Momentary to two position

[H20rider]

Alec_t
Yes fuses are fine...and pins are linked.
However...
I tried flipping the relay with a 9 volt battery. It works. Tried the other relay I started off with. It works!
But neither work in the vehicle....or even when just using the vehicle's 12 volt battery directly (no vehicle wiring).
Ideas?

 

[alec_t]

If you applied the 9V under exactly the same conditions as you did the 12V then I can't explain why the former worked and the latter didn't. I can't believe the relay has built-in smarts to prevent it operating at the higher voltage; especially if it's a 12V-rated relay!

 

[H20rider]

This must have something to do with pos. grounding. swapping the power and ground leads allows the relay to switch.....but then the lights don't go on.
I think I will skip this whole endeavor until I eventually convert to neg. grounding. At least I learned a lot about vehicle electrical systems.
Thanks for all the ideas, suggestions, etc.

 

[crosslakeguy]

I had a similar issue adding seperate relays (3) to my heater on an old vehicle, I don't remember what exactly the problem was.......your schematic has no ground on the bulb...... if I were to guess you are getting feedback through the relay. maybe through the internal diode.. or perhaps from being hooked up backwards........if the relay comes apart remove the diode

most relays have a clamping diode to absorb the current when it is de-energized It wont work backwards an am thinking thats where your problem lies........ maybe someone else can confirm or deny this conclusion. I dont know if reversing the diode is enough. I think you also have to move it to the positive terminal as well....... maybe someone post a shematic change/or difference between a positive ground relay v.s. neg ground relay. and the reason why hooking up the reversed polarity won't work?...I am not the best at explaining, but hopefully that makes sense??

I think I solved my problem of the relay not dropping out by adding a resisor of less resistance than the coil to de-energize it..... which may or may not have anything to do with your problem..... I know I had a feedback problem because of multiple relays. connected to the same circuit.....

 

[H20rider]

Crosslakeguy-
Thanks. The lights are grounded. Both the diode reversing and the use of a small resistor ideas are intriguing.