Stepper Motor Running in Reverse Direction

Meaningful discussion outside of the potato gun realm. Projects, theories, current events.
Adalindis
Recruit
Recruit
Canada
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2026 12:57 am

Hello everyone, I've encountered a strange problem during equipment debugging: the stepper motor (https://www.oyostepper.es) occasionally rotates in the opposite direction briefly before continuing to run normally.

The pulse and direction signals are differentially output, the wires are shielded, and the ground wire is connected. I've captured the direction signal with an oscilloscope and haven't seen any glitches.

Could it be that the driver's internal logic misinterprets the direction signal under certain conditions? Or is a delay needed between the pulse train timing and the direction signal switching?

Has anyone encountered this situation before? How did you troubleshoot it?
daisymaria
Recruit
Recruit
United States of America
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2026 3:03 am

I’ve seen similar issues discussed before, and I think a timing problem between the direction signal and pulse train could definitely be worth checking. Some stepper drivers require a small setup delay after changing direction before accepting pulses, otherwise they may briefly interpret movement incorrectly. EaglerCraft
User avatar
mrfoo
Specialist 2
Specialist 2
Afghanistan
Posts: 278
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:05 am
Has thanked: 88 times
Been thanked: 91 times

Steppers have a maximum speed, if you're running close to that or running under heavy load, it may miss steps, resulting in back stepping depending on the signalling state. There's also the possibility of signal pollution if using unshielded wires between controller and stepper driver.
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post