Apex Breakout Box Question

[NASAGeek]

I bought my Apex Breakout box to add four level switches to my system... 1) Skimmer Cup Full Vertical Float Switch installed on the lid of my skimmer cup; 2,3,4) Ca/Alk/Mg Doser Reservoir Empty Horizontal Float Switches installed at the bottom of each reservoir section.

Simple installation.... drilled the holes, screwed the sensors in, took one lead from each sensors and spliced them together to the ground socket on the Breakout Box.... took the remaining lead from each sensor and screwed them into socket 1,2,3,4 of the breakout box. Seemed simple enough.

Switch 1... the vertical float switch seems to be working fine and stable. Switch 1 is CLOSED when the lids is on normal... Sw1 flips to OPEN whenever I turn the lid upsidedown simulating a full cup. Good!

The Horizontal Switches seem to be randomly changing state of their own accord. I watch my control panel... they open... they closed.... for no apparent reason.

What would cause this??? THe connections are all solid and firmly seated. Plus... they are flipping back and forth with nothing touching the connections... no physical stimulous.

I assume the wires don't matter which is ground and which is taken to the switch....

I also assume one wire from each sensor goes to ground.... right?

Thoughts please

 

[LXXero]

I bought my Apex Breakout box to add four level switches to my system... 1) Skimmer Cup Full Vertical Float Switch installed on the lid of my skimmer cup; 2,3,4) Ca/Alk/Mg Doser Reservoir Empty Horizontal Float Switches installed at the bottom of each reservoir section.

Simple installation.... drilled the holes, screwed the sensors in, took one lead from each sensors and spliced them together to the ground socket on the Breakout Box.... took the remaining lead from each sensor and screwed them into socket 1,2,3,4 of the breakout box. Seemed simple enough.

Switch 1... the vertical float switch seems to be working fine and stable. Switch 1 is CLOSED when the lids is on normal... Sw1 flips to OPEN whenever I turn the lid upsidedown simulating a full cup. Good!

The Horizontal Switches seem to be randomly changing state of their own accord. I watch my control panel... they open... they closed.... for no apparent reason.

What would cause this??? THe connections are all solid and firmly seated. Plus... they are flipping back and forth with nothing touching the connections... no physical stimulous.

I assume the wires don't matter which is ground and which is taken to the switch....

I also assume one wire from each sensor goes to ground.... right?

Thoughts please

yes, they all need to have one wire connected to ground. make sure you do a pull test on all the ground wires and make sure they aren't loose.

you stripped enough off the wires that they can be fully inserted without any insulation getting caught under there?

Check the din connector that plugs into the apex. If this gets loose or isn't connected all the way, then you will have symptoms like this...

could just be a faulty wire too. Best way to test is to jump a wire from ground to the switch pin in question, it should stay closed. If it still opens, then you got a loose connection somewhere, most likely the DIN connector loose in my experience.

 

[NASAGeek]

I believe I figured it out.... I think Sw3 and Sw4 on the breakout box are bad.

I move the leads to Sw5 and Sw6 and everything seems to be working.

Testing it now.

 

[NASAGeek]

Turns out the actually issue was software. There's a setting called "probe ext" that was on that's supposed to be off. Turned it off and rebooted and it worked fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jmike0311]

Good to know

 

[hkgar]

Yup had that same issue when I set up my breakout box. That "probe ext" needs to be off should be included in the instructions. I don't know why it would be on?