Traffic light controller

awheelterd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Location
Kenly, NC
I was gifted a 5 light traffic light for Father's day. Will be pretty cool to hang up in my barn. Has anyone got one that they've wired up to some sort of controller? Lights are 120v led. It's pretty simple how it's wired up inside. I could obviously wire them all together and they would all run, but I want them to sequence or blink in patterns or something.

This one looks promising

Traffic Light Controller 37+ Modes Sequencer Board 3 Channel AC Voltage 100-240VAC 50HZ 60HZ RED Green Yellow RYG AC Light Control NO Coding Required Has Display for Easy Programming https://a.co/d/a2qpsGC

IMG_20250614_153343636.jpg
 
I'm sure that module will do the trick, although its probably designed for only a single red/yellow/gree so if you wanted the right and left sides to be asynchronous you're out of luck.
Sounds like it has a microcotrnoller with a bunch of pre-programmed sequences, you'll probbaly scroll through a set and leave it on the one you want. Or maybe you turn that dial to set the timing between cycles.

If it was me, I'd get a high-voltage relay interface board and drive it with a Teensy or some other modern microcontroller, just so I could code my own effects and sequences. Good exercise in Micropython or C.
Of course what would REALLY happen is I'd have the plan for that, but since it requires a few steps of shopping and integration I'd probably never finish the project and would have been better off just buying the simpler pre-made controller 🤦‍♂️
 
Last edited:
I would personally use a PLC and relays but only because there are several sitting around. Going to be hard to beat that Amazon controller even with an Arduino and relay board.
If you want it to do something custom I can put a program on a cheap PLC and send it your way for a case of beer and an hj.
 
It looks like the right hand amber and green have arrows in them?

That one you linked would work, But you'd have to run both the greens and ambers in the same sequence.

Ideally, you'd want a 6 channel controller (Well, 5, But you could ignore the extra red channel)

There are a few on amazon that require Arduino programming knowledge, If you want to go down that hard path,

This one similar to the one you linked used to be sold on Amazon, and looks to be exactly what I'd want to use;

Amazon.com: Traffic Light Controller/Sequencer 6-Channel, 85VAC-265VAC, Supports Full-Intersections, Doghouse Signals, Turn Arrow & Crosswalk/Signal Combos, and Drag Racing Trees - Made in The USA : Video Games

Buy Traffic Light Controller/Sequencer 6-Channel, 85VAC-265VAC, Supports Full-Intersections, Doghouse Signals, Turn Arrow & Crosswalk/Signal Combos, and Drag Racing Trees - Made in The USA: Video Games - Amazon.com âś“ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

But isn't currently available from Amazon so the vendor might not be selling on Amazon anymore..

If you look in the Amazon reviews, you'll see a couple of videos from folks using it the way I'd use it.

It does still show on the vendor's own web-site;

Galak Electronics

Check out Galak Electronics Online Store for kits and supplies. We currently specialize in educational and commercial electronic project kits.
galakelectronics.com

And for $32, I'd be willing to forgo the protections of ordering through Amazon.

If you can, I'd flip the lights around so the arrows were on the left, like a normal left turn signal set.

You've got a pretty cool project there! Please let us know how it pans out...
 
Back
Top