Hi there!

I would like to start out by saying that I am very grateful for this forum and all the people here that are willing to take time out of their days to help others. I usually don't ask questions unless I've completely exhausted Google and tried to learn on my own how to solve my problem.

I have a Panasonic FV-05-11VKSL1 bathroom Fan and trying to control it with a Lutron MA-L3T251 Maestro 300 Watt Single Pole Dimmer and Timer Switch. The timer portion is 2.5A

Fan Manual: ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/ventilation...n_0511vkl1_1115vkl1_0511vksl1_eng_install.pdf
Dimmer / Timer Manual: http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/03092203B.pdf

The issue is that the fan has constant power; on/off functions are controlled with non-powered control wires for the control switch. In essence the on/off is accomplished by touching two wires together as in a typical analog toggle light switch.

I would like to use the Lutron timer to control the fan so I was thinking a relay would be the best option. Simply hook a the input of a relay to the switch and output to the control wires. Seems simple enough, right?

I purchased a solid state relay b/c I was thinking an electromechanical may be too loud. The relay is CRYDOM A1225 with an input range of 90-280V ~ and an output of 120V~ at 25A.

Issue is that after attaching a voltmeter to the single pole - live and timer screws on the switch i get a reading of 113V when the fan is off and 1.5V when the fan is on; so I am pretty sure the relay is not getting the right signals to close the circuit on the output end.

I would appreciate it if someone were able to point me in the right direction and either recommend a relay that would meet this application or tell me that this is not possible

Here is an image of the volt meter readouts for 4 scenarios:
HUGE thanks in advance!
K

 

OK, your dimmer/timer has two outputs. The timer out to neutral should be switching 120 VAC On/Off and Dimmer output is a 120 VAC triac type dimmer switch capable of 300 watts. I guess I don't know why you have a SSR (Solid State Relay) in there? The dimmer will handle a 300 watt incandescent load and the timer a 2.5 amp load. My read of the Fan/Light is the light is LED?

You seem to be measuring across the SSR output. You want to measure Neutral to the SSR output sides.

Issue is that after attaching a voltmeter to the single pole - live and timer screws on the switch i get a reading of 113V when the fan is off and 1.5V when the fan is on; so I am pretty sure the relay is not getting the right signals to close the circuit on the output end.

That would be about normal looking at where you are measuring. Even if you measure an AC SSR output with the SSR Off it is not unusual to measure leakage as the meter does not produce ant load on the SSR. Anyway the behavior you are seeing is normal.

What exactly are you trying to turn Off/On with the SSR?

Ron

 

OK, your dimmer/timer has two outputs. The timer out to neutral should be switching 120 VAC On/Off and Dimmer output is a 120 VAC triac type dimmer switch capable of 300 watts. I guess I don't know why you have a SSR (Solid State Relay) in there? The dimmer will handle a 300 watt incandescent load and the timer a 2.5 amp load. My read of the Fan/Light is the light is LED?

You seem to be measuring across the SSR output. You want to measure Neutral to the SSR output sides.

That would be about normal looking at where you are measuring. Even if you measure an AC SSR output with the SSR Off it is not unusual to measure leakage as the meter does not produce ant load on the SSR. Anyway the behavior you are seeing is normal.

What exactly are you trying to turn Off/On with the SSR?

Ron

Thanks for the feedback Ron,

I thought using an SSR would be better than a electromechanical one for the reason that the operation would be silent. Yes, the fan light is LED but I have the dimmer hooked up to 5ea. 50 Watt halogens.

You say:
You seem to be measuring across the SSR output. You want to measure Neutral to the SSR output sides.

Does that mean I should to connect the timer neutral to the SSR outputs #1 and then #2? Maybe I should just use a electromechanical relay.

I am trying to turn the fan on/off. This fan has constant power hard wired. In order to turn the fan on and off, functions are controlled with non-powered control wire (currently connected to toggle light switch). The on/off of the fan is accomplished by touching the two control wires together. Pictured above, the control wires are the thin red and white wires connected to the the SSR outputs #1 and then #2.

KS

 

Does that mean I should to connect the timer neutral to the SSR outputs #1 and then #2? Maybe I should just use a electromechanical relay.

No, you just run the Neutral to the points it goes to for example Fan neutral and Light Neutral. The neutral wire does not get switched. The SSR is placed in series with its load, in this case the fan.

What I was getting at above was you were measuring across the output of your SSR. Therefore what you were seeing would be normal. The SSR Input can come from your timer and that would be a neutral and a hot.

If you want to switch the SSR on the timer it would look like this:


Ron