# Fourbanger Power Outlets



## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

Kudos to Mike for designing & re-designing the Fourbanger for us all to enjoy.
Thanks for all the dedication & help!

The power side of this project;
I wanted to add outlets to the Fourbanger & just have one wall cord going into an enclosure. 
Providing 115v to the outlets and 5v to the arduino.

I still need to add an iphone wall charger to run the Fourbanger inside the powerbar. 
It is the smallest step-down transformer i have lying around.

Not all powerbar/strips are made like the one i'm using. snap in outlets can be found here
It might be easier to mount the Fourbanger in it's own enclosure, if you don't have a power bar suitable.
Then connect the relays to it somehow. (i'll work on it)










the hot black wire & green ground wire get daisy chained to all outlets.










each outlet has a separate white neutral wire.
all the outlets share the black & green and they connect directly to the wall power cord.
i also kept the circuit breaker inline on the black (hot) wire.









connect each white to a relay NO terminal, then Com terminal connection from all relays to the white 115v neutral wire coming from the wall.










The Fourbanger is switching the outlets, success!

here's a video of it running:





Now to power the arduino internally and cram it all in 
(also audio & sensor/switch connection ports)

This (basically free) unit now lets me plug in a mixture of regular 115v devices or a 12v wall wart, 
while also providing 5v from the iphone charger to the Fourbanger's usb port.

The other benefit being i won't have to alter any device cords when connecting them to relays.

Once assembled access to the Fourbanger is limited, this unit is going into a specific prop & wont be altered.

**i'm not an electrician, try this at your own peril!*
i used a multimeter to triple check all connections before plugging it in.
check for continuity across wires too (no beeps touching green & white or black together)


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

added a video of it running


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## mikkojay (Sep 15, 2014)

Hey man, that looks great! I have been so busy with other things I have not had a chance to surf the threads so much lately. Can't wait to see what you put it in!
-Mike


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

thx mike, i tried cramming but the wire nuts & circuit breaker are eating up alot of room.

looks like just the relays will fit nicely on a plexi shelf i made for them to sit on/be isolated.
the rest will go in a smaller box glued on the side giving me easier access.


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

comin along..
just need to cut a usb cable down to size and pass through a pre-existing hole in the green monster to power the arduino. relay control wires will have a connector also.


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

a short usb male to male adapter will replace that long usb cable and tidy this up more.










trigger & pir wires will get extended when installed.

a newer powerbar with usb ports would save some time, wally world has lots of styles to choose from.


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## iowachap (Aug 19, 2015)

*I am guessing that you used 12 gauge stranded wire?*

Hey BillyVanpire, curious is that 12 gauge stranded wire you are using to wire this up? How did that size wire fit in those relay holes?



BillyVanpire said:


> a short usb male to male adapter will replace that long usb cable and tidy this up more.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

i used a spare 3 wire extension cord to source the extra white black & green wire, i believe it is 12g and it fits no problem.


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## iowachap (Aug 19, 2015)

*awesome!*



BillyVanpire said:


> i used a spare 3 wire extension cord to source the extra white black & green wire, i believe it is 12g and it fits no problem.


Grin, excellent..  Thanks


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