Hi,
I got Pololu 18v25 Motor controller and connected it to a Linear Actuator.
Linear Actuator maximum electrical ratings were 12V 30A. I was supplying 16V using LiPo.
The Actuator never worked. Even though I could manipulate the settings through software.
The motor never ran. On careful testing I found that I didn’t find any voltage coming on to the Motor Terminals.
I have changed my Actuator to 24V 15A. I don’t know whether I should try the previous controller again or go on with a different one.
It sounds like you are talking about our Simple high-Power Motor Controller 18v25. If you are planning to use a 24V battery, we recommend not using the Simple Motor Controller 18v25 as 24V batteries can significantly exceed 24 V when fully charged and are dangerously close to the maximum voltage limits of the Simple Motor Controller 18v25. However, if you want to continue to use a 16V battery the 18v25 would still be appropriate.
If you want to trouble shoot the Simple Motor Controller you have, could you tell me more about the issue you are having with it? How did you test it? Did the controller ever work for you? Does the board show any indication of damage? Do the LEDs do anything? Could you post close up pictures of both sides of the board?
So I had troubleshooted the Motor Controller, I found that A494xx IC wasn’t working. The IC’s Regulated voltage output of 13v was not coming.Also, the bypass capacitors were showing short too and I tried to figure out which one by removing them one by one, but couldn’t solve the issue. I don’t know if connecting the motor and driving it for the first time cause this issue. Now as I mentioned I am planning to give one more try to your simple motor controller.
So, I would go for 24v23 motor controller. However, I need to be sure that this time it would work. Can you please tell me if I don’t apply the load to the Motor Controller will I still get voltages on the Motor output as per the software.
Also, to drive a 24V Motor, Can I power it up using 16V? . Will the motor controller be able to generate that voltage?
The Simple Motor Controller cannot boost the voltage from the power supply; it can only supply a voltage up to what it is being supplied (so if your battery is only 16V, that is the maximum voltage the motor will see). However, brushed DC gearmotors can be run at lower voltage than they are rated for, so you could still use a controller and 24V motor with your 16V battery. The performance of the motor would just decrease in proportion to voltage decrease.
It is possible that your Simple Motor Controller was damaged by your previous motor drawing too much power. When the supply voltage to a motor is increased, the stall current also increases in proportion to the voltage, so your 12V motor would have had a stall current of about 40A when supplied with 16V.
The Simple Motor Controller will output a voltage on the motor terminals without any motor attached. If you get a new 24v23 controller, I recommend testing it first without a motor attached.
