Ranco controller making a clicking sound

I have a ranco single stage controller that I use with a keezer/fermenter. It was working fine and then I noticed that the lcd was blank when I went to change the temperature. I opened it up and two of the wires had come loose (one more than the other). I put the wires back in and plugged it in and it seem to boot up fine. When the temp went out of range and it was supposed to turn on the keezer it started making a clicking sound and the keezer isn't on. I thought perhaps I wired it incorrectly but it seems like it's correct. Any ideas? I bought this a few months ago.

Ruuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!

MacGruber!

I didn't think of that! Damn!

There's a relay inside, so a click when changing states is to be expected. Have you double-checked the wiring against the manual?

I figured it must be the wiring so I check it against the manual and then realized that none of the wires were very secure in the terminal blocks - it didn't take much wiggling for them to come loose. I thought it must be that the extension cord I used was too thick so I made a trek to home depot and got a thinner extension cord. The terminals still won't crimp the wires tightly enough to hold them in. The slightest movement of the wires and they come out. I'm not an electrician by any stretch but wiring this controller is within my capabilities and it did work for several months. I tighten the terminals as much as I can but the wire just slips out. Each wire is about 14 or 16 gauge and is not a solid piece of copper but a strand of little copper hairs (like I said, I'm not an electrician). The extension cord is a fairly standard three prong husky brand from home depot. I am using three wire push in terminals to splice the wires together as per the diagram. It seems that I can't get the wires to stay in the terminals - anyone have any suggestions?

Wiring these controllers is easy but it did take me a few tries and two trips to the hardware store for various parts before I got mine wired properly.

I'd definitely suggest using a 3/8 romex connector from home depot at the base of the unit to hold the power cords firmly in place so they won't pull on the smaller-internal wires when the controller is installed upright. It doesn't take much for the heavy power/extension cords to pull the wires out from their terminals.

See here: Ranco Wiring Guide