To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?

The schematics above provided by Joshyp00 are helpful in determining the leads, but alone do not provide enough information to mark all 9 leads. To do that, you can use a battery flashing method, outlined below. You will need a 6 or 12 V lantern battery and preferable an analog voltmeter, like the old Simpson 260. You will also a sensitive ohm meter. Before proceeding, it is a good idea to check the motor for grounds. A megger is the best way to see if any of the leads show leakage to the frame of the motor.

Next, use an ohm-meter to determine if the motor is Y or Delta connected. A Y-connected motor will have 3 groups of 2 wires each which show nearly 0-ohms between each pair, and a 4th group which shows near 0-ohms between 3 wires. A Delta connected motor will have 3 groups of 3 wires each which show near 0-ohms (see diagrams above). There should not be any ohm reading, i.e., infinite ohms, between the groups. (Don't hold the meter leads with your fingers as you will get a resistance reading through your body). If there is a reading, the motor may be bad or it is a different type of motor other than an AC induction. Put different colored tape on the wires in each group to keep the groups separate. The remaining steps below are different, depending on whether you have a Y or Delta connected motor. You will need a 6 to 12V lantern battery.

Y-connected Motor

  1. Randomly assign the numbers 7,8,9 to the 3 leads which are part of the 3-lead group.

  2. You will be touching the battery between leads 8 and 9 (polarity not important on this step), and monitoring the voltage deflection on each of the other 3 pairs of wires, each in succession. Find the pair with the minimum or no voltage deflection. This will be the 1-4 pair. Use this pair for the next step.

  3. Differentiate which is 1 or 4 by moving the battery to the 7-8 wires, with + on 7 and - on 8. Connect the volt meter between 1&4, swapping the leads in such a way as to get a positive deflection when the battery is connected (will go negative when removed). The + lead of the volt meter will be lead #1 and negative voltmeter lead will be lead # 4.

  4. Move the battery to the 7-9 leads with positive the #9 lead and negative on the #7 lead. Find lead #3 by looking for a positive deflection on one of the other pairs. The other lead is #6.

  5. Finally move batter to 8-9 pair with + lead on #8 and negative flashed to #9. Positive deflection on the meter will identify #2 lead and the other is #5.

Delta-connected Motor

  1. For the delta connection, a sensitive ohm-meter usually works at least on smaller motors. Measure the resistance between any 2 of the 3 leads in a group. Find the lead that is commonly the lowest reading between the two and that will labeled either 1,2 or 3. Just pick a label for each group. If the ohm reading is too low to determine the center wire, you can pass a low-voltage DC through the pairs of wires and measure voltage drops to determine which on is in the center.

  2. Connect the minus of the battery to both of the two of the leads from group #1 which are not labeled. You will be flashing the positive battery lead to the other lead which should be labeled #1. Connect one of the voltmeter leads to lead #2. You will be monitoring the other two leads from the #2 group to find the one with the largest deflection. That lead will be #7. The other lead in the group will be #5. The deflection occurs when the battery is connected.

  3. Keeping the battery the same as above, repeat the procedure for the other group. Put the voltmeter between lead #3 and one of the other leads in the same #3 group. Look for the largest deflection between lead #3 and the other two wires. The wire with the largest deflection will be lead #6 and the other one lead #8.

  4. Last step is to determine which is #4 and #9. Move the battery negative lead to both #5 and #7, and the other battery terminal will be flashed to #2 during the test. Connect the voltmeter between #1 and one of the other 2 wires in the same #1 group. The wire with the largest deflection will be #4. The other wire is #9.

Three-phase motors use coils of wire to create magnetic fields and produce rotation.

Standard 3-phase motors use six individual coils, two for each phase. The internal construction and connection of these coils inside of the motor is predetermined when the motor is manufactured. There are two classes of 3-phase motors: Wye and Delta.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?
Wye and Delta configuration

Three-phase motors are also constructed to operate at two different , and so the coils can be connected in either their high-voltage or low-voltage configurations.

In the high-voltage configuration, the two coils of each phase are connected in  with each other so that the higher value of supply voltage is split equally between them and rated current is drawn through each winding.

In the low-voltage configuration, the two coils of each phase are connected in  with each other so that the lower value of supply voltage is shared equally between the coils and rated current is drawn through each winding.

Note that the low-voltage connection will necessarily need to draw twice as much current from the source as the high-voltage connection. Most motors will list two values of voltage and current on their nameplates. It is important to size and their based on the expected value of current that is to be drawn by the motor at the voltage it is used at.

Each of the six individual coils has two leads supplying it, for a total of twelve leads in total. In both the Wye and Delta configurations, three of these leads are connected internally, and so only nine leads are brought out of the motor for connection. These leads are numbered 1–9, and in both Wye and Delta follow a standard numbering convention: starting at the top of the diagram with wire number 1, draw an inwardly descending spiral from each connection point, ascending to the next number at each step.

Depending upon the internal construction of the motor, these leads can be hooked up in one of four ways: High- or low-voltage Wye, or high- or low-voltage Delta

Identifying Wye or Delta with an Ohmmeter

It sometimes becomes necessary to test or confirm the configuration of a motor before final connection. If a Wye wound motor is connected as a Delta wound motor or vice versa, the motor will not operate properly.

Consider this situation: You have nine leads coming from a motor, but no indication of whether its Wye or Delta wound. By using an to do a simple continuity check, you can determine the construction type of the motor.

If it is Wye wound, each of wires 1, 2, and 3 should only have continuity with one other lead (4, 5 and 6 respectively). The three leads without continuity to wires 1, 2, and 3 should all have continuity with each other.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?
Wye motor connections

If it is Delta wound, each of wires 1, 2, and 3 should have continuity with two other leads:

  • T1 has continuity to T4 &T9
  • T2 has continuity to T5 &T7
  • T3 has continuity to T6 &T8
To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?
Delta Motor Connections

It is important to note that these points represent the internal connection of the coils of the motor, not how they are to be hooked up to voltage.

Wye Connections

In this configuration, each phase is brought to two coils that are connected in parallel with each other. Terminals 4, 5, and 6 are tied together to make a second neutral connection.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?
Low-voltage Wye connection
L1 L2 L3 Tie together
1,7 2,8 3,9 4,5,6

High-voltage Wye

In this configuration, each phase is brought to two coils that are connected in series with one another.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?

Wye motor high-voltage connection.

L1 L2 L3 Tie together
1 2 3 4,7 – 5,8 – 6,9

Delta Connections

In this configuration, each phase is brought to centre connection of two coils and to the end connections of each of the other two groups of coils.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?

Delta Motor Low Voltage Connection

L1 L2 L3 Tie together
1,6,7 2,4,8 3,5,9 none

High Voltage Delta

In this configuration each phase is brought to two coils that are connected in series with the other phases coils.

To what leads of a 3 phase 9 lead motor are the power lines connected?

Delta Motor High Voltage Connection

L1 L2 L3 Tie together
1 2, 3 4,7 – 5,8 – 6,9

The difference in electric potential between two points, which is defined as the work needed per unit of charge to move a test charge between the two points. It is measured in volts (V).

In electrical terms, refers to a connection where current has only one path to flow.

Loads connected in series will have the the same value of current flowing through them, and share the total voltage between them. Switches and overcurrent equipment is connected in series with equipment to control and protect it.

In electrical terms, refers to a connection where current has more than one path to flow.

Loads connected in parallel will experience the same potential difference (voltage), but may draw different values of current depending upon their individual resistance.

A device that controls the flow of electrical power to a motor. It is designed to safely start and stop a motor, and provide overload protection.

A heater element paired with normally-closed contacts that open once the heater gets too hot. Two types of relays are the bimetallic strip and the melting solder pot.

A device used to measure the resistance of a circuit. Ohmmeters must not be used on live circuits. Ohmmeters connect a small internal voltage source to the circuit that is being measured or tested,  and determine the value of resistance or continuity by measuring what value of current flows through the meter.

Can be either digital or analogue.