Apologies in advance for this 'techie' question which may be of no interest whatsoever to the majority, but here goes.
I have a lighting switch/receiver which operates my room lights from my TV remote control. I would like to operate a small mains electric motor (for window blinds) from this light switch and therefore from the remote control. When I have connected it up and switch on from the remote, I hear the motor trying to operate the motor in bursts, but there is clearly insufficient current (??) coming out of the light switch to drive the motor. OK to switch a light on but not enough to operate an electric motor. Well that's my guess anyway.
My thoughts have now turned to perhaps using a relay switch between the lighting switch and the motor so that when I operate the lighting switch this trips the relay and drives the motor, but I have no knowledge of using them or what I might look for. Ebay searches show up lots of 12v ones for vehicles etc, but that's not what I want.
Can anyone advise please?
Again, apologies for what mus be a boring topic for many, but I'm just stuck for advice.
Thanks.

Hi

You are on the right track; you need to connect the motor side of the relay to a power supply sufficient to run the motor.

the "sensor" side of the relay only needs sufficient power to switch the relay in / out.

Davexf

You should be able to get a mains (240V) relay from any good electrical store - or Maplins.

One thing you should be wary of is overloading the lighting circuit - what is the current/power rating of the motor? If it tries to draw too much current it will blow the fuse - or in the worst case start a fire.

A big thanks you to those who've replied. Very much appreciated.
I didn't want to go into too much tech' detail in my OP, but searching for relays online has baffled me totally because of all the different types.
The wireless light switch which I have controlling my lights, is mains powered and according to its brochure has a load power of 40-300 watts, enough to light a bulb or bulbs I guess.
The motor unit powering my blinds is powered through a 240v AC adapter to a 12v motor which drives the blinds. I don't know the load/power of the motor, but it's clearly too much for my remote light switch as when I connect it to the mains adapter of the motor, insufficient 'power' is getting through as the motor doesn't function, but only gives out short bursts as it attempts to power the motor before I switch off realising it's not going to work.
So, after all that, what I want I think is a relay which accepts mains power from the wireless controlled light switch (currently powering lights) and then to which I can connect the mains adapter of the motor, or if possible the relay outputs 12v DC so I can connect it direct to the motor without using its mains adapter.
Either option would be acceptable.
Finally I have contacted the manufacturer to ask the power rating of the motor, but with my little knowledge, if its only 12v I'm thinking it can't be that powerful.
If/when I get a response from the supplier I'll post the motor power and hopefully someone will point me in the right direction.
Thanks again for the advice so far.

Was the AC adaptor supplied with the motor as a package or supplied seperately.?
If seperately is it's output sufficient to power the motor?

If you plug the adaptor into a mains socket temporarily without the light switch will it power the blinds ?

Important questions:-

1) Motor power
2) AC adaptor output.

With that information it should be possible to recomend a solution.

Firstly, thanks for the response.
To answer your questions:-
Yes, the AC adapter WAS supplied with the motor unit and it outputs 12v plugging into the motor unit.
Secondly, if I connect the output from my wireless light switch which normally illuminates 220-240v light(s), to the AC mains adapter supplied with the motor I can hear it trying to drive the motor in short bursts, but at no time does the motor actual operate properly, I'm assuming because the motor is drawing too much current than it is getting from the wireless light switch (??).
The AC adapter supplied with the motor has the following specification:-
Input 100 - 240v 50/60 Hz 0.6A. Output 12v DC 1000mA.
Whilst my wireless light switch is undoubtedly outputting sufficient voltage for lights to operate, I suspect it's not 0,6A.
I still don't know the motor power. Does the above give a clue?
Although I am pretty capable re' household wiring, when it comes to such things as amperage and loads etc, I'm lost!
A big thanks again.

The adaptor appears to be capable of giving 132 watts from a 220 volt supply.
The motor requires 12 watts so it would appear that the adaptor is strong enough.

However 12 watts to power window blinds in my opinion is far too little, but would also depend on the gearing.

Instead of connecting output from your wireless light switch to the mains adaptor try connecting your mains adaptor directly to a 220 volt socket, preferably switched, and see if that works.
If it works then the wireless light switch is your problem.
If it doesn't work then the adaptor motor is the problem.

2nd thoughts.

Is the motor trying to close an already closed blind?

Or open an already open blind ?

Thereby stalling

Can you reverse the operation ???

there is something wrong in the system.
quick check - take a high amperage dc converter - one suitable for an electric door bell will do and see if the motor operates continually or still in fits and starts.
if it is ok then take the original converter and put it on a clean cct without any other device and see check the motor again.

most lighting ccts should be capable of taking this on, you will know that is not the case if the lights dim when the motor is trying to run

hth

good one Fred, this will probably lead to heavy load on the cct and the lights dimming ??

The power of your motor must be less than 12 Watts (12v x 1A). If the AC adapter is reasonably efficient, (they usually are) then we can assume that the power needed to drive it might be about 20 W. This is a lot less than an incandescent light bulb. So, drawing too much current would not appear to be the problem here. I suggest that the electronics of your wireless switch are OK driving resistive loads (like light bulbs), but cannot drive inductive loads (like AC adapters). A relay solution might work. For this you would need a 240 VAC relay (http://www.maplin.co.uk/productsearc...=240+vac+relay). Connect the input terminals of the relay to the output terminals of your wireless light switch, and then connect the output terminals of the relay as a series switch between one of the wires coming from the mains socket and going to the AC adapter. Take care though.

Yes, my thoughts too were that 12W was too little to move a blind. To the OP - is this a blind that is already working by an electric motor or something that you intend to build yourself?

Too many replies to quote from them all, but thanks a lot for all the advice and suggestions.
To the final question in the last post, yes it's already working with an electric motor. A not very sophisticated one to say the least as it's a product which takes the drawing cord for the blind around a motor driven pulley and simulates it being drawn by hand.
My wife can't see why I'm bothering with it, but as I'm a sucker for gadgets I can't resist!
If all fails, I might try one of the readily available mains sockets which are sold with a remote control which switches power on and off from its supplied remote. If I plug the AC adapter from the blinds motor into this I'm guessing it will work, but I won't be using my normal remote but the one than comes with the socket.
And I hate having remotes around!
Once again a big thank you for the help and advice. I thought my OP was a long shot, but it never fails to impress me the breadth of knowledge out there.
Thanks and keep the suggestions coming if possible!

Note.Just had a response from the supplier who thinks(!) the motor may be 12W, but that's not for sure.