It is not weird, it is just old way of doing things by using Pulse Train Output, and event today it is prevalent, usually in China and other price sensitive locations. There is encoder, mounted on servo motor, and there signal that is information when it is in initial position (some sensor). Your motor shaft is most likely rotating the encoder because there is change of encoder value, but the signal for initial position is not happening. You need to read the manual, and there are a lot of pages.