ROAMiQ 12V Motor Relay: wiring guide and FAQ

What this device does

The ROAMiQ 12V Motor Relay is a small controller (the carbon-look box in your kit) that drives a 12V motor in both directions, like an RV bed lift, an awning, etc. It takes a simple momentary switch press, powers the motor the right way, and then stops on its own. It also keeps an eye on the motor so nothing gets pushed past its limits. One controller, full control of your motor.

The wires and where each one goes

Your controller ships with a labeled harness. Each flying lead is marked so you can match it to its job.

Power

• "12V" (red, with inline fuse) goes to a switched or fused +12V source. Your RV house battery through a fuse block is perfect. This is the wire that powers the controller and the motor.
• "Ground" (black) goes to chassis ground or the battery negative terminal.

Motor

• "Motor +" (red) and "Motor -" (black) go to the two terminals on your motor.
• If the motor runs the wrong direction the first time you test it, do not worry. Just swap "Motor +" and "Motor -". That reverses the direction, and nothing is harmed.

Switch inputs

The controller has two control inputs plus a "Switch Ground" lead. This is how you tell the motor which way to move.

The controller is active-low. That means you trigger a direction by briefly connecting one of the control inputs to "Switch Ground". You are not sending power through the switch, you are just completing a small circuit to ground.

For a simple momentary rocker switch:

Fail-safe behavior

Because the switch works by connecting to ground rather than sending power, a disconnected or broken switch wire simply does nothing. The motor will not false-trigger from a loose or damaged control wire. If a switch lead comes off, the worst case is that direction stops responding until you reconnect it. Nothing moves on its own.

Built-in protection

The controller watches the motor current and stops automatically to protect your equipment in three situations:

• Overcurrent (jam): if something blocks the motor and current spikes, the controller cuts power.
• Stall: if the motor strains against a load for too long, the controller stops it.
• Runtime timeout: if the motor runs longer than the set time limit, the controller shuts it off.

These all ship with sensible defaults, so most people never touch them. If you want to fine-tune the thresholds for your specific motor, you can adjust them.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens when I flip the switch.

Work through these three checks in order.

1. Check your fuse on the red "12V" wire first. This is the most common cause. Replace a blown fuse only with the same rating.
2. Check the ground. Make sure the black "Ground" wire has a solid connection to chassis ground or battery negative.
3. Check the switch connection. Confirm the switch common is wired to "Switch Ground" and each throw reaches its control input. A loose "Switch Ground" is a frequent culprit.

The motor runs the wrong way.

Swap "Motor +" and "Motor -" at the motor terminals. That is all it takes to reverse direction.

The motor stops by itself.

That is the built-in protection doing its job. Check for a jam, an obstruction, or something binding the motor. Once the mechanical issue is cleared, the motor will respond normally again. If it keeps tripping without an obvious jam, the protection thresholds may need tuning in the ROAMiQ app.

Still stuck?

We are your installer on call. Reach ROAMiQ support and we will walk you through it.