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STC 1000 EE Error

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xsynari

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Hello everyone, first time poster here. I'm working on a project involving the STC 1000 temperature controller. I want to clarify that this project has nothing to do with brewing, but it seems that this community has a solid knowledge of the controller so I thought I might take my chances here.

I am attempting to wire up a STC 1000 12V DC controller to a set of thermoelectric coolers (TECs). The specs for the TECs can be found here.

Initially, I had bought the wrong model for this project. I had wired a STC 1000 110AC model and it worked perfectly with no errors. For the heating, I had attached a female connector to the output and tested it using a hair dryer and everything worked. When I ended up wiring the TEC to the heating output, the 110 AC voltage far exceeded the 4.1V voltage rating on the TEC and it ended up exploding. To correct this, I bought the STC 1000 12V DC model and wired up a separate circuit (which involves a voltage regulator and some resistors) to step the voltage down to < 4V.

And finally to my problem. I wired up the 12V model the same way as I did the 110AC model, but now I am getting an EE error when I turn it on (EE shows up on the display and makes a loud beep). I am using a 12V AC/DC adapter as the supply, and since there are only two wires for the supply (positive, neutral, and no ground), I have removed the ground connections that I had previously used for the 110 AC model. Here is a diagram of my connections.

According to the documentation, this is a temperature sensor problem but it seems like the sensor is working correctly. I tested its resistance using a multimeter (reading ~11K ohms) and made sure it was properly connected to the controller unit. I still had the 110AC controller handy, so I connected just the power supply (mains) and the temperature probe to the controller and there were no errors. Attempting this connection to the 12V DC unit (connecting just the 12V DC supply and temperature probe) resulted in the EE error.

So, what do you think the problem could be? It might be a faulty unit, but I want to troubleshoot this issue as much as possible before buying another unit and having the same problem occur. Also wanted to ask this (it may be a stupid question), but do you think the positive and neutral wires are reversed which may be giving me the error? I tested the 12V supply with the multimeter (red probe on positive, black probe on neutral) and attached the positive in the "1" terminal and negative in the "2" terminal. Would the unit short circuit if I reversed the wiring? Once again, this might be a stupid question, but I'm willing to try anything that might work.

I really need to figure this out as soon as possible so I'd like to hear any thoughts you have on this matter. Thanks everyone, I look forward to any suggestions you have.
 
The one I looked at on Amazon had a label that specified the power supply should be 12 VAC, but somebody said in the questions and answers that it would also work on 12V DC. If it will work on AC, there shouldn't be any harm in trying a swap of the polarity for the power in.

On the other hand, why not just use the 110 volt model, powered from the mains, but hook up the 12 volt supply through the switched terminals to your TECs? Terminals 5-6 and 7-8 can be independent of the main power to the unit.
 
The one I looked at on Amazon had a label that specified the power supply should be 12 VAC, but somebody said in the questions and answers that it would also work on 12V DC. If it will work on AC, there shouldn't be any harm in trying a swap of the polarity for the power in.

On the other hand, why not just use the 110 volt model, powered from the mains, but hook up the 12 volt supply through the switched terminals to your TECs? Terminals 5-6 and 7-8 can be independent of the main power to the unit.

Thanks so much for the response. Wow, this is actually a brilliant idea. I'm going to test this now and get back to you.
 
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