Automation, sensing and robotics • Stepper Motor Not Working Properly with Raspberry Pi + A4988

Hi all,

I’m using a Raspberry Pi 4 with an A4988 driver and a NEMA 17 stepper motor. I’ve connected STEP and DIR to GPIO pins and powered the motor with a 12V supply. VDD is connected to 3.3V on the Pi.

The motor just vibrates or makes noise but doesn’t rotate correctly. I’ve tried:

Adjusting the A4988 current limit

Slowing down the step pulses

Checking coil connections

Adding a capacitor on VMOT

Still no luck.

Could the 3.3V GPIO be too weak for the A4988? Would a level shifter help?

Any ideas? Thanks!

Statistics: Posted by klaus22 — Wed Jun 11, 2025 3:04 am

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