Granite No steering and smoking from the red bit!

[Sylar000]

As I am sure you can tell by my title I am super clued up on all the parts of an RC car.

Had a Granite BLX 3S since Xmas which is mainly for my 6 year old son. We were out having a spin this morning and initially the car wouldn't turn. We grabbed it, took the shell off and whilst playing around the red part started smoking - see the clip

https://imgur.com/a/Ivwgomv

.

What is this red part, is it easy to replace and is it the reason the car won't turn? Is this something Arrma should be replacing given we have probably only done 10 - 12 batteries from new?

Thanks all!

 

[ph47mf]

that's the servo which turn your wheels, if you only had the car recently try speak to Horizon for a replacement or upgrade to an aftermarket one.

 

[Sylar000]

Thank you, who are Horizon? I would speak to the company I bought it from which for me is https://www.modelsport.co.uk/ I think?

 

[jondilly1974]

You can try to get a warranty claim from the dealer, but it’s only a $20 part.

 

[Sylar000]

Thanks, will see what they say!

 

[jondilly1974]

You will want an upgrade anyways. The stock one is known to be slow and weak. Any 15kg, 20kg, or 25kg servo will be better. Amazon or eBay should have plenty of options if the dealer can’t help.

 

[Kierthas]

I went through 2 Arrma servo's on my Typhon 3s before I said f that and bought a aftermarket. Replaced all my RC servos with
ANNIMOS 25.5kg/0.07s Coreless Digital Servo off amazon. its fast quiet and have had 0 issues.

 

[ptsWolfman]

So if you're in the UK, this link should work.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZOSKAY-DS3225-digital-Waterproof-Control/dp/B07H4M82CR/
The Servo Horn (the arm that connects to the steering might need to be modified (most I've found are too long, you'd use the shorter screw hole and the arm doesn't fit without trimming it (dremel, grinder, etc). It sounds worse than it is... otherwise, you can just connect the servo saver (big red round thing connected to the servo directly to it and everything will fit fine. The catch is the servo saver often breaks (honestly if you've had this for the past six months and it (servo saver) has lasted this long I'm surprised).

What you're going to hear a lot about on this forum is how poor the stock servo is from Arrma (owned by Horizon Hobby) https://www.arrma-rc.com/support/warranty
Upgrading the servo is one of the first things a lot of people do. I couldn't find it in the UK but I bought this one for my Granite and the Servo Horn fit perfectly -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078WVXP4Y/

Given your video, you have a fan on your ESC which means you have the Granite BLX... which means you have the 7Kg servo. (Just to give you an idea as you'll see these others are 20Kg - 30Kg... a decent amount more power behind it which is great for the larger tires the Granite has).

A lot of good people on this forum --- a lot of help and support if you have any questions once you get the replacement part.

 

[Sylar000]

This is awesome thanks all. I have spoke to Model Sport who said send the servo for a warranty claim which I am going to do. But given the comments and what I have read its worth upgrading so ill keep the warranty claim as a spare and buy a new one anyway.

I have managed to get the servo out - first time taking an RC apart so fingers crossed I can put it back together.

There are a couple of servo's mentioned here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANNIMOS-Digital-Torque-Waterproof-Control/dp/B07GJ6ZCVY
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZOSKAY-DS3225-digital-Waterproof-Control/dp/B07H4M82CR/

I'd like to avoid having to do any trimming or anything does any one know if either of these will fit out of the box?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Cheapbastard]

This is awesome thanks all. I have spoke to Model Sport who said send the servo for a warranty claim which I am going to do. But given the comments and what I have read its worth upgrading so ill keep the warranty claim as a spare and buy a new one anyway.

I have managed to get the servo out - first time taking an RC apart so fingers crossed I can put it back together.

There are a couple of servo's mentioned here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANNIMOS-Digital-Torque-Waterproof-Control/dp/B07GJ6ZCVY
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZOSKAY-DS3225-digital-Waterproof-Control/dp/B07H4M82CR/

I'd like to avoid having to do any trimming or anything does any one know if either of these will fit out of the box?

Thanks for the help.

Both those servos are the same thing (look at the specs), just one seller calling it Animos and the other Zoskay. The servo will fit and work very well it's the servo (DS3225) I had in my Granite. It worked fine until I used it with a 7.4v BEC then it only lasted a few packs using the higher voltage. I would buy it again but only use it at 6v (BEC voltage).

 

[arrmadillo]

Perfect time to upgrade to a better one.

 

[Surchaufeur]

Get the ds3218pro the coreless verisons have play before holding the weight

 

[parcou]

@Sylar000 The fam to your rescue....

Well here is a helpful video on the how to:

 

[Sylar000]

Super useful, thanks! Just need to decide which one to buy now

 

[Oldskool]

Get the ds3218pro

This! Much better than the non pro. You need the 180 degree version.

 

[ptsWolfman]

This! Much better than the non pro. You need the 180 degree version.

"need" the 180 degree version?
Curious (not a disagreement) but my understanding is that there isn't a difference (to the car) between the 180 and 270 degree servos. The radio and how you configure/program it is what determines the movement.
Basically, as I understand, the radio has the ability to set the EPA (end point adjustment) and just because a servo CAN do 270 degrees, you program the radio to tell it what is full-right and what is full-left (which is usually within 90 degrees anyway). So 270 vs 180 is, again in my understanding, nothing you need to worry about.
(Personally I bought a 180 and I bought a 270 -- not really on purpose, just didn't realize until they arrived.... haven't had any issues with either one)

 

[Oldskool]

Resolution

 

[Sylar000]

Thank you all for the help, today I fitted the new servo and we are back up and running. Appreciate all the help and advice!