Im looking at using a relay similar to this . I'm assuming the pins on the top are meant to connect standard 14 gauge crimped wire? I want to avoid using PCB traces for the load side.
On the bottom there are 4 pins. Two are for the controlling the coil which I would solder to the appropriate traces. Now I'm more curious about the other 2 pins. Are they there if you wanted to have the load on your PCB traces or are they just there for stability on the PCB. If they are delivering load then do I just solder them down through the pcb holes and make sure I'm not touching and traces if my intentions are to use the leads on the top?
Any clarification on this would be much appreciated
Download the PDF on that link, and look at the page with diagrams.
two of the bottom pins are the coil.. The other two pins are the relay contacts.
In the version with the added top contacts you can just not connect to the bottom contacts.
If they are delivering load then do I just solder them down through the pcb holes and make sure I'm not touching and traces if my intentions are to use the leads on the top?
You don't need to know the manufacture, all the important information is on the side, 12V, and the 16A rating.
Its easy to test what the pins are for if you have a ohm/continuity tester and a 12V source.
2 pins are for the 12V coil that switches the relay, you know you have the correct pins cause you will read a few ohms across them, its possible depending on the meter to also trigger the continuity but its not likely but more importantly it will be a value higher then the other following tests.
If you have multiple pins for the same connection it can be tricky to sort them out but there is always a common pin, a NC(normally closed) and a NO (normally open) pins. Some models may remove the NO or NC but you will figure that out from the tests.
Put continuity tester across pins (that aren't coil from above test) till you get one or more that are NC, apply 12V to the coil, if it becomes NO you have half the information. With the coil still on, move one probe to another pin until you get a NC. You may need to play around with the combinations till you get this. From this you can deduce which pin is the common, and what pins are NO and NC. The 2 pins that are always NO regardless of the coil you know is not the common, they will never be connected.
You might have a double action relay where triggering coil, changes 2 separate electrical switches to explain the extra pins.
Look on the bottom, some have a crude circuit diagram there. If you look up that part number it might also just tell you its wiring.
Thanks for the response terry. I took another look at the data sheet and it does appear the both the PCB pins and the leads on top energize when you activate the coil. So one more question.
I've soldered my relay to the pcb with the load pins that go to no trace because I'm using the leads on top. How do I further make the bottom of the PCB safe from someone getting electricuted? Do I just put a piece of electrical tape or is there a more elegant way to keep it safe ?
