Stations powered at half voltage when turned off

[dsmoot]

I’m just setting up my new OSPi and decided to test the voltage outputs prior to connecting my valves. When I look at the voltages (without anything connected) the OSPi outputs about 12 Volts when switched off and about 24 Volts when turned on. I would have expected to see 0 Volts when turned off, is this normal?

I then connected one of my stations along with the volt meter and it dropped to 0 Volts. When switched on, the valve turned on and everything worked fine, just wasn’t sure what was going on.

[Ray]

The first thing is to make sure your power adapter outputs AC voltage, not DC — especially if you are using your own adapter, it’s a common mistake to find a 24VDC adapter, since they are easier to find than AC adapters.

Next, if you have a AC adapter, when a zone is off, it’s common to see some stray voltage — the stray voltage should be gone when you have an actual solenoid connected.

[dsmoot]

Thanks. I did check it was an AC adapter and as soon as the solenoid valve was connected the voltages went to 0 when turned off. Everything seems to work, but was just curious.

[Author]

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