T&L Publications

If a motor tries drawing more current than the battery can supply, will the motor heat up or what will happen?<p>Thanks,<p>Jason

The stall current of a motor depends on the DC resistance of the motor and the applied voltage.<p>If the batteries are overloaded the voltage will decrease.<p>The motor will heat up, but less than it would with higher capacity batteries. The battery will also heat up. With a sustained stall it is possible to destroy both motor and battery.

Ok, thanks.<p>I don't plan on having any of my motors stall in my project. I just wanted to know in advance in case the motors did stall for some reason.<p>I had another electronics question; do you think it is okay to overvolt a motor about 30%, or would it really depend on the motor to be able to determine that?<p>In case you wish to see it, here's the motor:<p>http://tinyurl.com/55g36<p>-Jason

Should be okay to over-volt it for short bursts. What "short" is depends on motor, if it is exposed to air for cooling, and (for example) if you're willing to have a one year life span vs. five.<p>That's just the motor itself, not the gear train. Don't over-torque the gears. For a burst of speed with a light load, over-volt should be all right.<p>If using PWM, with 141% rated voltage and 50% duty cycle is the same as continuous DC at rated voltage. (I figured that in my head, don't slam me too hard if I missed.) So within reason, it isn't how much voltage is applied, but for how long that is import.