Hi folks,
I’m using a 24v12 motor controller to drive a conventional brushed gear motor.
Control is done via serial using the Pololu protocol as described in the manual.
Everything is running fine (several identical units) for far, but one problem is still there:
Sometimes, while the motor is already running nicely for a few seconds, it suddenly stops, and the red error LED comes up.
Status register says “safe start violation”, but no other errors.
I did also look at the SMC center, which also has only the “safe start violation” error, but no other errors.
I can avoid that by letting the motor travelling at a slower speed, but I need the maximum speed.
Supply is a 6S LiPo battery (ca. 24V), current is well below 4 amps even at high speed.
The voltage only drops about 0.5V when the motor accelerates from zero to maximum, so there is no problem with the supply.
I o’scoped the rails, and they look fine and stable.
The 24v12 are in factory standard configuration (auto baud, safe start violation on etc) with the following exceptions:
I use analog input 1 to connect a potentiometer (which is mechanically connected to the gear motor, so allowing to get the exact position of the motor shaft),
and analog input 2 is configured a kill switch input.
I thought at first, that at higer motor power there may be some vibrations which triggers the kill switch (2 NC microswitches in series). So I disabled the kill switch feature, but the problem still persists.
Sometime it also the motor briefly stops, and immediately ramping up again, without issueing a safe start violation.
Does anyone have an idea what goes on here?
Have a nice day,
Wolferl