These are common steps in troubleshooting your motor:
- Make sure that your rotor spins freely if you give it a slight push with your hand.
- Test your electromagnet. Connect one 1.5V battery to electromagnet wires briefly. The electromagnet should push the closest magnet on the rotor. The rotor should turn 45° if you have 4 magnets on a rotor, or 90° if you have 2. If it does not – switch the wires.If your electromagnet does not work, it may be shorted. Sometimes re-winding the electromagnet may solve this problem.
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Newly assembled motor does not work: rotor does not spin. | Rotor is in a "dead spot" – the magnet is outside of reed switch working range. This usually occurs if you tried 2 magnets on a rotor first. | The rotor will not start spinning on its own. Give it a slight push. |
| Rotor is jammed. | Find the exact cause and fix the problem. This may require breaking off the stands and reattaching them to the board. You may try to lubricate the axles with WD-40 or any other lubricant. | |
| Electromagnet attracts the magnets instead of repelling them. | Switch the electromagnet wires. | |
| Bad connection in wiring. | Thoroughly clean the wires to remove the insulation before soldering. Re-solder the connections. | |
| Reed switch is too far from the rotor. | Move reed switch closer. | |
| Reed switch does not function when a magnet passes near its center. | The most sensitive part of the reed switch is not in the middle of it, but more to the side. Move the reed switch left or right. | |
| The battery is dead or battery voltage is low. | Get a new battery. Increase the voltage by adding an extra battery. | |
| One of the magnets is not repelling. | Tear this magnet off and glue it upside down. All of the magnets should have the same pole facing outside. |
|
| The transistor is connected incorrectly. | Make sure that you connected transistor leads according to the wiring diagram. | |
| The transistor was burnt and does not work. This may happen if you overheated it while soldering, connected it improperly, or had the rotor stalled on a high voltage. | Replace the transistor. | |
| Motor worked fine for a while but then stopped working. | The battery is dead or battery voltage is low. | Get a new battery. Increase the voltage by adding an extra battery. |
| The reed switch contacts are welded together. | Disconnect the battery. Flick the reed switch tube slightly. In most cases it will fix the problem temporarily. Afterwards it is recommended to lower the voltage or connect a ZNR parallel to the reed switch. You may also need to replace the reed switch. | |
| The transistor is burnt. | Get a new transistor and re-solder it. Try not to leave the motor stalled, this may be a reason the transistor was burnt in the first place. | |
| The transistor is getting too hot even when the motor works. | The rotor has too much friction. | Make sure that the rotor spins freely. You may add a heat sink to the transistor for better heat dissipation. You may also try to lubricate the axles with WD-40 or any other lubricant. |
| The reed switch stays on most of the time. | Move the reed switch farther from the rotor. You may add a heat sink to the transistor for better heat dissipation. | |
| The electromagnet gets hot. | Not enough wire used for the electromagnet. | Make sure that the electromagnet coil has enough wire. Use almost all the wire from the spool. |
| Short connection inside the electromagnet. | Re-wind the electromagnet. It is better to use a new spool of wire, but sometimes the old wire may still work. | |
| If you need to disassemble the rotor… | This operation requires quite a bit of strength. Disassemble the rotor with a rocking motion as if trying to break it and at the same time pulling the ends out. |
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