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Stepper Motor Driver - Troubleshooting

This page contains some tips in case you are having problems using this product.

Check Power Supply​

Is your stepper motor powered by an external power source? If you are trying to power it directly from your microcontroller, it might be drawing too much current, causing voltage drops or even brownouts, which prevent the motor from turning. DC motors require significant current, and most microcontrollers are not designed to supply enough power.

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Quick tip: If your stepper motor operates at 5V, you can repurpose an old USB cable by exposing its VCC and GND wires to provide power from a USB port.

Verify Wiring & Connections​

Incorrect wiring is one of the most common reasons a stepper motor won't turn. Double-check:

  • That the IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4 pins from the driver board are correctly connected to digital output pins on your microcontroller.
  • If the wires are misplaced or swapped, the stepper motor may just vibrate or fail to turn properly.
  • Ensure the GND of the stepper driver is connected to the GND of your microcontroller.
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Careful! If wired incorrectly, the stepper motor may overheat significantly due to excessive current draw!

Try Different Microcontroller Pins​

Not all microcontroller pins support digital output functions. Some may be reserved for special functions (such as I²C, UART, or ADC inputs) and may not work correctly as stepper driver outputs. Try switching to different pins, this can sometimes resolve the issue.

Test with Another Stepper Motor​

If you have another stepper motor available, swap it out and see if the issue persists. If the replacement motor works, the original motor may be faulty.

Ensure Code is Correct​

If everything seems correctly wired, check your code:

  • Are you using the correct library and commands to drive the motor?
  • Are you calling stepper.run() frequently enough in your loop?
  • Are you setting speed and acceleration properly?

For testing and troubleshooting, it's best to run unmodified examples from the library.

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