Major Servo Issues
 

I have a very pressing problem with my servo. Before I explain the problem, I'll try to list all the relevant equipment:

1.) 27 MHZ 3-Channel receiver, stock
2.) HobbyWing 25A Brushless ESC
3.) Newly purchased metal-geared servo
4.) A 1/18th scale HengLong Sports Truggy

That's all that I can think of that would affect the servo troubles that I am having.

A while back, the servo that came with my car broke (stripped gears). I've recently purchased a new servo with metal gears from the manufacturer of my car. When I plug it into the receiver while the power is on, the servo adjusts slightly, and I believe that it centers itself. When I turn the remote on, it moves again, ever so slightly. When I turn the steering wheel: absolutely nothing I'm really getting annoyed, frustrated, concerned, and worried.

What I have tried so far:
1.) Plugging the servo in to a different slot in the receiver.
Result: None work.
2.) Resetting the ESC.
Result: No difference
3.) Being upset.
Result: Becoming more upset
4.) Taking the servo out of the car to test it.
Result: Still no turning
5.) Wishing really hard that it would work.
Result: Nothing

The battery on my remote is fine, the battery in my car is fine, I can drive forwards and backwards with my car, the servo does turn when I turn on the car, it does not turn even out of the servo horn, and it is not making any sounds while it is not turning.

I'm getting quite worried about this, because I've spent a good deal of time and money on this car, and frankly I've had it with the stupidity and cruddiness of it all. I seem to break everything I touch, and this project makes me want to throw my car out my window. Any help would be appreciated!! I can send pictures, videos, anything you need to determine my problem. I just really need to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks for reading, please respond,
~Guad

You said you have "tested" the servo outside of the car. Was it with a servo tester or the radio gear that came with the car?

If you are able, test the servo in another car, with a known working radio system.

The steering servo has to be plugged into the slot marked "1" or "str" and esc should be in "2" or "motor/esc".

Make sure the signal wire on the servo lead is in the correct orientation when it's plugged in. It could be white/orange/or yellow and should be to the "outside" or "right" when looking down at the rx and being able to read the sticker.

My first guess, after having to deal with these internet specials first hand in the shop, is it is a bad receiver/crystal.

I think I know your problem by my experience I may be wrong if so someone correct me please? But from memory some digital servos dont like fm/am - rx/tx systems.

So these are the things I would try first to fix it.

1st- if you have a friend that has a 2.4gz radio system (set this up n see if this works) if no friend look on ebay there are some ok cheap ones there (before buying one check reviews).

2nd- you could try a cheap analog servo to suit your current radio system


hope this helps
Ray

Before you get upset even further, look for a digital radio TX+RX, post on the wanted threads and expect to pay $50-$100 not a penny more. Your AM radio WILL just add fuel to your fire and none of us want to see ppl not enjoying our hobby.

As others mentioned, best thing to do is grab your gear and find the nearest RC race track, get to meet the guys, have a good day and you might end up having a great day and at best someone with empathy might even give you an old radio to use.

It's heartbreaking for many of us that have been in RC for a while to see ppl like yourself want to enjoy it and feel like they are totally let down. Your post seems like a very logical approach so the only thing you can blame yourself for is not coming to RCTech or going to a track and asking questions first.

Chin up mate... once it's working, it'll be all smiles.

h


NOTE: A few things to check.

Was the servo centered before you put the servo horn on
Is the Transmitter set with End Point adjustments correctly
Is the Transmitter Steering Rate at ZERO

Thank you for responding!

I don't have a servo tester, so I just plugged in the servo to the receiver without anything else on it to test it.

The servo was definitely in the correct port, thanks for clarifying which one it should be in.

I can only plug the servo in one way, so that can't be the problem.

I've had the car sitting in my room for about a year and a half. If receivers can take damage over time, that could be the problem. Embarrassingly, I forgot to mention that the antenna on my remote is broken. (It's telescoping, and the top two segments snapped off.) I didn't think that would cause a problem, but now I am not so sure... could that be it?

The receiver is the last stock electronic piece on my car xD Maybe it's time to get a new one of those...

I live in Beijing, and I haven't seen any RC car tracks around here. :( If I see one, I will definitely check it out. I'll look into getting a digital radio, thanks for the tip :D


@Ray
Hopefully that isn't the problem, considering that this is a duplicate of the stock servo but with metal gears instead of plastic. If that is the case then I will have to complain to the company that sold it to me...

Thanks everyone,
~Guad

You have been given two pieces of advice that will do nothing to solve your problem. Please post the brand and model of your servo, I will not assume you have a digital as that is actually unlikely. 27mhz radios function perfectly well, yes digital is better but the 27mhz is not the problem.
You need to do a couple simple tests to see if it's the servo or the reciever problem.
We know that channel 2 works with the esc so I would suggest plugging the servo into channel 2 and test it. Yes you will use the trigger to turn the wheels but we are just testing. If the servo works in channel 2 then you have a bad channel 1 in the reciever. Simple. If the servo does not work in channel 2 then either the servo is bad or incompatible.
To double check I would plug the esc into channel 1, if it works then the servo is definitely the problem. If the esc does not work in channel 1 then you verified that the receiver has a bad channel 1.

Thanks for the advice, that makes good sense. At first, I unplugged the ESC and tried the servo in channel two. To my dismay, nothing happened. However, when I put the ESC in, and put the servo in to channel 3, I could turn the servo using this strange switch on my remote called "SW2". I think I can conclude that the problem is with my receiver. Is there anyway I could configure it so that I could steer using channel 3? It would save my 10 bucks on a new receiver.... and just to make sure, the problem cannot be my broken antenna on the remote, correct?
Thanks,
~Guad

Forgive me for posting twice in a row, but I am wondering about one other reason why my servo might not be working. My the top half of my telescoping antenna broke off, could that be messing up the signals?
Thanks,
~Guad

It will shorten your radio's range but shouldnt affect it from not working...

Ok, thank you. Time to buy a new receiver [feignedjoy]:D[/feignedjoy]