getting my metal maslow up and running. The motors all run, but at least the left and right motors run backwards. When I tell them to move clockwise, the move counterclockwise.
I’m running WebControl on a Raspberry Pi. The electronics came from MetalMaslow.
Are the chains threaded over or under and does that match with your quick configuration setting?
That was my first thought. My chains go under, and that matches the setting.
On the screen where you set the chain lengths, when I click a button to move a motor Clockwise, it moves counter clockwise. When I clock counter clockwise, it goes clockwise. I presume the over/under setting wouldn’t reverse the clockwiseness of the motor, just what direction they spin to spool out chain.
Could they be plugged into the wrong ports? What happens if you swap where they are plugged in?
Is it possible the motor drive wires are crossed? Could be a cable issue. You might check with @metalmaslow if he can verify this batch of cables for you.
I double checked, and they are plugged into the correct ports based on the setup descriptio. Also, when I click the “move the left motor” buttons on the screen, the left motor moves, so I think they are plugged into the correct ports.
I meant the pins in the cable connections might need to be pressed out and swapped places to fix it.
I just checked, and the cables are straight-through. The wires are in the same order on both ends. However, the labeling in the motor has M+ and M- in the opposite order from the control board (see pictures). I don’t know if it is a labeling problem or if the wires are supposed to be swapped.
Are the encoders set up so the board would know the motor was running backwards? If so, should I get errors when I use the “set chains” screen to move the motors?
When the encoders are backwards, the motors just spin, you may have read about that happening recently… so I don’t think that is it. The M1+ -> M- and M1- -> M+ is the motor polarity and would affect the motor turning direction.
So should I try reversing the motor wires? And if so, any hints on how to pop the wires out?
There is a special tool to do it, but it is possible to do it with a really small screwdriver or a wire, maybe a phone sim card tool. Each pin has a part that bends up to hold it in place, you just press that part to release the pin from the white connector housing and slide it out. Do that for both pins, trade them places and press them back in. If you bend them too far, they won’t stick back in very well, so be gentle with it. Maybe like this video shows:
I don’t think you need to take the wires out. The labels for M+ and M- are arbitrary since a DC motor + and - swap when the motor changes direction.
Finally got back to this, and the motors seem to be magically running the right direction now. Unfortunately, I don’t know what I changed to fix it, so I can’t repeat the process if they go backwards again.
Thanks for the quick responses to my questions.
That’s great news 
If they do end up deciding to reverse again we’ll be here to figure out what is going on.
