Beginner needing help wiring a Sabertooth 2x12 with a Jazzy Pride Wheelchair

Let's Make Robots Beginners
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Hi Folks, I’m taking a shot at building a beach cart. I have a Jazzy Pride wheelchair with 2 functioning motors. I have a Sabertooth 2x12, a Radiolink RC4GSv3 and two universal servo extensions.

I am struggling with the initial wiring from the chair to the Sabertooth. I have 10 wires in total; four coming off of each of the motors (Red, Black, and then two thinner wires that are both black) and then two wires from the two batteries that are wired to each other.

I’ve take the wire hub apart and trying to see which fires have which functions so I can wire the Sabertooth correctly.

My goal is to have a carth that can move forward and backwards and turn left and right. Am I in the right place and if so, I would like to ask for some help moving this project forward. If I am not in the right place, can someone please tell me where I can possibly find some answers?

Thank you in advance, I look forward to hearing from you!

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Hi @VitoMu and welcome to our forum.

I think red and black wires from the motor are positive and negative polarity, and two black wires are brakes for the motor.

Maybe this topic can be helpful for you, if you want to connect this to Sabertooth:

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Thanks! I appreciate your comment. I will check out that link now. I have a 2x12, I’m wondering if I need to change it to a 2x32, as most configurations seem to use the 32. I wonder if I need the additional ports for the brake wires.

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It is important to know how much current your motors can draw. Are there any information about nominal current or nominal power for these motors?

Based on it, you can choose appropriate Sabretooth driver.

Probably, 2x32 would be enough, while 2x12 could be struggling if these motors are bigger ones.

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The motor is an E660, left and right sides. Thank you again for your time Igor. I’m going to go to my hobby shop today and probably purchase the 2x32. As I was researching the difference between the two, the 2x32 seemed to be able to carry a higher weight, up to 300lbs, so I think this makes it more worthwhile then the 2x12 which could end up struggling under the weight and power.

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For sure 2x32 will carry more than 2x12. Let us know how your project goes in the future.

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Thank you! I greatly appreciate your assistance!

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You are welcome.

Let us know if you managed to finish your project.

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Hi folks,
I am working on a robot cart with two jazzy wheelchair motors, utilizing a sabertooth 2x32 and a Radiolink RC4GS remote. I have had a few problems with programming the remote. I was able to successfully program the trigger to move the cart forwards and backwards. I was also able to reduce the speed of the motors and control the cart better. Additionally, I was able to reduce the speed of the wheels when turning (without any acceleration from the trigger), and using only the handwheel. The problem that I have been facing is when accelerating and turning at the same time, I haven’t been able to figure out how to slow down the speed of the wheels during the turn. In other words, I could be moving forward at a snails pace using the trigger and then as I am doing so, if I turn the handwheel to turn right or left to make a turn, it totally does so at a high rate of speed.

There are so many different options for controls on this remote and I have been watching video after video and can’t seem to figure it out. I was hoping someone in the forum could give me the quick 1-2 answer here.

Thanks in advance!!
Victor

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Consider there are also Sabertooth settings to play with and how they might interact with each other. Worst case if you get frustrated, reach out to Dimension Engineering and see if they have use this or a similar remote.

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Calling Dimension Engineering today to see if they can help with the remote. Here’s where I’m at so far. Pretty cool build! Couldn’t have done it without this forum!
Check out its own instagram page to see the progress and a short video. The file was too large to post. @badazzbeachwagon

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We are looking forward to debut of this robot, this weekend in Ocean City :slight_smile:

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Hi Igor and everyone! We had to cancel the mission this weekend. I had the cart there but I didn’t feel comfortable with the steering issue (still way too sensitive and could just spin and toss everything off the top LOL) and there’s something else going on with the driver/remote as when I turn the power on, sometimes the cart has a mind of its own and just starts to fly off in one direction or another. That’s just too dangerous in a crowded setting. I need to figure out what’s going on. I nicknamed the cart “Christine” because she truly has a mind of her own, and it’s a little scary :grin: :grin: :grin:

I did take a short video of the LED’s that I installed under the tray, that turned out to be pretty cool.

I have been communicating with Dimension Engineering and hoping that they can get me right. Thanks again for your interest!

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Really would love to see it move and curious how the two smaller “rear” wheels operate - central pivot?

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Hi there! the large center wheels are the only ones that operate off of the motor (forward, back, left turn, right turn, etc), yes, I believe that would be the central pivot. The really small front wheels were the anti-tip wheels on the front of the wheelchair, and the back ones are not powered and just for weight support and balance since most of the steering is done by the large middle tires.

This is my very first project so I hope I’m not insulting anyone by overstating what some would consider obvious. My videos are too big, I’ll try to edit one and attach it next. Thanks!

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Question is do the rear wheels pivot? If you use the drive motors to turn in place, will the smaller grey wheels be dragged sideways rather than rolling?

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