# \[SOLVED\] Stepper motor whining, not driving **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [14 November 2017 05:52 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824 "2017-11-14T05:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard51573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Richard51573](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Richard51573)\ **Post date:** [14 November 2017 05:52 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824/1 "2017-11-14T05:52:40Z")
I’m trying to make a prototype star tracker and hooked together the following stepper and controller. But the motor doesn’t spin, it just chatters and rattles. The motor is a Nema 17 2 phase four wire 0.4A 12V. The controller a generic board. I’ve double checked the wiring and can find no fault. Has anyone any idea what might be wrong? ![Stepper Controller 1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/core_electronics/original/1X/382817799e2017d6b701c7dba949dc73448260e6.jpg) ![Nema 17 4 wire two phase 1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/core_electronics/original/1X/aee25666750a8a737a118ab79285d3e2a2dde96e.jpg) ![Connections](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/core_electronics/original/1X/f694b89c0b02c634ba133ce76f9aeddac1851ca4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_R](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.core-electronics.com.au/michael_r/32/435_2.png) [@Michael\_R](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Michael_R)\ **Post date:** [15 November 2017 21:09 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824/2 "2017-11-15T21:09:00Z")
Hey, @Richard51573. Thanks for bringing your question to the forum. Here are all the questions I can think to ask at the moment - Are you supplying 12-24V at the correct motor power supply inputs? - Under the circumstances you’ve described, does the motor have any holding-torque? Are you able to turn the shaft by hand when everything is powered? - Are you controlling by the manual control-keys or a pot? - What are the status LEDs doing? - What happens when you connect a potentiometer to the relevant input? - Try running a simple DC motor on channel A then again on channel B. What do you observe? - Does your stepper motor work? Try manually energising the coils in sequence to get it to rotate some continuous arc. Would you mind uploading a photo of your own setup? I know it’s a simple arrangement, but a picture can be really helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Richard51573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Richard51573](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Richard51573)\ **Post date:** [16 November 2017 06:09 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824/3 "2017-11-16T06:09:42Z")
Thanks for the reply Michael. I eventually found the problem, the motor has a six pin plug. Coil A uses pins one and four. Coil B uses pins three and six. I had expected 1&3, 4&6. Regards, Richard. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_R](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.core-electronics.com.au/michael_r/32/435_2.png) [@Michael\_R](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Michael_R)\ **Post date:** [16 November 2017 22:57 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824/4 "2017-11-16T22:57:00Z")
Isn’t that just the way of things! Glad you found it in the end 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard51573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Richard51573](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Richard51573)\ **Post date:** [16 November 2017 23:53 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/solved-stepper-motor-whining-not-driving/1824/5 "2017-11-16T23:53:13Z")
Always check the obvious first 😊 Serves me right for buying ‘too cheap’ from china - no wiring diagram and hard to find anything to help on the www. This project is s prototype for a star tracker for my camera. If it shows promise I will make a much more precise tracker with quality products from Core Electronics. If anyone on the forum has a reliable way to locate the South Celestial Pole please share your knowledge. I am hoping a template with the Southern Cross together with the two pointers can be used in a similar manner to the simple bomb sight used by the Dam Busters will do a reasonable job. Richard.