Roboclaw 2x7A M1 Driver Failure

General discussion of using Roboclaw motor controllers
Post Reply
advaiths
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:04 pm
Roboclaw 2x7A M1 Driver Failure

Post by advaiths »

Hello,

Setup: 11.1V 3S LiPo battery, 2 Pololu 37D DC Motors

I originally owned a 2x15A, which stopped working for an unknown reason. We were controlling it using USB, and the USB port on the microcontroller stopped working, along with the USB connection on the Roboclaw. In my understanding, a motor was damaged during this process as well, as it was unable to be driven backwards. We are using the Python roboclaw_driver library, specifically the SpeedM1M2 function.

Next, I tried using a 2x7A Roboclaw to drive the two motors. I connected it to the Basicmicro Control Studio and tested M1 and M2. M2 motor runs fine, forward and backwards, but M1 was unable to run backwards. When I tried running it backwards, I was given an M1 driver error. The controller is unable to drive the motor at all now.

Are there any tips on how to debug this? Has the motor driver been damaged?
felix
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:08 am
Re: Roboclaw 2x7A M1 Driver Failure

Post by felix »

Hi,
It's rather strange.
I see one simple test to start with : can you run the motor backward full speed without using the motor controller (just connecting it to some power supply)?

If for some reason it can't turn backward (mechanical problem, special anti-return design, ...) then setting a negative speed would mean stalling the motor and therefore provoke a high current (there should be some protections still, as far as I know)
User avatar
Basicmicro Support
Posts: 1594
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:45 pm
Re: Roboclaw 2x7A M1 Driver Failure

Post by Basicmicro Support »

If the motor can't move in one direction(eg when directly wired to a battery) that indicates a broken or shorted connection. If it is a broken connection it would not damage the Roboclaw. If it was shorted it would kill it instantly. Roboclaw can NOT protect against a dead short. It requires a minimum inductance to operate properly. Motors normally provide that inductance.

Post Reply