Motor Drive Servicing
Your Galibier drive system was designed for years of trouble-free operation, but in the event of either servicing or performing an upgrade, the 5 minute procedure below shows how to prepare your controller module for shipping to Galibier.
You need send us only the drive module (the round top plate shown below).
Do not send the motor pod. It is unnecessary to do so, and adds shipping risk. The heavier the item, the more care required to pack it and the higher probability of shipping damage.
Since 2003, the top plate separates from the motor plug by unplugging the power umbilical from the circuit board.
Please contact us for instructions on how to pack and ship your controller. It’s important that you protect the motor shaft from damage !!!
While the motor is extremely robust in normal use, it is still a precision device, and it must be adequately protected from the rigors of shipping. The standard “drop test” shippers perform to certify packaging is from a height of 6 feet. This generates a force of over 40g’s (40 times the force of gravity).
Step-1: Remove the Pulley
Note: this step is only necessary if your controller has the wider (silver or black) pulleys shown below. You can leave your narrower pulley (2019 update) in place.
- You’ll need an .050″ hex key to remove the pulley. Shown below are two varieties (“L” shaped and screwdriver handle). Contact us if you can’t access one and we’ll mail one to you.
- Controllers built before 2019 have either a wide pulley which is either silver or black as shown in the photos. Pulleys in the second photo are shown upside down to reveal set screw holes. The black pulley is fixed to the motor shaft with 4 set screws, and the silver one with 3.
- Using your hex key of choice, loosen the set screws (1/2 turn will suffice), and lift the pulley up from the motor shaft:
Hex Keys
Right Angle Key
Screwdrive Handle
Wide Pulleys
Step-2: Separate the Top Plate from the Motor Pod
8 Screws are circled
Using a 5/64″ hex key, unscrew the 8 screws along the perimeter of the top plate and lift the top plate.
The pulley is still attached in this photo, although (if it is a wide pulley) you will have already removed it.
Step-3: Unplug the Power Cable
This step varies slightly depending on the circuit board version. There are four circuit board revisions, and the revision number and date is silkscreened on the circuit board.
The differences show how the green plug (the power plug header) is attached to the circuit board. The male plug (attached to the motor pod with two wires) has been unchanged since 2005.
The first two generations used a vertical power plug header:
- 2013 Beta Unit – Rev 1.00: this version has the single toggle switch instead of the dual push button switches.
- 2013 First Production Run – Rev 1.01: this version replaced the single toggle switch with two push-switches.
Beginning in 2014, a horizontal power plug header was implemented to provide vertical clearance for some earlier motor pods which had a shallower control cavity:
- 2014 Production – Rev 1.02 (03/24/2014): Released in 2014. The 2018 regulator update was performed on this circuit board as well.
- 2019 Production – Rev 1.03 (07/14/2019): This version was released with the narrow pulley upgrade.
Horizontal Header (Production boards)
Rev 1.02 (03/04/2014) and Rev 1.03 (07/14/2019)
2014 and 2019 boards
Shown here is March, 2014 production board. This board had the 2018 revision performed on this 2018 board.
The July, 2019 board uses the same connector – a horizontal header.
Hold the top plate in one hand and unplug the power supply wires by pulling the male plug horizontally (sideways), as shown by the arrow in the photo.
The male plug (identified by the yellow box in the photo) is the half which is connected to the motor pod.
!!! Do NOT UNSCREW THE WIRES FROM THE PLUG !!!
You do not need to pinch or squeeze the plug in order to remove it.
The next photo shows the plug assembly after it has been separated from the board.
After unplugging the power cable
Finis!
The 2014/2019 board after unplugging the power cable.
Vertical Header
Beta Unit & Early Production Boards – Rev 1.00 & Rev 1.01
Header Block Attached with "Flying" Leads
Beta Units – Rev 1.00:
10 beta units were made. They are identified by having a single toggle switch on the top plate instead of two switches.
Early Production – Rev 1.01: these early production boards have two push switches on the top plate. They look and operate the same as versions 1.02 and 1.03.
Both of these versions have vertical header blocks – the green, female section of the power plug.
They are attached to the circuit board in one of two ways:
- Directly soldered to the board (the same way current production boards are built).
- Connected via wires (“flying leads”) as shown in the photo.
The “flying lead” connection was adopted for some early motor pods which had had very shallow cavities. This provided vertical clearance for installation in these motor pods without having to re-machine them.
Unplugging the power wire:
1: If the green header block is connected to the circuit board via wires (“flying leads”) as shown in the photo, pull the two green plug halves “apart” – holding one half of the connector in each hand and separating them.
2: If the green header block is soldered directly to the circuit board (no wires), unplug it by pulling the male part of the green plug by pulling upwards (away from the circuit board). The male plug is the half which is connected to the motor pod.
