Single Ended / Case Ground Question

I did search and found this thread... www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/roboteq...ighlight=case+ground

I've got a 12V DC motor that uses case ground, and I'm using it in a vehicle with a chassis ground back to battery. I can not isolate the motor from chassis ground.

My question is, can I use only one of the motor leads as my positive potential source, and use chassis ground to return to the battery? Will this inadvertently create a bunch of unwanted noise on the ground, break the controller, etc?

This will not work.

If your chassis is connected to the - battery terminal, there will be a short when the motor goes in one of the two directions.

Please re-read what I'm saying.

I realize that when the controller is in the "neutral" position, that both power leads are at fully battery voltage (each lead compared to battery ground is at +13 in my case). This creates a short from the controller to battery ground.

What I want to do is only use one of the 2 leads from the controller, and ground the motor to battery ground. Is this possible?

Thanks,
-Chris

When the motors are stopped, both wires should be pulled to Ground. This is the case for all controllers that we have been shipping for over a year ago.

If you measure the battery voltage on both leads, and this is a recent unit, there is something wrong.

If you have more than one controller, please verify and confirm that all behave the same way.

The case should be floating. If you measure conductivity between the case and any of the wires, this is also wrong - even though it will be harmless in many cases. Please contact your reseller to arrange for a repair.