The three most common fault modes of the motor controller and their preventive measures
Mar 19, 2026
As the core component of an electric vehicle, the reliability of the motor controller directly determines the safety of the entire vehicle. When the vehicle experiences sudden shutdown or overheating alerts, quickly identifying the cause of the fault is of utmost importance. I will summarize the following three most common fault modes of the motor controller and provide systematic preventive measures.
The IGBT explosion caused by overcurrent in the motor controller
The IGBT is the core component of the motor controller. In case of overcurrent or short circuit faults, it is highly likely to cause permanent damage to the equipment.This fault risk is particularly common in mainstream models such as medium and high-power 3 phase motor controller and bldc motor controller.
WISE's motor controller is equipped with hardware-level overcurrent, short circuit and peak voltage protection, and combines an optimized IGBT driving scheme. It can respond rapidly within microseconds and cut off the risk of failure, fundamentally preventing IGBT explosions and significantly improving the safety and service life of the equipment.
Common Causes of Motor Controller Overheating Faults and Heat Dissipation Optimization Solutions
When high-voltage motor controllers and high-load electric motor controllers are operating in vehicles, problems such as overheating fault codes, power reduction or shutdown, and abnormal increase in shell temperature become particularly prominent. The main causes are usually due to prolonged overloading, failure of the cooling system (such as pump failure, radiator blockage), and insufficient coolant.
The WISE motor controller uses automotive-grade IGBTs and is equipped with an optimized heat dissipation design to ensure good contact between the IGBT and the heat sink; it also features multiple NTC temperature monitoring points, an internal high-precision temperature model, and a three-level intelligent power reduction protection.When the temperature reaches the limit value, the system will automatically and smoothly reduce the power to prevent sudden failures and shutdowns.
Causes of Communication Failure in Motor Controller and Anti-interference Measures
When the communication between the motor controller and the VCU is interrupted, reports communication failure codes, or fails to receive instructions, it is usually caused by abnormalities in the physical layer of the CAN bus, electromagnetic interference, or ground potential difference.
The WISE motor controller adopts industrial-grade isolated CAN interface, supporting various communication methods such as CAN 2.0, CAN FD, and single-line communication. It is equipped with hardware filtering, software fault-tolerant design, and communication timeout safety processing mechanism, which can ensure stable and reliable communication for your vehicle even in harsh conditions.
Choose reliable motor controller
Any malfunction of the motor controller will lead to an increase in costs. Choosing a reliable and stable motor controller has become an inevitable choice.WISE has been dedicated to developing high-quality and stable motor controllers for over a decade.
All products have undergone rigorous testing and are equipped with a variety of hardware protection measures and software fault diagnosis functions to ensure stable operation even under harsh conditions.
If you need a customized solution or technical equipment support, please feel free to contact us at any time.
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