The controller will detect and react on various erroneous conditions by stopping the motor and updating the respective Fault Fag (FF parameter). Depending on the type of the error, the controller can react either by disabling the power stage, so there will be no motor current and the motor will be on freewheel, or by forcing the motor to stop connecting its phases to ground. The first option is more sufficient in preventing hardware damage and is used for critical events, but it does not produce any electrical braking and the motor stops due to its own friction. The second option will stop the motor quicker, but it cannot be used when hardware damage is suspected or when the motor runs at high speeds. A table with information about the controller errors follows:
Error | Triggering | Configuration | Applicable modes | Action | Fault clearance |
Stall Error | There is no change in the commutation sensor while there is motor power | Time (ms), Power (%) | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Motor phases are grounded | The given motor command is equal to the feedback |
Loop error | The feedback does not follow the ramped command | Time (ms), Error (%) | Cosed Loop | Motor phases are grounded | The given motor command is equal to the feedback |
Overheat | The temperature exceeds the configured threshold or the maximum allowed temperature of the controller | Temperature limit | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | Temperature returns to normal |
Undervoltage | Battery voltage is below the configured value. Controller volts are below 12 V. | Voltage limits | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | Voltage returns to normal |
Overvoltage | Battery voltage is over the configured value | Voltage limits | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | Voltage returns to normal |
Short | Motor amps are above 120% of peak current of the controller | Slow - medium - quick below 2.0 firmware. | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | The given motor command is equal to the feedback |
Motor/sensor fault | 2.1 firmware version: There is no hall connected or the hall pattern is wrong | Strict - Tollerant - Disabled | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | Hall status is correct and the given motor command is equal to the feedback |
Mosfail | 2.0 - 2.1 firmware version: On power ON the controller checks for damaged Mosfets | - | Open Loop, Closed Loop | Power stage is OFF | Controller has reset or STT command is given and the MOSFETs are not damaged |
Below more information can be found about each error separately:
Undervoltage
The controller volts are below 12 V or the battery voltage is below the configured limit. The controller volts is the voltage that powers the MOSFET drivers. In case of internal damage, the DC/DC can malfunction and the controller volts can have a lower value. Also controller volts can be 0 in case that the STO is triggered. Even if the software STO is not configured, the hardware mechanism will cut the voltage to the MOSFET drivers. The battery volts can drop if both top and Bottom MOSFETs of the power stage are shorted. If a damaged MOSFET is suspected, one should follow the relevant article to check the MOSFETs health.
All the previous can be summarized as below:
1. Controller volts are zero
2. Battery voltage is below the configured value
Both previous cases will trigger the Undervoltage fault.
The fault will be auto cleared once the voltage has returned back to normal.
Short circuit error
It is triggered when motor amps have surpassed 120% of the Amps limit. Controllers with firmware v2.1a or newer, sample the motor current at 16Khz (every 62.5 us) and disables the power stage if it surpasses the threshold. In general, the controllers automatically limit the current if it reaches the Amps Limit, by reducing the PWM duty cycle. However, high current and high frequency current spikes cannot always be controlled. If needed, the user can adjust the sensitivity of the short error detection using the THLD setting. This is based on the float-recovery mechanism, which disables the power stage for 5ms every time an excessive current is measured, and then reactivates it. The lower the sensitivity settings, the more times this is allowed to happen.
Query syntax : ~THLD nn
Config. command syntax : ^THLD nn , where
nn = 0 : High sensitivity => If Amps > 120% * Amps limit even once, trigger the short error.
nn = 1 : Medium sensitivity => If Amps > 120% * Amps limit more than 3 times in 128ms period, trigger the short error.
nn = 2 : Low sensitivity => If Amps > 120% * Amps limit more than 7 times in 128ms period, trigger the short error.
Overvoltage
The supply's voltage has exceed the configured Voltage Limit parameter. This happens most often due to the motor's regenerative force. You can read more details on the subject in this article.
Make sure that the battery or power supply can handle regeneration, otherwise consider using an external shunt regulator circuit like RoboteQ's SR5K100V25R
Mosfail
The controller measures the phase voltages during power-up or when !STT is sent, and checks if they are above or below certain thresholds. This indicates if there has been damage to the mosfets. You can follow this guide to measure the controllers mosfets in case of Mosfail, and share the measurements with an agent in our Helpdesk.
Motor/Sensor
This can happen in the following cases:
- Sensor signals are not connected properly
- Wrong Hall status sequence is detected
- When Hall+Encoder is used, and encoder's and Hall's electrical angle is more than 45 degrees apart for 3 consecutive hall state changes.