Help with a 14

I am working on an early 1980s Starliner 14" f/5 German EQ mounted reflector. The telescope has a declination motor, wiring and control box, but the Dec motor does not work. The RA motor works fine. The wires from the Dec motor go into the RA motor cover. I took off the cover hoping to find a loose wire or blown fuse for a "quick fix". But what I found was suprising.

At least 8 wires are not connected. And there is no schematic on the inside of the cover. Years ago, someone at the university mentioned that a relay may have been omitted when the telescope was manufactured. To make matters worse, Starlliner is out of business, and the telescope was purchased a short time before the company went under.

What I am looking for is any information to put the dec motor back in operation. An electrical schematic, a photo of a simmilar telescope that is wired correctly.

Thanks in advance.

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Here are a few suggestions:

First, most stepper motors use 4 wires. There is one set of 4 in the picture you posted, so I would check them first. Second, if you have access to a voltmeter or better yet to an oscilloscope, I would try checking each wire for voltage and/or pulses when you press the buttons on the Dec controller. Third, can you see where each of those wires is going? I.e. do some of them coem from the controller, go to the motor, etc? Last, see if there are any markings on the motors themselves - they are probably steppers that Starliner bought from a someone (Hurst, maybe?). If you can identify the motor, you can contact that company to get the wiring diagram for driving it, and hopefully figure out which input wires go where. Last, can you see where each of those wires is going?

Hope this helps,

Jarad

I think we better determine what type motors really are involved here. They could be AC synchronous motors as well as DC motors. There should be some kind of info on the motor that you could pass on to us to further help the situation.

Walt

Thanks for all the suggestions.
1. I found out that the relay may be under the dec shaft motor cover.
2. I know how to use an DVOM, mainly for 12volt DC type work on Automotive applications, but not A/c.
3. I will make up a wiring diagram next week, and post it for further help.
Thanks again everyone.

Taking a 2nd look at the telescope, shows none of the wires connect to anyting, they are just spare wires in the wire harness or loom that are are not used. The large old style capacitor was for the RA motor, and was replaced along with RA motor years ago. Seems they just left the old cap under the motor cover. I was able to draw out a rough wiring diagram, but will take a few days in spare time to draw.