Qik 2s12v10: what if connected motor acts as generator? Motor indicator led lights up!

Support Motor controllers/drivers and motors
1

Hey @all!

I’ve got some question about the Qik 2s12v10 as I couldn’t find an answer in the manual.
I have connected a motor (e.g. 12 V) to the board. Normally I use the board to drive the motor through pwm.

But what happens if the connected motor is driven externally? Imagine there is a fly wheel that could be rotaded manually for example. Then the motor acts as a generator. In my case I noticed that then the motor indicator led lights on, further the blue power led.

Now my questions:

  • Is that a normal behavior of the board?
  • Could the board be damaged through such a setup?
  • Do I have to provide a protection against the voltage generated through the externally driven motor?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

2

Hello.

We expect a brushed DC motor that is being driven mechanically to act as a generator and power the board, although the board is not really designed to be powered that way. If the voltage generated by the motor exceeds board’s rated voltage (16V), it could damage the board. The voltage a brushed DC motor generates is a function of the motor’s rotation speed. As a general rule of thumb, the board should be OK if the motor’s rotation speed well below the speed it runs at when being electrically driven. Otherwise, you might need to look into some kind of protection.

-Nathan