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Problem with my FFB steering wheel - Arduino leonardo with bts7960 24v 300w motor

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by OatKungKTZ, May 15, 2023.

  1. OatKungKTZ

    OatKungKTZ New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino
    Hi i have a problem with my 24v FFB steering wheel. I use arduino leonardo with bts7960 24v 300w motor similar to my1016 psu is 24v 360w 15a. I played for a while, when the motor is working hard, the bts 7960 turns off by itself.
    How can i fix it? Firmware ai-wave 20Khz. But when i wire a triple of bts7960 it better than. But i ask my friend his set-up similar to me but he use only one bts7960. Please help i don't know how to fix it
    OatKungKTZ, May 15, 2023
    #1
  2. elnino

    elnino Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    The IBT drivers really only work to a fraction of their rated current in the factory state. There are 2 main things you need to do to make this better:
    1) Remove the heatsink and take some time to reflow solder into the 'vias' (holes) behind the main chips to make sure heat can transfer to the other side of the board. Most of them will not be filled and you will get poor heat transfer to the back of the board where the heatsink is.
    2) Get some heatsink thermal pad and place it in-between the heatsink and board before screwing it back down but also make sure you don't do it too tight or the board will flex creating an air gap.

    This will bring them up to a more realistic power handling but still probably only 1/2 of rated power.

    If after doing this, you're still getting cutout on one, add a second in parallel.

    FYI - I run 3 with up to 90A draw at 12v and have no issues after doing these small mods.
    • Like Like x 1
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    elnino, May 15, 2023
    #2
  3. Michelle

    Michelle New Member

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    I had the exact same problem. It is BTS thermal protection, turning off the bridge ICs. To reset it you have to pull all inputs to log0. The board design is terrible in terms of cooling. Anyway to "fix" It you have to improve cooling or use two bridges to split load. I did put thermal paste between cooler and the top of the ICs (not optimal) and mount 50mm fan in front of the cooler. Since then it worked fine.
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    Michelle, May 15, 2023
    #3
  4. elnino

    elnino Active Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    The board design is not that bad, they're just poorly assembled. I think you also hit the issue of clone/counterfeit chips on these drivers, making the issue worse.

    Because the chips are SMD, they need to use the solder pads to transfer the heat away and because the vias aren't filled with solder (and not that many of them), the transfer is very poor. 5 mins with a soldering iron and some solder, a heatsink pad and they are pretty good. I've never had a cutout or failure.
    • Like Like x 1
    elnino, May 16, 2023
    #4
  5. OatKungKTZ

    OatKungKTZ New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino
    This is my BTS7960 it cheapest and i think it not work right? Is that why I have to use 3?

    Attached Files:

    OatKungKTZ, May 16, 2023
    #5
  6. elnino

    elnino Active Member

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    Computer Geek
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    +137 / 1 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    The important part is under the heatsink. For these drivers it's all about keeping them cool.
    elnino, May 16, 2023
    #6