This is on the back of a 380-size DC motor, run by six D cells through a momentary switch. You can see the motor terminals soldered on each side near the bottom. The red and orange wires on top are the power input leads.

Hosted on Fotki

I hooked up 14.4v (12-cell NiMh pack) to get more speed out of it and it works fine, however it starts up slowly for the first half second. Is that what this board does?

 

It's a high frequency transformer, or it's a filter to keep motor noise [RFI]out of other appliances and electronic devices.

 

Your motor starts slowly because your 14.4V battery or the battery connector cannot supply the very high starting current. The weak battery probably will cause the motor to slow down too much when it has a load.

__________________
Uncle $crooge

 

Thanks, I guess I can leave it in then if it isn't limiting motor performance. I just need to assemble a new battery pack because the current ones are sort of mixed in cell capacity.

What is the green thing labeled "W200"?

 

It may be a termal circuit breaker or a termal fuse - It is in series with the motor.

200 sounds like 200ºF = 93ºC - a likely trip temperature

__________________
E Cerfoglio
Buenos Aires
Argentina

 

I don't know.

It looks like a current sensing resistor but it could be a fuse.

__________________
I also post at the following sites:
http://www.stop-microsoft.org http://www.heated-debates.com
Screen name: Aloone_Jonez

 

Don't EVER mix batteries like that, or even ones of different makes - one will always go flat first, the others will reverse charge it, and it will split leaking chemicals everywhere.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

Yeah I know, they were old batteries and I needed a high amp 14.4v source just to test the motor. The pack is an 8-cell and half of another 8-cell wired in series. I'm only on the first charge and I don't plan on recharging the pack after this. If I split the leads I can charge them separately but I plan on making a new pack from two identical 6-cell packs anyway. The local electronics toy store has 6-cell packs on clearance for 10 bucks but they only had one in stock.