Red Seal Electrician Practice
Wiring and componentsQuestion 1229 of 1506

A permanent magnet stepper has four lead wires and no center taps. Which drive can it use?

  1. Unipolar drive only
  2. Bipolar drive only
  3. Either, if the leads are paired
  4. DC drive with no switching
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Correct answer: Bipolar drive only

Without a center tap, the field can only be reversed by reversing the polarity of the drive.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits II: AC (Kuphaldt), 13.5: Stepper Motors

Practice wiring and components

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026