Identifying Stepper Motors

A+
A-

5 Lead
Motor

COM

4 Lead
Motor

B
B+

B-

C
A

COM1

A'
B'

6 Lead
Motor

8 Lead
Motor

B
C

COM2

C' D'

090420 - 14

W.G. Jansen (The Netherlands)

There are many different types of stepper
motor. Because there is no documentation
available for stepper motors that have been
removed from old equipment you have to
carry out some measurements to identify the
different wires.
We only need three things for this: an ohmmeter, an AC voltmeter and a transformer
with an output voltage between 2 and 6V.
The majority of stepper motors have either
two or four stator coils, which are presented
to the outside world via 4, 5, 6 or 8 different
coloured wires, see Figure1.
For a motor with 4 wires we have to find two
wires that have a resistance between them.
We then write down the value of the resistance
and the colour of the wires. In this way, we can
distinguish between the two stator coils and
we know that this is a bipolar motor.
For a motor with 5 wires (unipolar) it is more
difficult to identify the four individual coils.
We start with the measurement of the resistance between all the differently coloured
wires and make a note of them in a list (see
the example in Figure2). Next, find all pairs
of wires that have the lowest resistance
between them and call those Rx .... The
resistance values of the other combinations
arent important.
Measurements:

yellow/red = Rx ...
blue/red = Rx ...
white/red = Rx ...
brown/red = Rx ...

090420 - 11

From this example it appears that the red wire

is the common one (COM). Two pairs of coils
make up the A-B phase and the C-D phase. To
find out which ones belong together we connect a small AC voltage to one of the coils, if
need be via a series resistor to limit the current. In this example we chose yellow/red. Now
use the AC voltmeter to measure the voltage
across the remaining coils. The coil where we
measure the largest voltage will be the one
that forms one phase in conjunction with the
yellow/red coil. Its not important whether we
call this the A-B phase or C-D phase.
For a motor with 6 wires (both bipolar as well
as unipolar devices) it is straightforward to
identify the individual coils. Again, we measure the resistance between all coloured wires
and put them in a list.
Measurements:

yellow/red = Rx ...
red/brown = Rx ...
blue/black = Rx ...
black/white = Rx ...
yellow/brown = 2Rx ...
blue/white = 2Rx ...

We find a low resistance value (Rx ...) four

times and a higher resistance (2Rx ...) twice.
There is no connection between the two
phases (see Figure3). From this it can be seen
that yellow/red/brown is one phase with red
as common, and blue/black/white is the second phase with black as common. For bipolar use the 2Rx connections are used and the
common wire is left unconnected.

090420 - 12

090420 - 13

For a motor with 8 wires (both bipolar as

well as unipolar devices) it is quite difficult to
determine the correct order of the four coils
in the two phases. As for the other motors,
we start with the resistance measurements
and put them in a list, which will make clear
what the individual coils are (see Figure4). In
order to connect the coils in pairs and in the
correct phase, the winding direction of each
coil has to be determined. To do this, connect the transformer to one of the coils and
measure the voltage across the other coils
with the AC voltmeter. The coil that shows
the largest voltage will be the one that forms
one phase in conjunction with the coil connected to the transformer. To find out if the
coils are connected in phase, the coils are connected in series and the transformer is connected across one coil. First measure the voltage across the powered coil and then across
both coils in series.
There are two possible outcomes: The voltage across the series connection is about
twice that across the single coil, or its almost
zero. The correct series connection is the one
where the voltage is highest. For bipolar use
you should connect the two coils for each
phase in series or parallel, since that results
in the maximum torque from the motor.
(090420)

Literature
Stepper Motors Uncovered,
Elektor November & December 2003

7/8-2010

elektor