Shapeoko lights up on control board, switch on front and red light on Z axis without power

Tonight while working on sizing up my enclosure for my Shapeoko Pro XXL. I had to move the gantry forward to check the clearance for my new enclosure I am planning out. I am glad I did as I had not taken the sweepy 2.0 into account and now need to expand the enclosure another 2.5 inches.

The Shapeoko is NOT plugged in and never has been as the Electrician just finished putting outlets in the basement for me yesterday so that I can run it.

I moved the gantry gently and the blue light on the front of the power button to the Shapeoko lit up as did the control box and a red light on the Z access… Is this normal ? I wondering if something is wired wrong or if it is not grounded properly.

The stepper motors will generate electricity back feeding to the controller. It is not advisable to move the gantry by hand. The back-fed electricity can fry the board. If you move the stepper, I would suggest going very slowly. Not an expert on this!

So you noticed the effect of the stepper motors creating feedback

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Nowhere did I see this mentioned in the manual… The last thing I want to do is blow it up. Thanks for letting me know.

If you move axis too fast the stepper creates electrical impulses. It does not damage anything. Plus it will feel like the belts are slipping. The stepper has a lot of windings and magnets that generate emf that feels like resistance.

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