Long story short...do i need a new servo?

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Smart Alec

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Location
Los Angeles
Arrma RC's
  1. Senton 6s
So I met my son and two grandchildren at a park yesterday just to hang out for a bit. And i decided to take my Senton 3s , not just to introduce my grandson to the joys of rc. But to also show my son that his dad is still a cool dude. Anyways , I got there before them and i decided to run my Senton around the park's huge open parking lot while i waited. And i had a blast speeding back and forth on a 3 cell. But as you know, with fast speeds comes sharp spinouts. And yes, a couple of rollovers did happen as well. But my Senton took that beating like a champ and kept performing perfectly.....at least I thought it was. You see by this time my son had arrived with my grandkids and i was happy to see that my son was impressed. So i handed him the transmitter and told him to give it a try. I switched the radio to 25% throttle since this was his first time, explained the controls and off he went. Everything wss going well when i noticed that he had stopped in the middle of the parking lot and was just going back and forth in a straight line. I told him to have fun with it when he replied "I cant steer it". I wasnt sure what he meant and told him to just turn the wheel. I guess you can imagine the cold chill that went down my spine when he said he was turning the wheel and nothing was happening. I immediately walked over to my truck and turned it off and then on again. After that it appeared to be working fine....until it was my grandson's turn to take control. At first it was performing fine. But then once again, he exclaimed that he couldnt steer it. So i once again picked it up, turned it off and on and then tested it. It worked again. HOWEVER, it happened around 3 more times. At that point i just packed it up and locked it in my car. After that it was fun watching grampa be a goof on the monkey bars until we left the park for a late lunch.
Ok, yeah that story was long as crap, i agree. And whats my purpose of this thread you ask?well.... Whats going on with my steering? How do you conclude that your steering servo has failed or is failing? Could it be anything else? And lastly, can you recommend a good servo replacement?
And are they easy to replace?

And just a little side note...I want to thank each one of you who has responded to my past inquiries. You guys are really a great help and I appreciate you for that. Im proud to be a member of this forum as I know that its members are truly helpful knowledgable nonjudgemental and respectful. And that makes me comfortable enough to know that my questions are not "stupid questions". And yes i know my story was pretty long. But there was a point to it. And by the way, Im proud to be a grampa. And had I known that having grandchildren would be so awesome.....I wouldve had them first!! Haha ...peace out!
 
Did you set your steering end points? If not that could be why the servo went. You could also have a loose connection but I doubt it. You can warranty the servo or get a new one. If you go the route of a new Jx Ecoboost servos are great and cheap. The amazon blue servos are crap they die on me with hard landings and chassis slap. for 3s you should be good with 15-20kg servos and 180 degree servos is what you want.
 
stock servo should go to the spare parts bin or container or whatever you have for replacement parts while the usps takes forever to deliver whatever replacement you got I have heard some good stuff about savox and futaba (i plan on getting one of these brands) i have not upgraded my servo yet but that is prob going to happen in a month or two also for servos you get what you pay for (most of the time)
 
I looked at servos recently - note that the Spektrum on the V3 models has a 23T spline and most replacements have a 25T spline so in this case you need the red arrma servo saver ARAC8883 as well as a new servo.

I'm looking at the JX Ecoboost CLS6322HV - it's a 21kg servo (17kg at 6V), metal gears and very fast at least on the spec sheet.

There's a good video about EPA for the V3 radio too, can be done in calibration mode rather than using the rate dial.
 
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I’ve had good luck with dirt cheap KS3518 servos in my 1/10 scale rigs. I’m sure there is a DS3225 you can get on Amazon or eBay right away that will work well but as mentioned you will need a 25t servo saver.

Be sure to set your steering end points and set your mesh correctly ASAP. Watch these great videos by forum contributor and excellent YouTuber @razorrc


 
I looked at servos recently - note that the Spektrum on the V3 models has a 23T spline and most replacements have a 25T spline so in this case you need the red arrma servo saver ARAC8883 as well as a new servo.

I'm looking at the JX Ecoboost CLS6322HV - it's a 21kg servo (17kg at 6V) and very fast, metal gears and very fast at least on the spec sheet.

There's a good video about EPA for the V3 radio too, can be done in calibration mode rather than using the rate dial.
You do not need a servo saver just a new 25t horn. Edit. nvm I guess you do.
 
So I met my son and two grandchildren at a park yesterday just to hang out for a bit. And i decided to take my Senton 3s , not just to introduce my grandson to the joys of rc. But to also show my son that his dad is still a cool dude. Anyways , I got there before them and i decided to run my Senton around the park's huge open parking lot while i waited. And i had a blast speeding back and forth on a 3 cell. But as you know, with fast speeds comes sharp spinouts. And yes, a couple of rollovers did happen as well. But my Senton took that beating like a champ and kept performing perfectly.....at least I thought it was. You see by this time my son had arrived with my grandkids and i was happy to see that my son was impressed. So i handed him the transmitter and told him to give it a try. I switched the radio to 25% throttle since this was his first time, explained the controls and off he went. Everything wss going well when i noticed that he had stopped in the middle of the parking lot and was just going back and forth in a straight line. I told him to have fun with it when he replied "I cant steer it". I wasnt sure what he meant and told him to just turn the wheel. I guess you can imagine the cold chill that went down my spine when he said he was turning the wheel and nothing was happening. I immediately walked over to my truck and turned it off and then on again. After that it appeared to be working fine....until it was my grandson's turn to take control. At first it was performing fine. But then once again, he exclaimed that he couldnt steer it. So i once again picked it up, turned it off and on and then tested it. It worked again. HOWEVER, it happened around 3 more times. At that point i just packed it up and locked it in my car. After that it was fun watching grampa be a goof on the monkey bars until we left the park for a late lunch.
Ok, yeah that story was long as crap, i agree. And whats my purpose of this thread you ask?well.... Whats going on with my steering? How do you conclude that your steering servo has failed or is failing? Could it be anything else? And lastly, can you recommend a good servo replacement?
And are they easy to replace?

And just a little side note...I want to thank each one of you who has responded to my past inquiries. You guys are really a great help and I appreciate you for that. Im proud to be a member of this forum as I know that its members are truly helpful knowledgable nonjudgemental and respectful. And that makes me comfortable enough to know that my questions are not "stupid questions". And yes i know my story was pretty long. But there was a point to it. And by the way, Im proud to be a grampa. And had I known that having grandchildren would be so awesome.....I wouldve had them first!! Haha ...peace out!
About your last paragraph..... couldnt agree more.....still new at this, but guys with decades of experience were very helpful to me from the very beginning...... I also appreciate the friendly ambience of this forum.....lots of pleasant people who love the hobby are here
 
Did you set your steering end points? If not that could be why the servo went. You could also have a loose connection but I doubt it. You can warranty the servo or get a new one. If you go the route of a new Jx Ecoboost servos are great and cheap. The amazon blue servos are crap they die on me with hard landings and chassis slap. for 3s you should be good with 15-20kg servos and 180 degree servos is what you want.
Thank you Fat Cat. I'll definitely give your recommendation a shot.
 
I had a older RTR servo that acted like the OP. I suspected it was failing / overheating - the first half a pack it was fine, then it would shut off or go very weak. Reset the ESC, and the servo worked fine for a few turns of the wheel, then it would go into limp mode again. New servo, and everything worked again.

Here is a cheap/good servo -
https://www.amazon.com/Hexfly-Servo-Metal-Gear-Waterproof/dp/B07SFKVDW2

As others said, the new cars come with a 23t Spektrum servo. If yours is the v3 then you will also need a new SS -
https://www.amazon.com/Servo-Saver-Heavy-Duty-Gas/dp/B0006O1QQC
If your truck is one with the red Arrma ADS-7 servo, then you can use the stock servo saver.

When you re-install the new servo and SS, make sure the SS can turn all the way both directions. You may need to trim the corners off the SS horn. Also make sure the SS is not dragging on the bottom chassis plate. I had to add washers under my servo to make it swing free.
 
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