Battery connection and diodes?
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 4:50 pm
I just read through the Roboclaw user manual. I see a number of wiring diagrams and several show a battery, fuse and switch wired in series with the controller. This is simple, but...
I see a diode in parallel with the fuse but no diode in parallel with the switch.
It seems to me you'd want a diode in both locations. If the circuit is open the back EMF does not care how. Or is the thinking here that the user would only open the switch after causing the motors to stop and never use the power switch as an "E-Stop".
The manual only says "high current" with no suggested value but I assume the max current the motor could produce is equal to the motor's stall current.
I see a diode in parallel with the fuse but no diode in parallel with the switch.
It seems to me you'd want a diode in both locations. If the circuit is open the back EMF does not care how. Or is the thinking here that the user would only open the switch after causing the motors to stop and never use the power switch as an "E-Stop".
The manual only says "high current" with no suggested value but I assume the max current the motor could produce is equal to the motor's stall current.