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Old 02-19-2012, 02:58 AM   #1
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Default HELP Door chime transformer is kicking my butt!

I'm just short of pulling out what little hair I have over this. I've been searching on the internet and on this site for any clue as to why I can't get this stinking thing to work. I have a door chime transformer that has three voltage options (8v10A, 16v10A and 24v20A) like this. When you combine the 8V and 16V you should get 24V which is the case when I touch my black and red cable on my multi-meter directly to the transformer with power applied. As soon and I combine those two onto what I have set up as my 24V terminal strip, I get a reading of zero and the transformer starts to heat up. How am I supposed to get 24V to my Auber controls and to my switches like this?

Here are a couple pics of my wiring:



Close up of the transformer:



The color of the wiring is ambiguous.

Two of the leads coming from that strip go one each to my Aubers and the other two go to a three position switch. That way I can switch on my honeywell furnace valves when I need to bypass the PID's. My system should end up being almost identical to jlandin's and this thread.

All of that to say...can anyone help with the transformer wiring situation? Why am I getting zero volts when combining those two wires? Thanks for any help.


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Old 02-19-2012, 03:05 AM   #2
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Are you shorting the 2 outputs of transformer together? You are measuring 24vac between which two terminals?

It appears that you are shorting the secondary.


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Old 02-19-2012, 03:24 AM   #3
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It looks like you are shorting out the transformer by connecting them together on the bus. One should be positive and the other negative. You need two 24v buses.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:25 AM   #4
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Is the transformer supposed to change the phase of its outputs to be opposite of eachother? That's the only way I know of to get a 24 voltage with 8V and 16V.

Even if it does do that, I think you're shorting them together like raouliii said. I believe you'd have to have a separate wire going to your device for each voltage. I think what you've done there is given the other wires 16V and a sort between your 16V and your 8V which might be hurting your transformer. I'm not sure if you can use that transformer for what you're trying to do. I'd get a transformer designed to take 110V to 24V only.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:31 AM   #5
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It's likely just a 24vac secondary with a center tap @ 8/16. 24vac is the voltage between the two terminals.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:37 AM   #6
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Yeah, without a doubt you're shorting the output together... hence you'll read zero potential across it.. Like others have said, you'll need a positive 24VAC plus a 24VAC return.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:38 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raouliii View Post
It's likely just a 24vac secondary with a center tap @ 8/16. 24vac is the voltage between the two terminals.
Wouldn't they have to be out of phase with each other for the potential between the two to actually be 24 vac? I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that's how you end up with 220V in your house. Two 110V sources 180 deg apart so that the two potentials oscillate to be at 110V and -110V at the same time to give a difference of 220V.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:50 AM   #8
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Household 220vac is created basically the same way. It's better to consider it a 220vac source from a transformer. Neutral is the centertap of the transformer providing 110vac between hot & neutral. The centertap of the 24vac transformer just happens to be de-centered.
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Old 02-19-2012, 04:46 AM   #9
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It looks like this transformer probably won't work for me then. There is no positive/negative post on the Auber controller as per page 5 of this instruction manual. The way it reads to me is that you have one 24V source coming into the controller on pin 13 and when the temperature reaches it's threshold, it kicks the relay and pass voltage to pin 14 which can then go out to my honeywell furnace valve. In my case, it goes to a 3-position DPDT switch.

Like this:



You can see the connections a little better here:

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Old 02-19-2012, 04:58 AM   #10
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If 24vac is needed for your valve then the transformer you have should work. The controller & switch should be switching 1 leg of the 24vac source. The other leg should be connected to the valve. You are currently shorting the output of the transformer. You must keep the two leads from the transformer separate.


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