's got an extra input round the back which I can't see, or a control line output for a relay. Clearly there is one, but is it an official one, or has my installation been botched a bit?
Is anyone familiar with this set up who can explain what's going on?
Thing is, the magnet lock doesn't work properly. I tested the magnet's input and found no voltage, so I took the control end of the installation apart. Now I'm a bit confused about what I'm looking at.The PSU unit is a CDVI ARD12. It takes 230VAC at the top connection, and provides 12VDC at the bottom connection. Dangling underneath (classy bit of installation work, this) is a small relay board. The input to the replay board is 2 wires which come out of the back of the PSU. The ARD12 is mounted such that I'd have to dismantle the whole thing to see how those wires are attached. My meter says they have 2.5v across them, except when I press the remote button when that voltage drops to zero for about 2 seconds.
The relay board takes the 12VDC line from the PSU, and its output is 12VDC across the normally closed connection. That drops to zero when the remote button is pressed, indicating the relay board is doing what I'd expect. In fact, it all looks quite straightforward.
My problem is somewhere in the PSU, because the magnet works fine intermittently. When it's working, if I tap on the PSU case, the magnet sometimes releases. I can see the 12VDC output from the PSU drop to zero. At some point it might sort itself out, especially when I'm fiddling with my meter on the outputs. Then it's OK again, until the next time it fails. Seems I need a new PSU.
Here's the thing: I don't know what's controlling the signal which causes the 2.5V input to the relay board to drop. There's a separate box on the gate post which handles the remote, and the ARD12 takes its 230V power from that. But there's no "signal wire" of any sort, so how does the ARD12 know to drop the 2.5V in order to get the maglock to release?
It occurred to me that maybe the remote box just drops the 230V power to the ARD12 for 2 seconds. That would probably work, but then the lock could be directly wired to the ARD12 12V output. The relay wouldn't be required. So that's probably not the way it works.
It further occurred to me that maybe the mains flex from the remote box to the ARD12 is using the earth line as some sort of signal wire. If the ARD12 doesn't need an earth I suppose that would be possible. I can't find a circuit or wiring diagram for the ARD12, so I don't know if it's got an extra input round the back which I can't see, or a control line output for a relay. Clearly there is one, but is it an official one, or has my installation been botched a bit?
Is anyone familiar with this set up who can explain what's going on?