# DC treadmill motor wiring info needed



## Jericho

Not sure if this is the best way to get back to my DC motor situations but ...
  So I've gotten another treadmill motor this time with the electronic panel that controls the motor. Also have the control wire that formerly went to the operator panel but no operator panel. 6 colored wires and a green wire(total 7) are in a connector that looks similar to a phone connector. How does one determine the function of those wires so that a manual pot (possibly) or momentary buttons could be connected for speed control. Other functions on the picture of the operator panel seems to show several presets for speed, distance traveled ,time elapsed, and speed  with a stop and + and - speed control. Any help even getting a direction to look would be appreciated.


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## bvd1940

I am working on the same thing right now, take pictures of board & connectors, name & model # of board, picture of motor data plate.
I have some schematics of some treadmill boards.:biggrin:


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## Jericho

bvd1940 said:


> I am working on the same thing right now, take pictures of board & connectors, name & model # of board, picture of motor data plate.
> I have some schematics of some treadmill boards.:biggrin:




Hopefully this will show the pictures. Couldn't figure out how to do photobucket.Board # is partially hidden in photo but it's FH-3545C-PW-N. Original machine was a Sportcraft TX4.9 model.


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## Jericho

Fourth picture down is the control wire from the operator panel on the P1 connector.Metal plate picture has a couple of screws to pots on the other side I think.


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## Jericho

etard said:


> Get your volt meter and clamp onto that green wire for ground, then take the red probe and file it down so that it will fit into the holes where those 7 wires enter the board.  Now operate the treadmill changing the speed trying out each slot ( I would start on the left).  There should be one that changes voltage, maybe like from 0-5 volts.  0 volts should be stopped.  then try plugging a potentiometer (maybe a 0-10K pot??) using this wire.  There is also the possibility that it uses PWM to control speed, like RC airplanes use.  On that harness I am guessing that black and red are power, red could show like 12 volts, one of the others is power for a fan or something and two or three of the others are for speed control.  The best way to figure it out would be to tear apart the console and see where each wire goes.  Is it currently working?



No, it is not currently working because I don't have the operator's control board portion of the machine which is where all the push buttons and microprocessor were located. This paperwork( attached pics) was in a plastic bag on the bottom of the treadmill when I took it apart and shows the options that WERE available and I assume the microprocessor controlled speed thru a feedback circuit from the speed sensor magnetic pickup on the rotating assembly drive roller. Wire harness from the operator panel terminates with a flat connector on the motor panel board with wire colors L to R of brown,blue,yellow,green,red black,orange and grey. They other red and black wire pair shown in picture 100-0770 is from the speed pickup. If these photos load you will see all I have so far. I will try and get the thing powered up as is and get voltage readings on all pins later today and post results. I'll pick up a pot at Radio Shack also for future use as I'll have to have one sooner or later anyway.Thanks in advance for all the input.


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## Bill L.

Hi.I use this kb drive.It works much better for machine use.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KB-Electron...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f150fd00f

You can get a manual here--
http://www.kbelectronics.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Drives/DC_Drives_Chassis.htm

Do not go by the HP rating on a treadmill motor,go by the dc amps draw.

Bill L.


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## Jericho

Here is the info I got from the pigtail wire leading from the operator board to motor board.


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## Jericho

Bill L. said:


> Hi.I use this kb drive.It works much better for machine use.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/KB-Electron...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f150fd00f
> 
> You can get a manual here--
> http://www.kbelectronics.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Drives/DC_Drives_Chassis.htm
> 
> Do not go by the HP rating on a treadmill motor,go by the dc amps draw.
> 
> Bill L.



Put a bid in on it as a backup just in case.Gives me a couple more days to work at this one..


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## Bill L.

OK,I wont bid on it then.I was going to buy it for a backup if you did not want it.I hope you get it.
Bill L.


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## Jericho

Bill L. said:


> OK,I wont bid on it then.I was going to buy it for a backup if you did not want it.I hope you get it.
> Bill L.



I skimmed over the manual . What other components have to be gathered for it speed controls for controls? I seem to remember some mention of plug in resistors depending on motor size.I'm being a bit lazy about reading the whole thing because it seemed a little overwhelming. I'm still wanting to make the one I have work but this is my second venture into run what you have stuff. Learning as I go.


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## Chucketn

Jerico, where you at? I may be able to help you figure it out. I'm in E. TN.

Chuck


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## R.G.

Bill L. said:


> Hi.I use this kb drive.It works much better for machine use.
> ...
> Do not go by the HP rating on a treadmill motor,go by the dc amps draw.


+1. Trash the drive that's in the treadmill. It was almost certainly set up to be as cheap as possible, although I know of a few exceptions. 

Get yourself a KB Electronics DC motor drive and don't look back. The KBLC-19PM is intended for driving permanent magnet (... PM...) motors, and is commonly available from ebay surplus sellers for $25 - $50. It's an industrial rated and supplied controller. There is a fair amount of experience in using these for treadmill motor conversions on lathes in the 9x20lathe group on yahoo. 

And be really, really careful with all your wiring. This stuff can kill you. I *am* a professional at power electronics - although not at machining.


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## Bill L.

I skimmed over the manual?????????? Your motor is a 1HP buy a resister to match.


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## R.G.

Just checked. There are a number of the KBLC's on ebay for $40-$50. There are even some 240V rated ones for more money.


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## Jericho

chucketn said:


> Jerico, where you at? I may be able to help you figure it out. I'm in E. TN.
> 
> Chuck



Chuck

I live about 35 miles west of Chattanooga. Right now I'm sitting in my mother-in-laws living room about 7  miles  east of Sevierville on Newport highway.Are you talking about the original controller or the better versions.We're here quite often and I may want to "work" you for that info. I'm bidding on one of the controllers others have suggested and will see shortly whether I can get it.I think everyone knows more about this from an electronics side than I do. I can do normal home and industrial AC wiring but this is a new bird for me. Got the motors so economically and their size is suitable for several applications.


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## Jericho

R.G. said:


> +1. Trash the drive that's in the treadmill. It was almost certainly set up to be as cheap as possible, although I know of a few exceptions.
> 
> Get yourself a KB Electronics DC motor drive and don't look back. The KBLC-19PM is intended for driving permanent magnet (... PM...) motors, and is commonly available from eBay surplus sellers for $25 - $50. It's an industrial rated and supplied controller. There is a fair amount of experience in using these for treadmill motor conversions on lathes in the 9x20lathe group on yahoo.
> 
> And be really, really careful with all your wiring. This stuff can kill you. I *am* a professional at power electronics - although not at machining.



I currently have two suggestions for the KB electronic drives 1).KB Electronics KBCC-125R DC .....2).KBLC-19PM...Am I wrong in assuming both are powered 120 V AC and both have variable DC output?

Are there substantial differences in the two? i have two DC motors rated as 2.25 HP ,10 Amp 90 VDC and the other is I think 1 HP 10 Amp 120 VDC. Can I run both motors ( stand alone mind you ) with either KB motor drive?  I'm hoping both suggestions come from experience with a particular model as being successful . The KBLC 19 PM has a 12 amp rating with additional heat sink . While I can find heat sinks in salvage,nothing says where to attach it. The devil is in the details as usual.

Thanks to all.


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## Chucketn

Jerico, 
I'm taklking about the origional controller. I have "Freecycled" several treadmills. Got real lucky with 2, they had the famous MC-60 controller. 
Most tread mill controllers have a 3 wire connection to a speed control pot. AC input, and DC out to the motor. I have an MC-60 controller and 2.5 hp motor running my X2 mill at the moment. Still in a "cobbled together to try it" state, but functional. So far, I like it and am considering spiffing it up a bit and making it permanent.
I'm near Kingsport, just off I81. I am on spring break next week, but have company until Thursday. Plus, I'm retiring in May, so will have time to assist if you need it.

Chuck


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## Jericho

Bill L. said:


> Hi.I use this kb drive.It works much better for machine use.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/KB-Electron...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f150fd00f
> 
> You can get a manual here--
> http://www.kbelectronics.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Drives/DC_Drives_Chassis.htm
> 
> Do not go by the HP rating on a treadmill motor,go by the dc amps draw.
> 
> Bill L.


Bill,
I won the eBay item you recommended. Found a site that offers the resistors and near as I can figure the .01 resistor is proper. Apparently the motor is overrated HP wise for the 10 amp draw and the manual says if the ratings overlap use the lessor resistor. Would that be the right conclusion ? I like that it has a reverse function as an option and the braking capabilities etc. If I needed it for some applications, that seems a plus over other models. Will be out of town a couple of weeks and it should be waiting for me when I return.


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## Jericho

chucketn said:


> Jerico,
> I'm taklking about the origional controller. I have "Freecycled" several treadmills. Got real lucky with 2, they had the famous MC-60 controller.
> Most tread mill controllers have a 3 wire connection to a speed control pot. AC input, and DC out to the motor. I have an MC-60 controller and 2.5 hp motor running my X2 mill at the moment. Still in a "cobbled together to try it" state, but functional. So far, I like it and am considering spiffing it up a bit and making it permanent.
> I'm near Kingsport, just off I81. I am on spring break next week, but have company until Thursday. Plus, I'm retiring in May, so will have time to assist if you need it.
> 
> Chuck



This gets better by the post. My daughter lives in Kingsport with her family.Her hubby works for Eastman and we go there every couple of months for visits.I have another controller bought but I would still like to make the original one work so I can have two dedicated motors for some projects on the pile.Will be getting back to you in the future for some help.
much thanks,
Jasper
P.S.Like the "freecycled" designation. I'm a junkyard junkie.


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## Chucketn

Jerico,
PM me when you're up this way again. We'll hook up!

Chuck


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## R.G.

Jericho said:


> The KBLC 19 PM has a 12 amp rating with additional heat sink . While I can find heat sinks in salvage,nothing says where to attach it.


you bolt the flat side of the aluminum chassis plate the controller is on to the heat sink. KB says that a sink with a width of 7 to 8 inches, height of 6-8 inches, and fins 7/8" to 1" tall on 3/8" centers will fit the bill. You want a sink with a flat back for mating to the flat side of the aluminum chassis plate. Be sure and get a thin coat of heat sink goo (that's a technical term, BTW  ) between the two flat metal surfaces. KB electronics has a a manual for their controllers that shows much of this. 

In operation, the fins must be oriented vertically, so chimney effect flows air up through them.


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## Jericho

R.G. said:


> you bolt the flat side of the aluminum chassis plate the controller is on to the heat sink. KB says that a sink with a width of 7 to 8 inches, height of 6-8 inches, and fins 7/8" to 1" tall on 3/8" centers will fit the bill. You want a sink with a flat back for mating to the flat side of the aluminum chassis plate. Be sure and get a thin coat of heat sink goo (that's a technical term, BTW  ) between the two flat metal surfaces. KB electronics has a a manual for their controllers that shows much of this.
> 
> In operation, the fins must be oriented vertically, so chimney effect flows air up through them.



Appreciate the info .I must keep missing some info in the manual I downloaded by not know exactly what to look for. I ordered the resistor and will try and find the size for the speed pot. . Will be keeping an eye out for said heat sink item and look for some goo the next time I'm at the electronics store. Probably the same stuff I've used when attaching processors to the computer boards I've assembled in the past. I guess it's a conductive grease of sorts but I like goo description better. 
Also noted several hookups for switching but initially will only be doing one direction since these motors are one direction only for fan cooling.May later be able to find a bidirectional motor for lathe . Would be nice to have speed control on it without gear changing.


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## R.G.

Jericho said:


> Will be keeping an eye out for said heat sink item


This is a good one, although it's long enough to get two of them out of it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-He...567?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e4beb67

Here's another:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-He...297?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56494f6099

Here's another:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-He...651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416400beab

You get the idea: about 6-8" wide, more than 7-8" long, fins 1" or so high, and a flat back to bolt the controller to. 


> and look for some goo the next time I'm at the electronics store. Probably the same stuff I've used when attaching processors to the computer boards I've assembled in the past. I guess it's a conductive grease of sorts but I like goo description better.


The computer store stuff will do, but it's expensive for what it does. They went hifi tweako on that stuff. Ordinary white heat sink goo is fine for this. The goo is just filling in the air pockets from the imperfect surfaces of the carrier and sink not mating well. Air is a great insulator, so almost anything in the voids will work better than air. Likewise, you want any machining/screw holes, etc. to not have made a raised bump to keep the flat surfaces apart. What you're after is as nearly 100% metal-to-metal surfaces as you can get. Space stuff laps the surfaces together.



> Also noted several hookups for switching but initially will only be doing one direction since these motors are one direction only for fan cooling.May later be able to find a bidirectional motor for lathe . Would be nice to have speed control on it without gear changing.


DC motors also have a preferred direction and the brushes are slanted to make that work best. They can be reversed, but you get much more brush wear.

I just removed a motor from a throwaway treadmill for my drill press.


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## Rising3B

Jericho
I just joined and I have the exact treadmill motor and controller you are showing in the pictures and mine also came without the opperator panel. Did you ever get yours to work? I saw where you got the KB controller which I may have to do but it also sounded like you were going to be trying to figure out thr board that came with the motor.
Thanks,
Kirk


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## Jericho

Kirk: apologies for not being on site in a while.Just now reading message.I in fact did get the KBIC controller and it worked so well I gave up on the other.With no background in electronics I was still at a loss to fix.In fact I now have KBIC controllers for all three DC motors I scrounged at the scrapyard. 



Rising3B said:


> Jericho
> I just joined and I have the exact treadmill motor and controller you are showing in the pictures and mine also came without the opperator panel. Did you ever get yours to work? I saw where you got the KB controller which I may have to do but it also sounded like you were going to be trying to figure out the board that came with the motor.
> Thanks,
> Kirk


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## JRock1000

Hahaha I KNOW this is a zombie thread! But in case anyone else comes across it while they're looking to hook up they're treadmill motor on Board fh-3545c-pw-n :
-The red wire is the power to the control board. 
-Connect it to the Blue wire, and you'll here a click (that's the relay turning on).
-Then connect the Red wire (still connected to the Blue wire) to the high side of a pot (set up as a variable resistor).
-Connect the Green wire to the wiper
-You're GTG
 I've found a 25K Pot works, and 5K does not (too little resistance I guess). Might be a better Value in between, but I'm a hammer and chisel mechanic. It'll do for the purposes I have in mind.

Now to see if there's a resistor I can clip so the pot doesn't have to be reset everytime this gets turned on.

* I do not vouch for the long term reliability of these connections. It's been working for 10 minutes at a slow speed.
Nothing's hot. It'll get you up and running at least. this is decent motor.


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## JRock1000

follow up. There's a place for a jumper that reads "Option" right in front of the pin header.
If you jumper that, you don't need to reset the pot everytime you turn it off then on again


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## LightWork

JRock1000 said:


> Hahaha I KNOW this is a zombie thread! But in case anyone else comes across it while they're looking to hook up they're treadmill motor on Board fh-3545c-pw-n :
> -The red wire is the power to the control board.
> -Connect it to the Blue wire, and you'll here a click (that's the relay turning on).
> -Then connect the Red wire (still connected to the Blue wire) to the high side of a pot (set up as a variable resistor).
> -Connect the Green wire to the wiper
> -You're GTG
> I've found a 25K Pot works, and 5K does not (too little resistance I guess). Might be a better Value in between, but I'm a hammer and chisel mechanic. It'll do for the purposes I have in mind.
> 
> Now to see if there's a resistor I can clip so the pot doesn't have to be reset everytime this gets turned on.
> 
> * I do not vouch for the long term reliability of these connections. It's been working for 10 minutes at a slow speed.
> Nothing's hot. It'll get you up and running at least. this is decent motor.


I joined mostly to thank JRock1000 for all the info!  That really helped me out.  Mine came with differently colored wires for the cable between motor controller and the control panel.  I was short on time when I picked up my motor and motor controller.  I wasn't able to get the control panel or record the make/model of the treadmill I was pulling parts from.  My speed control board is FH-3545C-PW-N VER:E1 and my motor is ACA400-12091.  (The speed control pictured in the OP is VER:B1)  The wires on my cable were colored differently vs what Jericho or JRock1000 had.  Connector P1 colors starting with Pin 1:  purple, brown, red, black, orange, yellow, blue green.  The function of the pins seems to be the same, but the colors threw me off at first!  Connector P1 on both boards is an 8 pin socket on a 10 pin PCB footprint. 

Pin 3:  Provides a positive DC voltage to several other pins.
Pin 7:  Connect this to Pin 3 in order to close the relay.  This is required to operate the motor.
Pin 5:  Connect to Pin 3 using a variable resistor

The above is exactly as described by JRock1000, just referenced using pins instead of colors.  My DC supply voltage for the control panel was a little lower (more like 16v).  What I had on hand was a 10k pot and a 100k pot.  Like JRock1000, I found that the 10K pot just wouldn't quite do it.  With the 100k pot it seemed like the minimum speed is somewhere around 43k and the maximum speed is roughly 25k.  (Testing with the motor disconnected just now, 25k through 0k gives the same output voltage.)

VER:E1 also seemed to be wired for a optical speed sensor instead of magnetic.  I just cut the cable, but I saw the slotted wheel and it's a 3 conductor cable now instead of 2 conductor.


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## zetuskid

Chucketn said:


> Jerico,
> I'm taklking about the origional controller. I have "Freecycled" several treadmills. Got real lucky with 2, they had the famous MC-60 controller.
> Most tread mill controllers have a 3 wire connection to a speed control pot. AC input, and DC out to the motor. I have an MC-60 controller and 2.5 hp motor running my X2 mill at the moment. Still in a "cobbled together to try it" state, but functional. So far, I like it and am considering spiffing it up a bit and making it permanent.
> I'm near Kingsport, just off I81. I am on spring break next week, but have company until Thursday. Plus, I'm retiring in May, so will have time to assist if you need it.
> 
> Chuck


Guys, I know a lot of Time has passed since this post but hoping y’all ar still breathing air. I picked this old FH-3545c-pwn ver. B1 at garage sale. I have a dc motor running both my wood lathes and thinking about putting this little girl to work doing something but I can’t figure out where power comes into it and about the pot. The picture may not be clear, if not I might could get a close up view. Anyone know about this baby. I tell you there are more treadmill controller models out there than love bugs in Louisiana.
Thanks y’all 
zetuskid


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