Maximum Number of Zones

[HereComesTheRain]

It is probably best to not connect the relay power supply to the breadboard. Use that to power the relay boards only.

Do I need to connect the other GND next to IN1 on each of the RELAY MODULES to the - on the BREAD BOARD?
Yes. That completes the circuit with the bread board.

Do I still need to connect the GND next to IN1 on the RELAY MODULE to the GND (-) on the BREAD BOARD?

The power connections for the relay boards should be separate from the connections from the Pi except the ground from the Pi/shift registers should go to the ground next to IN1. You can use one set of power rails on the bread board for the relay board power as long as it is kept separate from connections from the Pi.

Hi Dan.

So are you saying that I need to connect the ground from the Pi to the BREAD BOARD?

Currently I DO NOT have the POWER or the GROUND from the Pi to the BREAD BOARD.

The standalone power supply is connected to the BREAD BOARD top power rail.

Is there an issue with two grounds connected to the BREAD BOARD, one from Pi and on from standalone power supply?

Thanks again for stepping me thru this.

[dan]

I would use the top power rails for 5V power and ground from the pi to power the shift registers.

The bottom rails could be used for the power to the relay boards.

You can connect a jumper between both ground rails.

[HereComesTheRain]

I would use the top power rails for 5V power and ground from the pi to power the shift registers.

The bottom rails could be used for the power to the relay boards.

You can connect a jumper between both ground rails.

Will give that a try.

Thanks

[HereComesTheRain]

I would use the top power rails for 5V power and ground from the pi to power the shift registers.

The bottom rails could be used for the power to the relay boards.

You can connect a jumper between both ground rails.

Nothing seems to be happening when I do a RUN ONCE.  Have tried a RELAY on each of the modules.

How can I troubleshoot to track down the problem?

---

Here is a picture of the RELAY MODULE that I am using.

[HereComesTheRain]

FYI. I just built another BREAD BOARD with just 1 74HC595 Shift Register.

Unfortunately this did not work.  No relay was activated.  No LED came on. No Click Sound was heard.

Hopefully I can get some help with troubleshooting.

[dan]

Do you have a picture showing the wiring Including the Pi,Breadboard, and relay board?

That would help with trouble shooting.

[HereComesTheRain]

Do you have a picture showing the wiring Including the Pi,Breadboard, and relay board?

That would help with trouble shooting.

I'm jammed up right now but will get pics to you in a couple of days.

I'm going to also pull the wires off the Pi pins and run the GPIO test to see if anything stands out.

Thanks again for your assistance.

[HereComesTheRain]

Photos of wiring.  Ignore the color coding for + / - as I was running out of wire and used what I had.

[astrogerard]

You should connect VCC (next to the data pins) on the relay board to 5v. This is needed because the opto en led are connected to vcc and will light up when the datapin is pulled low.

--Gerard

For details on the use of a relay board see: this

[HereComesTheRain]

You should connect VCC (next to the data pins) on the relay board to 5v. This is needed because the opto en led are connected to vcc and will light up when the datapin is pulled low.

--Gerard

For details on the use of a relay board see: this

Thanks for such a fast response.

Would like to clarify before I proceed.

Currently I have RELAY BOARD(s) connected via the GND and JD_VCC pins located in the corner to the LOWER POWER RAIL of the BREAD BOARD.  The LOWER POWER RAIL if feed by a secondary power supply.

The GND(s) that is next to N1 on the RELAY BOARD(s) is connected to the GND of the UPPER POWER RAIL.  The UPPER POWER RAIL is feed by the 5v and GND pin of the Pi.

So are you saying that I leave everything the way it is now but ADD a jumper wire from the VCC pin next to N8 to UPPER POWER RAIL that is being fed by the Pi?  

Does this mean that the JD_VCC powers the relay magnets and the VCC powers the electronics of the RELAY BOARD?

How many RELAYS can the Pi power safely at one time in this configuration?