Servo Situation

MafiaS · Post by **MafiaS** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 2:52 pm

Today I was fiddling around with my xmod and I decided that the fact that the car would always swing to one side as I was trying to go straight really bothered me.

I made it a date to take apart most of mod and see what changes I could make, and centering the servo was one of them.

So I unscrewed the screws connected to the servo lifted it out nice and slow and wanted to take a look at the back. I opened it's case and noticed some device with three wires hooked up to it (sorry not familiar with the termonologies), and a small motor about the same size of a Super Slick motor with a blue and red wire connected to it.

After I put together my servo and centered it quite nicely it was time for the test.

- Turned on the switch from underneathe
- Turned on the remote
- hit the accelerator...nice...drift motor kicking ass!
- Turned the wheel left....delay?...umm nope....Servo did not move at all!!!

Ok so maybe it was just not turning left? Wrong! The thing wouldnt even push the servo any more...

I did not get too fraustrated instead I reopened the back and took a look at it. Servo gears lined up nicely, device with three wires all in tact.

Hmm, little motor...

I realized sorta when I first took a look at the motor that the blue wire was a bit bent badly in the middle of the wire. After taking another look when my servo wouldnt budge any more I saw the blue wire had a spot in the middle that was exposed, almost like it had been bent badle and broken the connection..

Now obviously by what I have wrote the problem is the servo motor wires right? But I wanted to double check if it could be the device with the three wires (orange red and some other color)

If it is the servo motor what do I gotta do to fix this? The wire looks broken but not disconnected...

Advice please

Thank you very much!

evoraptor · Post by **evoraptor** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:05 pm

I don't think I've had this problem before, but I'll get some pics for you, so that you can see how everyhintg goes on the servo. I just happen to have some spare PCB's that are in working condition. I'll be right badck to get the pics.

:edit: here you go, hope this helps. THe first pic is the servo disconnect, and where the wires on them should go. THe othersare the connections themselves.

civicsr2cool · Post by **civicsr2cool** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:15 pm

the wires on the pot like to break and stay in the shrink wrap making them look like they are still good too, but thats not your problem since u cant turn at all ud just turn full lock one way. id get a zip zap motor and wire it up so u get more torque and beefier wires too so u dont pinch um and they fall apart.

MafiaS · Post by **MafiaS** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:18 pm

I have one ZipZap motor...the pink one

Will that do? Do bit motors work as well?

One other question is...the motor in the servo looks bigger than the Zip motor, wont that have an affect on the inside of the servo and lining up gears?

civicsr2cool · Post by **civicsr2cool** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:29 pm

they are the same size, and bit motors are the same thing. u have to take off the pot cover with the two screws in the back and slide out the old one.

Tuner1989 · Post by **Tuner1989** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 4:24 pm

If you just recentered the horn then you did not center the servo correctley. Which means the pot (thing with three wires) is not centered thus your turning issues. Just a guess on my part but its a damn good one.

http://s6.invisionfree.com/Infernal_XMO ... topic=3664

MafiaS · Post by **MafiaS** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:40 pm

Thanks for all the replies and help...

I took another look at it tonight.

Basically I soldered the crack in the blue wire together, heat shrinked over it to cover it. Then I did a test to see if there was power running to the servo motor and there was power alright! The motor was spinning only one way and could not turn the other.

So I took a look at the pot or w.e with the three wires, and I noticed the orange wire looked a little bent also. Resolder it nice and firm, tested, and boom servo was spickity spam again!!

color0 · Post by **color0** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 4:36 am

so now that the issue's over, might i ask a question...

an exposed wire was just as bad as a break? that's a weird one.

HACHI-RYOKU · Post by **HACHI-RYOKU** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:54 pm

Good work fixing that servo. That's really a week system and I'm glad Rat-Shack made a better one for the Evo's. I've had to do pretty much the same thing on mine.

As far as an exposed wire being the same as a broken wire; No, it's not as bad. As long as electricity can keep running through it, it's fine. The concern would be an open wire touching something else that is exposed, possibly on the PCB or an open terminal. You could always just throw some electrical tape over the exposed part to protect it from coming in contact with something else.

Mafia's problem was a little different than just an exposed wire.

MafiaS · Post by **MafiaS** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 4:37 pm

Well i know it was not too bad when I put the exposed wire together and felt the trickle of electricty ahah. They I touched the wire on a metal object and boom...conductivity, so i realized this shit needs to be soldered.

After reconstructing the surface of the blue wire it led me to further testing. It would have been nasty if that shit touched my board, or even worse..antenna...

Thanks for all the help guys!