Crazy Y and Z (sane X) stepper motors on G203V???

[stag53]

Hi All,

I'm doing an X3 conversion. Have a C11G BOB and (3) Gecko drives. I finally got everything hooked up today... got the X-axis running great. When I went to plug in Y and Z, however, things didn't go as smoothly. When I powered up, both motors started turning erratically, vibrating, generally going crazy...

Here's what I've done so far to diagnose the problem:

1) Hooked up the Y motor to my X axis drive. Motor ran great. Doesn't appear to be the motor or motor wiring.

2) Disconnected the step and direction from the BOB. Motor has holding torque, not doing it's little dance. Doesn't appear to be getting strange signals from the BOB. I also disconnected both the step/dir individually. With the step signal disconnected, the motor holds torque, doesn't go nuts. It only happens when step is hooked up.

3) Hooked up step for the Y-axis to the X-axis step signal on the BOB. Motor went nuts. Seems to be something to do with the step input on the drive.

3) Ran a second set of wires for step/dir from the BOB. Still goes haywire. Doesn't seem to be the step/dir wires shorting out,etc.

4) Left everything hooked up. Shut down Mach3. Powered up electronics. Motor went nuts again. Not Mach3 doing weird things.

I'm out of ideas! What the heck is going on? Do I have two bad drives? The green lights on both X and Z drives are lit...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Adam S

[stag53]

Anybody? Bueller?

Is this the sort of thing I should turn over directly to Gecko?

[stevespo]

Did you try physically swapping the Y Gecko drive for the X and see if that made any difference? Not just the step/direction signals, but everything? I would want to know if there was something physically wrong with the Y/Z drives, so rather than running new wires, just swap it out for the X and see what happens.

Beyond that, the best bet would be to call Gecko and talk to someone there.

Steve