Simple Things to Check Before Sending in Your Servo Motor for Repair

Posted on 6/16/2016

Servotech repairs thousands of servo motors a year, and occasionally we receive repair orders with simple issues that the customer likely could have addressed themselves.

We’ve complied a list of the top simple issues that should be checked before sending in your servo motor for repair. Please note this is not meant to be an insult… we very often spend time trouble shooting over the phone to eliminate simple errors or problems. Double check everything before electing to send in a motor for repair, otherwise time has been lost in both the shipping and evaluation.

1. Occam’s Razor

The simplest explanation is most often correct. Make sure everything is plugged in. Try turning your drive and controller off, and reboot.

2. Check All Servo Motor Cables

Look for items such as:

• Broken wiring
• Loose connections
• Dirty and corroded connectors – bad connections can interfere with the power and signals that are vital to proper servo operation.
• Check overall cable conditions
• Make sure that the correct cable is connected to the correct drive

3. Check Grounds and Shields

Just because a cable is in good shape doesn’t mean it is properly grounded. Keep in mind that:

• Grounds and shields are important for protecting signal wires from harmful noise that can disrupt feedback communication.
• Motor power grounds are important because they facilitate the tripping of over current protection devices.
• If a motor has an inconsistent ground that is not continuous with a drive ground the power cable can throw an unmanageable amount of noise onto a properly shielded feedback cable.