Motoron giving 0x3010 error

I have a motoron M1T256 running over i2c and the controller boots with 4 yellow flashes fast and Example code is now giving a 0x3010 error.
I did change from a 12V motor to a 24V motor, including changing the motor driver power to 12V. Motor is 42Watts, so about 1.8 AMPS.
The motor ran a couple of times but kept erroring out, now the controller will not start even after removing the power for a few minutes.
Any ideas? What is the chip that is doing the controlling

Type, inlcuding changing the motor driver power to 24 vdc

Hello.

Four flashes on the yellow LED is normal, as noted in the “LED Feedback” section of the Motoron user’s guide. However, a 0x3010 error would be error bits 4 (No power latched), 12 (No power), and 13 (Error active). You can find more information about this under the “Status flag” heading in the “Variable reference” section of the same user’s guide.

Could you post some pictures of your setup that show all of your connections? Also, could you post more specific details about your power supply and motor (i.e. a link to the specs or product page)?

Brandon

Thanks. I was able to get it give a few different errors; I think the culprit is a 24VDC power supply, rated at 3 AMP is most likely having voltage drop outs. I ran the 24V motor on 12V supply and it ran without issue. I think the other errors are 51, e001. I will look at the status flag to see if I can decode it.

Specifics is it is a variable vacuum pump. The controller is a WIO terminal the terminal has two grove ports, one is used for I2c to motor, the second is used for AD for a MPX51000 NPX pressure sensor. Motor is rated at 24 vdc at 42 watts. The motor on vacuum pump 24VDC at 42 watts. Link DC 24V Vacuum Pump Mini Vacuum Pump Water Air Gas Vacuum Pump -85KPa 40L/min Oil-Less Vacuum Pump, Mini Air Pump Motor: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

There is a DC-DC brick to convert input (Motor DC) to logic DC, that is 5 VDC - measured at 5.05vdc. Wires for power are 18Ga, wires for logic are 28-30ga.

I have a new PS rated at 6 Amp coming; I assume it can handle 2 amps of inductive load.

Can you clarify the other errors you’re seeing? Are you saying “51” and “e001” are two separate errors you’re getting at different times?

For the pump, please note that the 42W figure could be some kind of efficiency or maximum power rating, and it is likely not a maximum/peak current rating. If that’s the case, the pump could be drawing bursts of current much higher than you’re expecting, and the Motoron M1T256 might be underpowered for it at 24V (especially if your 3A power supply is having problems with it). Ideally, you could look at the current draw with an oscilloscope to get a better idea of what it is doing, but if you do not have access to a current probe then using a multimeter (both for continuous current and peak/max if yours has that feature) might be helpful too.

Brandon

I get a “Communication error” 51 from your example code. The motor runs for a while and then stops with a 51 - which I cannot find.

void checkForProblems()
{
  uint16_t status = mc.getStatusFlags();
  checkCommunicationError(mc.getLastError());
  checkControllerError(status);

  uint32_t voltageMv = mc.getVinVoltageMv(referenceMv, vinType);
  checkCommunicationError(mc.getLastError());
  checkVinVoltage(voltageMv);
}

It seems the M1T256 is somewhat limited at higher voltage. I tested this on my bench supply vs a Chinese 24VDC PS, I ran in to the same issue. As you crank up the voltage to the motor driver the better chance of errors, communication, (51)…. I finally implement reset and re-initialization code but at any voltage over 14-15 volts the M1T256 gets flakey, I put caps on motor. If I disable all of the motor error condition flags I can get it to run fairly well, but nothing like someone of the earlier Pololu motor controllers I have used. My oldest is something like 15 years old; it drives a motor on a chicken coup. I am just going to look at what other motor drives you have - I would hate to have to do a custom board for a one off variable vacuum pump.
So, have you guys run these smaller boards close to there limits, I see once I get the motor pulling 1.7-8 amp or so at 24 vdc it flakes. Same setup is great at 12V but not the same power. Look forward to your teams excellent insight.

Communication error 51 means the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) failed; since it seems to only happen when you raise the operating voltage, it could indicate that too much noise is being generated on the signal lines when you do so. Could you post some pictures of your setup that show all of your connections? If you aren’t doing so already, you might try keeping the signal wires as far away from the power wires as you can, as well as keeping them as short as you can. If you have access to an oscilloscope, I recommend monitoring the signal lines to see if you can get a better idea of what’s going on.

Brandon

Not digging out scope, I just ordered a pair of your standard motor controller that uses DIR, PWM and has current sense. Already have code for those types and it gets rid of a headache.
I did disable CRC checking and oddly enough it works fine and commands flow fine. That does indicate to me that the 51 error is a possible false flag.