radio shack relay

[plague]

so i was at the mall today... i know, its pure hell this time of year. anyway, my buddy needed to go to radio shack for something, so i picked up a relay im gonna use to power my water pump when i turn on the pc. well it looks like the one in the article on oc.com, but it only has 5 pins. 2 for the coil, a normally open, normally closed, and one called COM.

i know that i run the 12V wire from the PSU through the coil, but i cant do the rest the way the article says. should i run the positive wire from the outlet to the COM, and then from the normally open pin to the pump, and just connect the negative wires? this seems like it would work, and i dont really need the normally closed pin, right?

any input?

[Diggrr]

Huh, don't mean to keep following you around the boards. I look for the questions with 0 replies.

The way you described is good. Use the black wire from the pump to the 'Com' terminal, then the 'Normally open' to the power source. The black wire is the hot, white is neutral. The white one just goes from the pump to the power source.

I know you checked already, just make sure the relay will handle more Amps than the pump needs.

*edit* You can verify my choice of colors by looking in your fuse/breaker panel. All the white wires are joined to a ground block, and each black goes to a breaker.

[plague]

we've kinda been following each other around the boards:)

thanks though, thats what i thought i had to do, just wanted to make sure. oh and the relay i got is 10A at 120vac.

[ButcherUK]

Wow black and white? I have brown (live), blue (neutral) and yellow/green (earth) ;)
But then I also have 240V... which I got a shock off yesterday, stings :rolleyes:

[Diggrr]

Some of my psu's have brown, blue, and green wires. Funny, America using a strange system...imagine that.:eh?:

[RoadWarrior]

A lot of PSUs have the 240v selector switch and are sold in the UK as well as the US, and I think to pass UK regs they have to have that coding, whereas the US regs don't care much, if the consumer ain't meant to mess with it.

ButcherUK, yeah, we got lame ass electrics over here, don't even sting, more like just tingle a bit. It's no fun wiring mains to the doorhandle when half the time people in shoes with any decent sole on don't even notice :) The 240V 3 phase hookups for Stoves (cookers, ovens) and driers do sting a bit though, our stove decided to short one time and threw me across the kitchen. .... I'm fine though (twitch twitch)

Road Warrior

Hmmph had to edit, didn't really pick THAT as a swear word.