# Auber controller added to my MES 30



## chopsaw (Jan 18, 2019)

Well after 5 years of almost constant use , the on / off button was getting worn out . Talked to Tallbm and went with the WS-1510 elmp he recommended . 
Brought the 30 into the workshop so I could get at it . The re-wire is really simple , but 

 tallbm
 did all the leg work on that . I wanted to try to keep the change over clean . I don't care for all the hanging wires , also wanted it to look some what un changed . So heres what I did . 
Got it where I could work on it . 






Opened the bottom and did the bypass 









Tore all the guts out except the element . 
Removed to old controller and took out the darn meat probe that's been in the way since the second time I used it . Saved the mounting parts .





Test to see if it was workin . 





Wanted to come up with something so I didn't have to drop the probe thru the exhaust .
Also need to hide the extra cable and clean up the power cable . 
Drilled a hole in the back . Re-used the stock mounting parts from the meat probe .


















Same thing on the inside . Yes thats a rubber bushing . It came out of there so must be heat resistant .





So I used a 4 inch box as a race way , and some plastic cover for the wire , and some 3/8 straps for the power cord . 









All done just need to take it outside and see what it will do .


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## dr k (Jan 18, 2019)

Looks nice!  I leave my chamber probes outside but bring the sensor in with the PID for crockpot Sous Vide. It's nice to bring in the controller after every smoke. The single step setup is nice vs. The program up to 6 step mode so I don't have to punch in minutes. Just flip the switch on and set your C-1 temp hit set and done.


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## motocrash (Jan 18, 2019)

Nice clean job chop.Here's what I've been building.If you ask about the pneumatic circuits I'd hav'ta keel ya,though I can say they run nitrogen that is heated,hence the controller(top center).


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## lovethemeats (Jan 18, 2019)

Nice job. I know you'll be happy with it. Did it on my Mes40. Memory alone on the PID make it an awesome worth while mod. Happy smoking!


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## lovethemeats (Jan 18, 2019)

Here's the back of mine. Since there was no access port on my 40 for probe replacement that came with the unit. I cut one out and made one. Used the AC cord already on the unit for the element.  Redid all the wiring. That was something as I never pulled the back off. The foam they use is like super glue and it would have gotten to damaged. So I snaked the wires though it. Took some time and planning and turned out nice.


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## chopsaw (Jan 18, 2019)

lovethemeats said:


> Since there was no access port on my 40 for probe replacement that came with the unit.


Did yours have a meat probe ? The parts I used were inside on the ceiling , and outside under the original controller . The way you did it looks great . Do you leave the probe in then ? Also do you pull the probe into the middle of the smoker ?


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## chopsaw (Jan 18, 2019)

I spent part of the day testing this , and auto tuned it last nite . Went from + / - 30 degrees to + / - 4 degrees . 35 outside temp some wind . No food in the box @ 275 . 


 dr k
  your post in tallbm's thread 22 thru 24 was very helpful . So thanks for that . I have set it up with the ramp up , that's gonna be awesome for smoked sausage . I went thru alot of the settings and programing . Amazing what you can make this do . Really easy once you know how to get to the area to change values , and know what they mean and do . This thing is awesome . Got a ham to hang , might do it this weekend to see how it runs loaded .


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## mosparky (Jan 18, 2019)

Sweet.


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## Norwester55 (Jan 18, 2019)

Looks good, I'll be doing the same to mine in the next couple months.


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## chopsaw (Jan 19, 2019)

Norwester55 said:


> Looks good, I'll be doing the same to mine in the next couple months.


You won't be sorry . This thing is awesome . I have a ham ( Omak inlected butt ) hanging to dry at 120 . Been 120 for an hour . Not 119 not 121 ,, . I can't believe it . Probes on each side , TP-08 confirms the temp . Getting ready to hit it with some smoke .


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## tallbm (Jan 20, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Well after 5 years of almost constant use , the on / off button was getting worn out . Talked to Tallbm and went with the WS-1510 elmp he recommended .
> Brought the 30 into the workshop so I could get at it . The re-wire is really simple , but
> 
> tallbm
> ...



Welcome to the world of the PID controller, that's one hell of a job!
Sausage, ham, bacon, steady temps, etc. etc. you cannot be stopped!

You also will be able to easily work on your smoker and keeping going for a looooooong time.
It's crazy how the PID and a little rewire make the MES 10X better performing then when brand new hahaha.

So the moral of the story is that if an MES starts to die (or you just want way better performance) don't buy another smoker, spend about the same price for an Auber PID controller, the little bit of effort to rewire, and boom you have something better than you could ever buy from the store!

I'm happy you are up and running.  Great job!!!


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## JZ_Focus (Apr 4, 2019)

So the wiring in my MES30 looks a little different from yours.  my braided wires are blue and red instead of black.  I think I need to connect my white & red wires together, and then my blue & black wires together.  Would you agree with this?

So


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## tallbm (Apr 4, 2019)

JZ_Focus said:


> So the wiring in my MES30 looks a little different from yours.  my braided wires are blue and red instead of black.  I think I need to connect my white & red wires together, and then my blue & black wires together.  Would you agree with this?
> 
> So
> 
> ...



Technically that should work just fine.
If you wanted to be most accurate the smooth Black wire should wire up to the colored wire that runs to the safety rollout limit switch wire (the switch then wires to the heating element).
The White wire would wire to the other colored wire.

Now, I would bet $1 that the:

Black wire goes to the Blue wire
White wire goes to the Red wire
I've wired up a few of these things and the colored wire that goes up and to the right generally goes to the rollout limit switch (Hot wire) and the other wire that goes up and left goes directly to the heating element (Neutral wire).
Disconnecting the wires from the heating element and using multimeter would confirm this but in any case you should be ok since the electrical circuit just makes a loop anyhow so if you got the wiring backwards I'm positive it wouldn't hurt anything.  
BEWARE wiring Black to White.  That would cut the entire MES out of the loop lol

I hope this info helps :)


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## JZ_Focus (Apr 4, 2019)

tallbm said:


> Technically that should work just fine.
> If you wanted to be most accurate the smooth Black wire should wire up to the colored wire that runs to the safety rollout limit switch wire (the switch then wires to the heating element).
> The White wire would wire to the other colored wire.
> 
> ...



Thanks!  You pretty much confirmed what I was thinking was correct.  Don't worry, I know not to put the smooth white & black wires together.  Also, I went ahead and ordered the WS-1510ELPM PID controller today, so that should be here tuesday.  Hopefully I'll be able to get that all up and running then.


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## chopsaw (Apr 4, 2019)

JZ_Focus
 did you gt the multi purpose sensor ?


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## JZ_Focus (Apr 4, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> JZ_Focus
> did you gt the multi purpose sensor ?


Yes I did.  There were only 2 options and that one made more sense.


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## tallbm (Apr 4, 2019)

JZ_Focus said:


> Thanks!  You pretty much confirmed what I was thinking was correct.  Don't worry, I know not to put the smooth white & black wires together.  Also, I went ahead and ordered the WS-1510ELPM PID controller today, so that should be here tuesday.  Hopefully I'll be able to get that all up and running then.



Fantastic!!!
Now if you really want to bullet proof your MES I would highly recommend you replace the crappy connectors they use at the heating element and the safety rollout limit switch with Hi Temp stainless steel ones.  These would work (not sure why they are so expensive right now):


I would also suggest getting some backup safety rollout limit switches as they are delicate and can be easily messed up when replacing the connectors.  Get either of these EXACT ones.  You may search and thing you have found cheaper ones but the ones you found are really a different configuration that does not work!!!!
300F switches

My preference would be the following ones so your Auber PID can go a little higher in temp during autotune without tripping the safety switch (350F limit and cheaper)

You don't need to do any of these things other than the rewire and the PID but it would bullet proof your system and you would have parts to fix it for quite a while :)


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## JZ_Focus (Apr 7, 2019)

What is the Auder controllers ability to withstand weather?  Or should I plan on bringing it insode each time after using the smoker?  Mine should be here on tuesday.

I'm planning to build a hutch of sorts for my smoker today to give the unit a little more protection form the elements.  I plan on it being enclosed on 3 sides, plus a roof.  I just don't want my $150 investment in the auber to go to waste if it starts raining during one of my smokes.


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## chopsaw (Apr 7, 2019)

JZ_Focus said:


> What is the Auder controllers ability to withstand weather? Or should I plan on bringing it insode each time after using the smoker? Mine should be here on tuesday.


This is from a recent thread ,
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ers-for-electric-smokers.285721/#post-1942642


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## tallbm (Apr 7, 2019)

JZ_Focus said:


> What is the Auder controllers ability to withstand weather?  Or should I plan on bringing it insode each time after using the smoker?  Mine should be here on tuesday.
> 
> I'm planning to build a hutch of sorts for my smoker today to give the unit a little more protection form the elements.  I plan on it being enclosed on 3 sides, plus a roof.  I just don't want my $150 investment in the auber to go to waste if it starts raining during one of my smokes.



You will want to keep it out of the rain.
I wouldn't recommend running an electric smoker in the rain but if you wan to protect it a little more I would cover it with a Tupperware dish.
That wont prevent water from running down the cords but it would keep water off the auber.

I have kept mine outside on the MES, BUT I also had a cover over the MES so it wouldn't get wet AND the MES was under a porch to keep direct rain off of it.

When in doubt just unhook it and bring it inside :)


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## GaryHibbert (Apr 7, 2019)

Chopsaw, you're going to love that PID!!!  Ever since I rewired my MES 30 and bought an Auber PID, its like I just got a brand new, upgraded smoker.
POINT for the beautiful job on the wiring and the way you ran the sensor probe.  I really like that.
Gary


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## chopsaw (Apr 7, 2019)

Thank you Gary . I do love it . The ramp and soak is so nice for sausage and ham .


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## dr k (Apr 8, 2019)

JZ_Focus said:


> What is the Auder controllers ability to withstand weather?  Or should I plan on bringing it insode each time after using the smoker?  Mine should be here on tuesday.
> 
> I'm planning to build a hutch of sorts for my smoker today to give the unit a little more protection form the elements.  I plan on it being enclosed on 3 sides, plus a roof.  I just don't want my $150 investment in the auber to go to waste if it starts raining during one of my smokes.


I Believe when the Auber is operating/warm there's no condesation issues.  More of a problem when off and stays outside. I posted this thread and this is what Kane from Auber Instruments mentioned:  https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-pid-controllers-for-electric-smokers.285721/


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## chopsaw (May 9, 2019)

Well , she's dead . LOL . Did an eye round today . After I pulled it off , I stepped the temp up to 260 to let it run an hour or 2 . I came out to shut it down , temp read out on the Auber was 65 . Checked my setting , 260 . So I plugged it in direct , nothing . Happy about that , worried it was the controller . So I like to start simple . Going to re check the work I did first . Second I guess ohm meter the element . Third cut the back at the limit switch look for burnt wires . 
She's not done 'til I say so . BTW the eye round was fantastic .


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## tallbm (May 9, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Well , she's dead . LOL . Did an eye round today . After I pulled it off , I stepped the temp up to 260 to let it run an hour or 2 . I came out to shut it down , temp read out on the Auber was 65 . Checked my setting , 260 . So I plugged it in direct , nothing . Happy about that , worried it was the controller . So I like to start simple . Going to re check the work I did first . Second I guess ohm meter the element . Third cut the back at the limit switch look for burnt wires .
> She's not done 'til I say so . BTW the eye round was fantastic .



Don't worry it happens to the best of us!
The most common culprit would be one of the connectors going bad.
You have the right idea and know where to check. 

You have to check everything just like you mentioned but just for fun I'm going to guess that the safety rollout limit switch is the problem.  I'm thinking either the connector went bad or got loose and melted down the switch.  When this happens it will turn on but the switch itself overheats making it think the smoker is over heating and then you run into a situation where the switch keeps heating up quickly and showing everything down repeatedly until it burns up completely... I know this first hand... and more than once lol.


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## chopsaw (May 9, 2019)

You may have an idea about the limit switch . Plugged in direct I did feel some heat at the element  , but then nothing . I'll keep that in mind when testing thanks .


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## dr k (May 10, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Well , she's dead . LOL . Did an eye round today . After I pulled it off , I stepped the temp up to 260 to let it run an hour or 2 . I came out to shut it down , temp read out on the Auber was 65 . Checked my setting , 260 . So I plugged it in direct , nothing . Happy about that , worried it was the controller . So I like to start simple . Going to re check the work I did first . Second I guess ohm meter the element . Third cut the back at the limit switch look for burnt wires .
> She's not done 'til I say so . BTW the eye round was fantastic .


I think the ohms will read correctly even if grease or what ever can short the element to ground. I'd make sure with the wires disconnected and one probe on the element spade and the other on the back panel that there's no continuity. I made an access cut out for the roll out switch in case it fails I can bypass with a wire nut to see if the element heats up.


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## chopsaw (May 10, 2019)

Thanks Kurt . I have an amp probe from my HVAC days . If needed I'll be sure to check back to the case , or just remove the element to make sure . That way I can flip it over too .


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## dr k (May 10, 2019)

My element bracket has the legs on the bottom half of the bracket so I cut it in half lengthwise with a dremel cut off wheel so I could flip it and screw the top half back on without messing with  cutting a different hole in the smoker. I  put in a longer grounding bolt and used the washers from the oem bolt. So the longer bolt has a nut to secure the ground wire and another nut on the inside of the element access area to secure the element. I covered the excess bolt in the access area with shrink tubing to insulate it and keep the nut from backing off. You'll have to bend the element tabs 180* before installing to connect the wires.


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## chopsaw (May 10, 2019)

OK , she lives again . Pulled the back access and everything was tight and looked good . I tried to probe thru the heat shrink , no luck . So I cut it open .The connectors I used had a plastic shield over them . One connection looked brand new . The other one had the plastic melted off  , still tight and looked good . Ohm test on the element was good . Checked back to the case ,, good ( open ) . So I'm thinking limit switch . Before I got into that I figured I would clean the connections and re try . Looked like the plastic melted and got between the male / female keeping it from heating . Cleaned and back together , took right off . 
I caused this myself when I did the repair 6 months ago . The heat shrink for that side was to big . I used to much heat trying to get it tight . 

Anyway , this is why I suggest to others to pull the insulation off the connection , even if it looks good .


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## daveomak (May 11, 2019)

Hey Chop....  If we were neighbors, I'd let you update my MES 30....   Nice work...


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## chopsaw (May 11, 2019)

Thanks Dave . If we were neighbors I would . My new goal life is to make sure this smoker outlast me .


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## tallbm (May 11, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> OK , she lives again . Pulled the back access and everything was tight and looked good . I tried to probe thru the heat shrink , no luck . So I cut it open .The connectors I used had a plastic shield over them . One connection looked brand new . The other one had the plastic melted off  , still tight and looked good . Ohm test on the element was good . Checked back to the case ,, good ( open ) . So I'm thinking limit switch . Before I got into that I figured I would clean the connections and re try . Looked like the plastic melted and got between the male / female keeping it from heating . Cleaned and back together , took right off .
> I caused this myself when I did the repair 6 months ago . The heat shrink for that side was to big . I used to much heat trying to get it tight .
> 
> Anyway , this is why I suggest to others to pull the insulation off the connection , even if it looks good .



I knew finding the issue wouldn't be too hard, now you know as well.  You should be able to keep that thing running for a loooooong time now that you know the troubleshooting and repairing is that simple :)


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## 2 DA BASS (May 24, 2019)

What is the bypass on a ms 40 bypassing? Mine keeps blowing the rollout switch, three of them. so I’m wondering if  this is bypassed too? I want to install an Auberdin. Thanks any help.


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## dr k (May 25, 2019)

2 DA BASS said:


> What is the bypass on a ms 40 bypassing? Mine keeps blowing the rollout switch, three of them. so I’m wondering if  this is bypassed too? I want to install an Auberdin. Thanks any help.


In the bottom access with the black hot power cord terminated to it's closest braided heating element wire and the white neutral power cord wire terminated to the other braided heating element wire its closest to, you've bypassed the circuit board.  Plugged in is heating, unplugged is off but your using the wires with the limit switch in the circuit.  You can disconnect the limit switch and wire nut/butt splice the wires together to bypass the limit switch but it's a nice safety feature to have.  Auber's fix was to get a 14 or 12 gauge extension cord and put female spade lugs on the hot and neutral wires and a loop lug on the ground.  Connect the spades to the heating element and the ground to one of the screws holding on the plate to the heating element access, making sure you have good contact to the back of the smoker.  I had to make an access to the limit switch in the back of my Gen 1 40 since there isn't one.  The switch will fail so when it does I want to continue smoking by bypassing the switch with a wire nut in five minutes and not making an access when it fails.


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## Bearcarver (May 25, 2019)

This is the first time I'm seeing this Thread, but Excellent Job, Chopsaw!!!

I read the whole Thread, and this Thread confirms my reasoning for sending so many people to "tallbm" for MES Repairs.

Bear


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## 2 DA BASS (May 25, 2019)

dr k said:


> In the bottom access with the black hot power cord terminated to it's closest braided heating element wire and the white neutral power cord wire terminated to the other braided heating element wire its closest to, you've bypassed the circuit board.  Plugged in is heating, unplugged is off but your using the wires with the limit switch in the circuit.  You can disconnect the limit switch and wire nut/butt splice the wires together to bypass the limit switch but it's a nice safety feature to have.  Auber's fix was to get a 14 or 12 gauge extension cord and put female spade lugs on the hot and neutral wires and a loop lug on the ground.  Connect the spades to the heating element and the ground to one of the screws holding on the plate to the heating element access, making sure you have good contact to the back of the smoker.  I had to make an access to the limit switch in the back of my Gen 1 40 since there isn't one.  The switch will fail so when it does I want to continue smoking by bypassing the switch with a wire nut in five minutes and not making an access when it fails.


Thanks! So basically it’s cutting the cord and looping it with the element and limiter. If I solder the wires, any idea what type of solder?


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## chopsaw (May 25, 2019)

2 DA BASS said:


> it’s cutting the cord


No don't actually cut it . Dis connect the power in from the board , and re connect with the correct wires . That will by pass the stock controller , and the stock therm , but leave the limit switch in the loop . 



Bearcarver said:


> This is the first time I'm seeing this Thread, but Excellent Job, Chopsaw!!!
> 
> I read the whole Thread, and this Thread confirms my reasoning for sending so many people to "tallbm" for MES Repairs.


Thanks Bear . It's amazing how well this thing cooks now . You're correct . 

 tallbm
  drives the bus on this stuff .


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## 2 DA BASS (May 25, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> No don't actually cut it . Dis connect the power in from the board , and re connect with the correct wires . That will by pass the stock controller , and the stock therm , but leave the limit switch in the loop .
> 
> 
> Thanks Bear . It's amazing how well this thing cooks now . You're correct .
> ...





chopsaw said:


> No don't actually cut it . Dis connect the power in from the board , and re connect with the correct wires . That will by pass the stock controller , and the stock therm , but leave the limit switch in the loop .
> 
> 
> Thanks Bear . It's amazing how well this thing cooks now . You're correct .
> ...


 Got it. I just want to make sure what ever is shorting out the limiter is not in the loop and if the board is bypassed this should solve my issue.


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## tallbm (May 27, 2019)

2 DA BASS said:


> Got it. I just want to make sure what ever is shorting out the limiter is not in the loop and if the board is bypassed this should solve my issue.



Hi there and welcome!

I have a detailed post about how to rewire the MES so it can work with a PID controller:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-rewire-simple-guide-no-back-removal-needed.267069/

The rewire we are talking of is to simply bypass the circuit board (and MES controller) so that when the MES plug is plugged in it just simply feeds power to the heating element.  This is good if you have a PID controller since the PID controller would now be the thing feeding the power off/on to the plug.

A rewired MES using a PID controller works like this.

Plug the rewired MES into a PID controller
Plug the PID controller into the wall outlet
Drop the PID temp probe into the MES vent hole and clip to a rack
Turn on the PID controller and punch in a set temp
The PID Controller will feed power off/on to the rewired MES until the PID hits the set temp
The PID controller will then continue to feed power off/on to tightly hold near the set temp (provided the PID is tuned properly)
With the rewire we are suggesting it would KEEP the safety rollout limit switch in the wiring circuit to help with any safety issues should say a kid plug the MES directly into the wall or the PID somehow gets stuck in ON mode.

If you want to eliminate the safety rollout limit switch you would simply disconnect it then connect together the two wire ends that were left behind when you removed the switch.  I personally would suggest just replacing the switch.

I have burned up a few of them myself.  I learned that the issue was that the switches are a little delicate.  While attaching the electrical spade connectors to them I found it was MANDATORY to not cause ANY wiggle in the tabs that connect to the back of the switch.  If I did then the switch would overheat and melt down on me after some time.

The way I resolved this was to get a new switch, add the connectors to the switch BEFORE I installed it on the MES.
I took a the switch and put connectors on both tabs and then stood it up where the bottom connector/tab was on a piece of wood.  I would then gently tap downwards on the top connector/tab to get it onto the tab without bending or wiggling the tab.  I often found that the bottom connector was the one that actually would push on the tab first.
At that point I would just rotate so the top tab/connector was now on the bottom and continue gently tapping until the tabs were ALL the way on and no wiggling of the tabs was caused.
At this point I then crimped the wires to the connectors and THEN fastened the switch back in place.  Don't fasten first and then try to crimp, you will just wiggle the tabs.  If soldering just replace the word "crimp" with solder and follow the same order :)

This fixed my burning up rollout limit switch issues :D

Anyhow, if you want just bypass the rollout safety limit switch you don't need to rewire for a PID, you just need to remove the switch and wire nut those to ends together.... though I wouldn't suggest removing a safety measure from the smoke :)

If you want to rewire for a PID then my rewire post should help you out greatly.
I hope all of this info has helped more than confused things hahaha :)


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## 2 DA BASS (May 28, 2019)

Thank you for your help! Much appreciated


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