Hitec servo centering problem?

[madweazl]

I recently purchased the 2.0 RTR (buggy) and Wednesday I decided to upgrade the servos with Hitec 7950TH (throttle and steering) along with the 2000 LiPO Losi rx pack. Prior to swapping the servos I didnt have any centering problems (there was a little drift but acceptable given the quality of the stock servo). After installation I adjusted the end points (been in the hobby close to 20 years now) and took the car out to dial in the trims. Made a couple runs and noticed that I couldnt get the steering trimmed. It wanders a LOT! I'm guessing 3-4 degrees as sometimes it takes up to 8 tics of the trim to get it back on track. There have been no impacts with anything; hasnt even been jumped yet. I'm going to check for any binding this afternoon but I just wanted to see if others were having the same problem with this servo. When I installed the servo the steering linkage was pretty easy to move by hand; a little tension which I contribute that to the vehicle being new (the stock servo didnt have any trouble).

[Big Puddin]

This just a shot in the dark but the stock servo horn could be stripped or its not the right insert and skipping when you turn the servo. Try putting on a aluminum servo horn and see what it does.

[madweazl]

This just a shot in the dark but the stock servo horn could be stripped or its not the right insert and skipping when you turn the servo. Try putting on a aluminum servo horn and see what it does.

Horn isnt stripped but I'll definitely try the aluminum horn that comes with the servo (even anodized blue from Hitec). Insert "felt" right but that is a possibility.

[jmackani]

I had the same problem and my insert felt right too. I then looked up in the instruction manual, the specific insert for hitec and placed that one on and all the problems went away. I would bet it's the insert.

[rc heaven]

that must be why when you use the one that it says to use it almost seems too tight, the inserts must have a bit of flex to them. i thought i might pull the threads out of my servo tieghtening up the horn screw when i changed my servo but all went well and is holding up fine

[Briguy]

I recently purchased the 2.0 RTR (buggy) and Wednesday I decided to upgrade the servos with Hitec 7950TH (throttle and steering) along with the 2000 LiPO Losi rx pack. Prior to swapping the servos I didnt have any centering problems (there was a little drift but acceptable given the quality of the stock servo). After installation I adjusted the end points (been in the hobby close to 20 years now) and took the car out to dial in the trims. Made a couple runs and noticed that I couldnt get the steering trimmed. It wanders a LOT! I'm guessing 3-4 degrees as sometimes it takes up to 8 tics of the trim to get it back on track. There have been no impacts with anything; hasnt even been jumped yet. I'm going to check for any binding this afternoon but I just wanted to see if others were having the same problem with this servo. When I installed the servo the steering linkage was pretty easy to move by hand; a little tension which I contribute that to the vehicle being new (the stock servo didnt have any trouble).

Welcome to Hitec ! All I used to run was Hitec servos and were always having problems . Either not centering or motors burning up . I know many others that had same issues , but there are people that swear by them . I haven`t had one problem since I switched to JR servos a few years ago .

[madweazl]

I had the same problem and my insert felt right too. I then looked up in the instruction manual, the specific insert for hitec and placed that one on and all the problems went away. I would bet it's the insert.

I bet that is the issue. It fit so well I didnt even think to look it up. Gotta go pick up the inserts this morning; cant find the ones that came in the kit now. Thanks for the info guys :)

[rc heaven]

i personaly have worn out jr servos, getting loose in the gears making them sloppy.

i have hi tec servos on everthing i have that needs performance and durability with never an issue and they are all still going.
i've never triied the hv series yet, even with all that said. there is always a possiblity any company can ship out a lemon.
maybe i got the bad jr servo and you got the bad hi-tec servo...hahaha..

[TrU Integra]

So was it a stripped horn ?

[Briguy]

i personaly have worn out jr servos, getting loose in the gears making them sloppy.

i have hi tec servos on everthing i have that needs performance and durability with never an issue and they are all still going.
i've never triied the hv series yet, even with all that said. there is always a possiblity any company can ship out a lemon.
maybe i got the bad jr servo and you got the bad hi-tec servo...hahaha..

It was more then one servo as well as others having same problems .

[TrU Integra]

It was more then one servo as well as others having same problems .



I RARELY hear of hitec issues with the 5955/7955 servo's....ive never personally seen one fail...nor have i seen this centering issue some claim.

[Briguy]

Just because you never seen it doesn`t mean it doesn`t happen .

[madweazl]

The problem was the insert; 23t vice 24t. Even though it felt just right, it wasnt. I replaced the horn with the Hitec horn because our hobby shop didnt have the throttle linkage kit (inserts come in that kit) or the aluminum horn (which is what I was after). Had to cut the length of the Hitec horn and drill out a larger diameter hole to use the Losi hardware. I was worried it wouldnt last through the night but it held up.

Servo centers straight as an arrow every time now :) Very impressed with them so far.

[rc heaven]

it's normal you feel that about jr, it's a sister company of losi, so of course it should be thought of as the best for losi products.
sometimes poeple get deferent brands just because they are recomended by some one else or personal experience, or even just what thier lhs has in stock, and so on.
no matter what reason 10 different poeple spread across the world would most likely have 10 different stories to tell about how what ever servo did something good or bad.

[packhntr]

As Briguy said, WELCOME TO HITEC. When I worked am my LHS, teh only servo's that we ever had problems with were Hitec. The reason that they wander is that the potentiometers that they use are junk...and in many of their metal geared servos they do not "key" the gear to the pot....so it loses center. Personally, I only use Futaba (except for the standard 3003/3004)...and now with their new brushless servos...I am in love!

[rc heaven]

ah comon futuba is no good....lol...roflmao

[Briguy]

it's normal you feel that about jr, it's a sister company of losi, so of course it should be thought of as the best for losi products.
sometimes poeple get deferent brands just because they are recomended by some one else or personal experience, or even just what thier lhs has in stock, and so on.
no matter what reason 10 different poeple spread across the world would most likely have 10 different stories to tell about how what ever servo did something good or bad.

My opinion of JR has nothing to do with the fact they are a Horizon company . When I ran my buddy`s hobby shop we had many returns for Hitec servos due to not centering and motors burning up . Plus my personal experience with Hitec servos . I then switched to Futaba and JR servos which had no problems in the past few years .

[rc heaven]

honestly...i'm realy happy that it worked out for you and you found what you needed.
it is unfortunate for you and other's to have trouble with thier rc's..lots of emotions with this hobby!

[madweazl]

I had poor results with Hitec in the past but these worked awesome at the races last night, locked on to center every time. I cant comment on reliability yet but hopefully they hold up. I was skeptical but didnt have any other options on the short timeline. Very happy thus far though. Not sure if they meet the rated specs but I can tell you they are incredibly strong.

[Tyler Willmon]

I have had good luck with any of the high end servos from each company, whether it be the *new line of hitec, futaba and my personal favorite the JR line. But everyone has different luck and different applications and driving styles. The older Hitecs I have had more issues with than other servos though I will admit, but I think their new line of stuff is pretty solid. Cant go wrong with the JR stuff, 3 year warranty even!!!

[TrU Integra]

NO ONE can Touch Hitec's warranty...PERIOD.

[defcon13]

anyway, no matter how long is the warranty, when a servo dies during a race, and it doesn't even have a season of use, its really frustrating. for what it worth, in our local club, to date the losses are: 6 jr, 1 hitec, 1 airthronics, 0 futaba. i've personally lost 1 airtronics and 2 jr to date. majority of jr dieing are 9100 serie. a lot of people are using 7900 serie hitec with no issue to date. only hitec that failed was a 5645, stripped a gear.