# What Did I Do And How Do I Correct It?



## Transformer (Feb 22, 2015)

On my recently CNC'd lathe I was trying out the OD Groove wizard in Mach 3.  As the cut began with the tool moving forward on the X axis the motor stalled and I hit the emergency stop on the controller.

Now the X axis motor will not respond to Mach3 nor will the keyboard jogging keys make the motor respond.  The Z axis motor behaves normally.  When I try and run a program the read out in Mach3 on the screen for the X axis changes but the motor does not turn.  There is power getting to the X axis motor as it locks up when the controller is on, but I can hand turn it when the power is off.  The Z axis motor responds to the program running in Mach3 and to keyboard jogging.  I get no error messages on the screen.

Did I fry the stepper motor?  All suggestions appreciated.  Thanks.


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## JimDawson (Feb 22, 2015)

If you haven't already done so, try rebooting the computer.  I had this happen once, and that is how I fixed it.  It sounds like the motor and drive are OK, because the drive is taking control of the motor under power.


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## Transformer (Feb 22, 2015)

You had me hopping to try a reboot, unfortunately nothing changed.


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## jumps4 (Feb 23, 2015)

remove the motor and see if it turns, maybe something is stuck or loose like a coupling.
steve


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## Karl_T (Feb 23, 2015)

jumps4 said:


> remove the motor and see if it turns, maybe something is stuck or loose like a coupling.
> steve


Yep, physical inspection first. make sure everything looks mechanically good.

If no joy here, can you swap output from drives to the motors? Most machines can do this. See if the problem moves to the other axis. BE SURE EVERYTHING IS MECHANICALLY FREE FIRST, could burn out a second drive if it isn't. My experience, problem is more likely in the drive than the motor. Some drives have an internal fuse that you can pop and replace nearly for free.

Karl


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## JimDawson (Feb 23, 2015)

Transformer said:


> As the cut began with the tool moving forward on the X axis the motor stalled and I hit the emergency stop on the controller.




Given that the motor stalled at this point, and a computer reboot did not solve the problem then I suspect it is the drive that failed. Swap drives as Karl suggested and see if the Z drive will run the X motor.


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## Transformer (Feb 23, 2015)

Well I swapped the wires from the steppers to the controller around a few times and nothing worked so I put them back the way they were originally and now both steppers are working.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Reminds me of the time I took something electronic in for repair and the repair fellow said it worked perfectly "it just wanted to go for a walk" was the repair fellows comment, and as I recall it never caused a problem again.

Thank you Karl and Jim.


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## dracozny (Feb 23, 2015)

sounds like you had a loose connection. hopefully not a broken lead, those are annoying to troubleshoot.


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