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Motor quitting

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by getti, Jan 31, 2018.

  1. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    One of my motors keeps shutting off after a bit of use. It doesn't actually shut off but it falls flat and if I use my hand to pick it back up it starts working immediately. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this? I know it's not caused from exceeding motor travel limit. I've turned everything way down in the axis assignments page so the motors aren't even moving that much . I've also turned down some of the values in the smc3 utility cuz I thought that maybe the motor was drawing too much power. Also it is always the same motor that shuts down

    I'm using an Arduino setup with smc3 code installed.

    Thanks
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2018
  2. PiaMan

    PiaMan Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, SCN5, Arduino
    Been having exact same issue. Always same motor and it works for a while then moves to the 12:00o clock and stops. Moves there nice and slow on its own
  3. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    What motors are you using, what CTC on the levers, what PSUs and are the levers using more than 40 degrees up or down of movement?
  4. PiaMan

    PiaMan Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, SCN5, Arduino
    Didnt want to hijack his thread but since he hasnt answered yet. I have 60ctc levers. Single hp power supply with pgsaw 25:1

    Motor in smc doesnt shut off but i ha e to exit game manually move arm to middle position then restart game.

    Ive tried a variety of tuning setting from mild to wild and it doesnt seem to have a pattern for how long before it does it. Ive also tried reducing smc setting and messing with limiting setting. Its always the same motor and it acts like it is powered when it moved to the 12:00 position. Just moves nice and slow then stops at 12:00.
  5. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2012
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    124
    Location:
    Canada
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    45Coins
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    +45 / 1 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    3DOF
    3 Bosch Wiper motors
    45 cc levers
    HP server power supply DPS-600PB B
    Less than 40 degrees movement.

    Im using a really lightweight setup with a kart seat and no frame. I weigh 145lbs. I have a sneaking suspicion the problem is power...
  6. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Ratings:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Power may be an issue with a single HP server PSU, as they are a bit sensitive to power spikes, which is why people such as myself use one per motor.

    Try lowering the Main Level % in Game Manager to 96% and see if that helps, as it will add a bit of global smoothing.
    • Like Like x 1
  7. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    I'm really thinking it's a power issue, I reduced the main level down and turned off the third motor temporarily and the problem seems to have gone away.

    I have a deep cycle marine RV battery that I'm thinking can supply enough power at least do determine for sure that not enough power is the cause of the problem. The only thing is I don't have a powerful enough charger to charge that battery. I have a 12 volt 1 amp charger on it right now but it takes forever to get that battery up. My question is can I charge it with the HP power supply?
  8. Doon1

    Doon1 Member

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    Batteries charge at about 14 volts and are "full" at 12.6 volts. At 12 volts it is only at 25% state of charger. So a 12 volt PS can't charge a 12 volt battery. Plus if you only partially charge a battery it will begin to form a hard shell of sulfate on the plates that inhibit electron flow.
  9. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    Thanks for this. Makes sense.

    So anyways I got a proper charger and did a test with the deep cycle battery and the problem is gone. Completely fixed, no issues with all 3 motors running and main level turned back up to 100%. Looks like I'm in the market for some good power supplies but what to buy? 2 more HP 600's...
  10. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Ratings:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    You can use more HP server PSUs, but you may also want to consider LED strip 12V PSU, which is far less sensitive to spikes.
  11. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2012
    Messages:
    124
    Location:
    Canada
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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    So.... It's happening again. I'm still using the big marine/RV battery and everything was fine until the other day one motor started stalling again. I was planning to get some power supplies but it was working so good I decided to just leave it alone and keep charging the battery.
    What kind of power supply will solve my problem, anyone have any suggestions? It's a 3dof wiper sim
  12. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    If it is now failing on a big battery setup - you likely have other issues then the power supply. I have a 260AH battery setup which I run 8 x 12v 48AMP motors off - never had a issue, but I do use an array of 4 X '2 x 60' Sabertooths to drive my motors.
    • Like Like x 1
  13. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2012
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    124
    Location:
    Canada
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    45Coins
    Ratings:
    +45 / 1 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    Thanks and yes you're right power isn't the issue. I think I've found it though...
  14. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2012
    Messages:
    124
    Location:
    Canada
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    45Coins
    Ratings:
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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    I found a post in the FAQ section about wiper motor ground isolation for 2 speed wiper motors and there was a diagram showing which wires should be used. It occurred to me that when I did mine I didn't pay any attention to which wires/brushes I used. Any how I followed the advice in the post to use the brushes opposite each other and it seemed to solve my issue. so far so good. Here's the a link to the page, there's a hand drawn wiring diagram that really helped me!
    https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/sparkfun-moto-monster-only-one-direction.7721/

    Does this sound about right?
    • Like Like x 1