Well the good news is that the Z axis motor is fine
Basic troubleshooting of swapping round the SpeakOn cables for another axis was enough, no idea what the problem was (other than it being driven faster than ever before..)
I am going to make a counterbalance though as it seems very unfair on the Z axis motor.. suggestions still appreciated, I am guessing it is about 75Kg, the second spindle is only 2 maybe 3 Kg and at some point I will get round to building an ATC.
The counterbalance ties in with my ATC plans, I hope to use bellville springs at the top of the drawbar to (pull) the drawbar and to simply raise the Z axis into a fixed lump to release the drawbar. However that is not going to happen immediately.
Jon