Pengo

Ok using the instructions of a member here i understand how the remote feature works and how to wire up a switch with a mono plug. Just one little problem i'm having here and i wanted to see if anyone else had it.

With the profec controller unit powered andthe mono plug physically plugged in, if i wait for about 30 seconds, i see some light smoke coming out of the breather vents on the top of the unit as if it were starting to overheat. this is even when the two wires of the plug are not even connected. just by putting the plug in and waiting awhile i see faint smoke. the unit isnt damaged (yet) as i was quick to note this problem and unplug it. just wondering if anyone else experienced this or maybe my plug is just like bad or something. thanks

Edit: oh yea, but if the switch is closed and the two wires of the plug are connected, the unit DOES switch from low to high and vice versa. so it does work functionally. just that smoking bothering me.

MiraiZ

sounds like you need a resistor somewhere

Pengo

see the weird thing is that the female end of the plug in the box is supposed to send out a small voltage out one wire of the plug and then switch between hi and lo when both wires are connected thus allowin the voltage to return to the box. with the wires unconnected, its an open circuit, so it can't be that small voltage causing the smoke. i could understand if i plugged it in and crossed the wires and then it smokes, but smoking a few seconds right after i just put the plug in? i'm thinking maybe the plug is causing a short somewhere or touching something it shouldnt be. maybe my optional port is just bad in my box cuz i know its not the plug for sure (i've tried 3 diff ones already).

can anyone with experience help? or post pics of the plug on the receiver box for the real greddy remote switch?

KamikazeSol

I had the same problem. I had it plugged in for only a second and it started smoking. I did not ruin mine, but am not sure I want to take the chance. I even used the one that was recommende in a write-up, but it ended up not fitting. I think it might be worth it to just get the Greddy switch. If you get it to work out let me know, i would like ot make mine work before shelling out a hundred dollars for the Greddy switch.

Pengo

damn, then u know exactly what i'm talkin about. weird **** huh?

i'm gonna keep on doing my research and see what i can figure out. maybe it's something simple like the greddy uses a plug that's slightly shorter and ours are too long and touching something else. it's weirder that the pluggin it in and crossing the wires actually does do the hi/low switch but that smokin scares me. i'm gonna keep it unplugged until i pinpoint the source. maybe try to open up my profec to see exactly whats smokin

honestly i dont like the greddy switch cuz it stands out too much. even though it may not be infra-red, i'd be so happy with a simple hidden switch that's within reach

Pengo

any input from those who have done this successfully?

speedworks

i believe the post i read said you have to put a rubber washer on the connecter before sliding it into the profec b

ion_four

I would agree with Miraiz (though I haven't done this) that you are shorting it out, because there is no resistance in the circuit. I would stick a 10k ? potentiometer in there and turn down the resistance until it starts to smoke again and then you know you've gone (quite a bit) too far. A circuit with no load IS a short.

Pengo

i had a plug that had the metal part extend at the base and i did insulate that. then i hate a plug that had no exposed metal at the base and didnt need insulating. both smoked the same

as for the short and resistor thing. i could understand if the two wires were connected and then it started smokin, but i'm talkin about open circuit. from what i understand, the mono plug has 2 wires as opposed to a stereo plugs 3. the profec unit sends a millivolt signal out the plug thru one wire. when the two wires are connected or a momentary button connects them, the signal return back to the unit thru the other wire and the unit switches over between high and lo.

i cant see what a resistor would do if the unit is smoking when the two wires aren't even connected. maybe i'm misinterpreting where your saying to put the wire.

any more help would be appreciated. i kno one other member here had the same problem as me. thanks lots

lsvtecvx

Note: The plug you use may have a metal stop that WILL ground on the Profec's chassis. I used a piece of vacuum tube to make an insulator. The bottom of my plug in the pic has the bottom shaved to clear the black plastic on the back of the unit.
http://home.insightbb.com/~niedejb/switch2.html

Hope this helps

Campbell

From memory the plug is a 1/8 mono jack(might be 3/32). I'd be interested to see if the Greddy one is possibly shorter than standard specs.
Can you open the case and physically look at the jack inserted?
It's possible that the jack is going to far and is shorting something. Maybe the insulator rings actually stop the jack from going in to far.

Campbell

integraracer94

yeah I had the same problem with mine smoking a little when it was turned on. Just like these other guys said it is just shorting out on the chasis of the profec. You can use electrical tape or some kind of rubber washer.

Pengo

tried opening up the box but it seems like the casing is all tabbed and clipped together around and its pretty tight. as for the insulator thing, like i listed in my last post, i did do that already, and i also have a plug that doesnt have the metal at the base so it's impossible to ground out even w/out adding insulation.

for the guy who just said add insulation, did it stop smoking right after u insulated?

Pengo

on another note, i'm thinking maybe if people who are insulating have no problem, maybe its because adding extra rubber insulation is resulting in shortening the amount of the plug going into the unit. i'm gonna experiment with different thicknesses in insulation. i cut my rubber as thin as possible cuz i didnt want to shorten the contacts to the point where they wouldnt line up properly. maybe i should cut some thicker pieces and see if they work. any more suggestions appreciated.

Pengo

Problem solved!!!!
Thanks to all those who helped out

I can't 100% confirm this because i've never seen the actual greddy unit itself, but i think maybe the male mono plug on the greddy remote switch receiver is a little shorter than the standard plugs you can get at radio shack. originally i had cut a small sliver of vacuum tube to use as insulation and i tried to make it as thin as possible so that the plug would get full contact. or so i thought. after increasing the thickness of the piece to about ~1.5 or 2 mm the switch still works and there is no smoking.

so for anyone who had or is having the same smoking problem as i was, cuz a nice thick piece of insulation, put it on the plug and plug it in the unit, and then power it up and watch carefully for smoke. if there is no smoke, briefly touch the two wires to see if it switches. if it does, then you have done fine and are all set to go. if it doesnt switch, cut the piece a little bit thinner and try agn. do this until the switch can be made without smoke coming out the unit while the plug is in.

since my horn hasnt been hooked up for awhile, i also mixed together the momo hub horn directions with the simple remote switch ones and wired my profec into my momo horn button. it works perfect and now i can launch with lo boost in first and hit the button to switch to hi right after i get into second.

speedworks

where did you get the jack and do you have the part #

Pengo

don't have the exact part # but any 1/8 mono male jack will do. it only differs from the standard stereo jack used with headphones in that it has 2 wires while the headphone jack has 3. any electric store or radio shack should carry it for a few bucks. i found one lying in my house but the wires inside were very thin and fragile and hard to work with so i got a thicker one at radio shack that had two alligator clips on the ends of each wire. this made it easier to touch and clip on temporary connection points along the way to make sure everything would work properly. once i had my final layout i clipped off the ends and made the wiring more permanent.

SuperSH

lsvtecx had this p/n in his link.

"Radio Shack has them for $1.99 PN 274-243 "

Tofurky

wow, i wish i was handy as some of you guys.

would have saved me $90.

speedworks

274-243 is not the correct part #, i tried and its to small.

Pengo

yea i couldnt find that part # at my radio shack at all but i heard its too small. just look for the 1/8 mono male plug. it is the same size as a standard headphone jack but only has one insulator stripe on it instead of two. the plug itself is really cheap, but i paid a few more bucks for one that had the wires attached and insulated already.

revhigh96

congrats on getting it to work I would have never though that the thickness of the insulation was the difference between mine and yours. My insulation is between 1 and 2mm thick. I guess I just lucked out.