Relay Issue

Hello, I am re-learning electronics after quite a while off. Anyway I have recently purchased a 5V relay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5V-1-2-4-8-Channel-Relay-Board-Module-for-Arduino-Raspberry-Pi-ARM-AVR-DSP-PIC/252051910091?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=550909188170&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I am managing to get the device to "Click" and turn on and off the built in LED however for the life of me I cant get it to switch an LED, Buzzer, little motor or anything. Im not sue if the relay is overkill for my little project, any advice is very welcome, thanks in advance.

How are you driving the relay coil? Coil current for this relay with a 5 volt coil is about 71.4 mA for a sensitive coil version and about 89.3 mA for a standard version. Here is the data sheet and this would go much better if you could post a schematic or even a simple drawing of exactly what you have and what you are trying to do. You can't directly drive this relay from a PICAXE with a max output pin current of 20 mA.

Ron

Hi,

Those relay modules appear to have an Opto-Coupler and driver transistor, so a PICaxe should be able to drive them (if wired correctly)..But if it's making a reasonably loud clicking noise (when expected) then it's probably working correctly.

However, a relay is only a "switch", so the first thing to do is to get the Load (LED, buzzer or motor) operating without the relay. Don't forget that most LEDs need a series resistor and many electronic components are polarised (so you need to connect + and - terminals correctly).

Once the Load is working, "break" the circuit and connect the two free wires to the "C" (Common) and "NO" (Normally Open) terminals. If they're not marked, there are only three pairs to try, one when the relay is operated (C-NO), one when it's not (C-NC) and one will never work (NO-NC).

Cheers, Alan.

@ George,
This is a Picaxe forum, unless I'm missing something, which is not unusual. You haven't mentioned if you are using a Picaxe chip.
If you are, what is it? How have you connected it?
Regards, bear..