Woodmaxx Snowblower Wiring question

[Sierraau]

Digital meter. Got only 12v in one direction on both switches, but I did the test by disconnecting the wires from the switch box at the splice nearest the control box, so the wires were NOT attached to anything other than the tester. Should I test with the all the wires attached to the blower, at that first connection? I eliminated the four way plug and now I have 2 outdoor extension cords that are 14 gauge using two wires of the 3 in the cord. Sorry to sound like a complete idiot, but I have done a bunch of basic wiring to add things to my 2002 Kioti, so I am not a COMPLETE idiot.... but this 3 way 12v switch threw me for a loop. Never ever considered anything like it.

 

[LouNY]

The easy way out;

This seems to be very similar to your switches, with just 4 wires per switch on the external connections as the jumpers have been run internally.
https://www.amazon.com/Tbrand-Momentary-Polarity-Reverse-reversing/dp/B08KD9SNH1?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2625GOFX0SKPC

So you just need 12 Volt to the switches and two wires from each switch to the actuators.
Your actuator wires need to come off of one pair of terminals and power to the other pair.

 

[LD1]

Digital meter. Got only 12v in one direction on both switches, but I did the test by disconnecting the wires from the switch box at the splice nearest the control box, so the wires were NOT attached to anything other than the tester. Should I test with the all the wires attached to the blower, at that first connection? I eliminated the four way plug and now I have 2 outdoor extension cords that are 14 gauge using two wires of the 3 in the cord. Sorry to sound like a complete idiot, but I have done a bunch of basic wiring to add things to my 2002 Kioti, so I am not a COMPLETE idiot.... but this 3 way 12v switch threw me for a loop. Never ever considered anything like it.

Not having both 12v and -12v is puzzling. But not being there to see whats going on makes it difficult to troubleshoot even simple things via the forum.

But at least you have 12v one direction so something should move.

The idea of leaving it connected to the motor and testing CLOSEST to the motor was to see what kind of voltage drop you were getting with a load.

A bad connection "somewhere" will still show 12v when tested. But the moment a load is applied the voltage can drop to 0.

 

[Sierraau]

So, do you guys think it is a controller issue? Do I need to have the wires hooked up to everything when I am testing the switching movements?

 

[Sierraau]

The easy way out;

View attachment 777894

This seems to be very similar to your switches, with just 4 wires per switch on the external connections as the jumpers have been run internally.
https://www.amazon.com/Tbrand-Momentary-Polarity-Reverse-reversing/dp/B08KD9SNH1?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2625GOFX0SKPC

So you just need 12 Volt to the switches and two wires from each switch to the actuators.
Your actuator wires need to come off of one pair of terminals and power to the other pair.

That looks exactly like the controller

 

[Carl_NH]

OK I went out and put my volt meter in each plug and recorded the readings - you will see in the attached pics.

Plugged the leads into the two feed wires for each motor.
- Chute Rotation Left 13.46 V
- Chute Rotation Right -13.47 v
- Deflector Up -13.47 V
- Deflector Down 13.47

I think it still could be a bad ground wire in your case Sierraau

 

[Sierraau]

OK I went out and put my volt meter in each plug and recorded the readings - you will see in the attached pics.

Plugged the leads into the two feed wires for each motor.
- Chute Rotation Left 13.46 V
- Chute Rotation Right -13.47 v
- Deflector Up -13.47 V
- Deflector Down 13.47

I think it still could be a bad ground wire in your case Sierraau

So, "bad ground" means that I need to do away with the fender ground and maybe run a sheet metal screw into one of the cab supports, or do I need to run a ground back to the battery?

 

[Carl_NH]

I ran power from both battery terminals directly to the controller with the inline fuse at the battery positive terminal.

You can easily simulate and test this with two wires (or jumper cables) from a battery to the controller power input.

This may not be the issue, but it's a process of elimination at this point.

 

[LouNY]

^^^^ best way.

 

[KWentling]

So, "bad ground" means that I need to do away with the fender ground and maybe run a sheet metal screw into one of the cab supports, or do I need to run a ground back to the battery?

Going directly back to the battery is the best.