lczac

Can anyone tell me the secret to keeping my throttle servo from going out. I've checked my EPA's and they are good. I have been through 6 servos in a month and a half. I began using less brake and that worked for a while. I'm running a airtronics 357 for the steering, but am aprehensive to putting one in the throttle, due to a number of failures. If anyone could help me, I'd greatly appreciate it. You can respond here or to my personal email [email protected].

Thanks,
Zac

ixsna

What servos have you been running I myself have been through 7 all jr's a melody of 270's 590's and 650's. I have tried everything as well, such as grommets, heat tape, kh tray stiffener, cut ball stud, cut throttle return spring and proper epa's. Good luck I have given up on this car I don't care how great it drives. I will sacrifice a little driveability to reliability anyday.

vikingen

I think I am one of the few people that have NOT had throttle servo issues with their Losi 8ight...

- I built the kit as per the instructions
- I am using KO PROPO servos
- I am using an ANALOG servo for throttle ..more specifically, a PS-2173 (111.0oz, 0.09sec )
- I am using the rubber grommets that come with ko servos
- I have not had 1 issue


I come from a 1/10th off road background... I am fairly new to the 1/8th scene, but to me it seems like 1/8th buggy people are not into KO. It was the dogs bollocks of radio gear when I used to race in the 90's.. will always stick with them as they never seem to fail for me.

People where I race use sanwa... I remember that to be a pretty crap brand back in the day [&:]

dustineich

The best thing you can do to save the servo is put it a Mugen

FoamyVictim

Or, read through just one of the countless posts on how to solve the issue... do a search If you do it right the first time, you don't have to spend more than $40 on a servo, and it'll drive like a dream and be as reliable as any other buggy.

KyJoe340

Iczac,
Do you have a kit or RTR. I've had 2 servos fail early on but the problem is fixed in my RTR. Ixsna's car and mine have exactly the same time on them, about 4 1/2 gallons, but his has gone thru 7 servos and mine only 2. We've combed over these 2 cars looking for a difference but they are set up the same. At first I thought heat was the issue but it's just a small part. Finally we noticed the carb on the 427 RTR seemed to be sticking and not operating smoothly. We oiled the slide on the carb and it seemed to help. We even got a 270 to last for 2 gallons. Actually the 270 might still be fine but the radio was accidentally set on the wrong model and the epa was wrong and smoked the 270. About 1 1/2 gallons ago I put a Novarossi 21-5 on my car and needless to say the carb works smoothly. Ixsna's throttle servo problems continue but mine have stopped. I honestly think the carb on the 427 is the issue for the throttle servo failure on all the RTR's.
If mine burns up another servo I'll side with Ixsna on this one and give up on this car. But I believe my problem is fixed and I'm sticking with the 8ight for now because it's the best driving car I've seen. Also there's some great info in the 8ight forum about setting up the linkage for the throttle servo, this won't help the 427's carb but it's good to have everything set up right.

razzor

Servo failure is quite common on the Losi ,check out http://www.sgrid.com/SGM/SGrid%20Onl...onference.html
There is some advice for setting up the servos.Also from experience from friends ,try out the Ace 1313 and 1015 digital servos they are awesome and cheaper than most high end digitals.I can say confidently the best value for money.

Luggy

My LHS sold another 8ight RTR last week and their already going through servos. It is definitely weird. I've been through 4 myself in less than a gallon. the last one stopped and then started working again so I know it can't be trusted on anything else. It is nerve wracking because I've heard the same thing continuously about proper setup. I could not possibly set it up any better than it is now and was when the last 2 servos went out. To me it's pointless to tell em about setup when it is setup. I do know the better servos have lasted longer and going to a high dollar servo might even make it last quite a while. But that still leaves the question of why. Going to a great servo should be done for performance not because it's what it takes to keep it running and then there's no guarantee for how long. I'm sorry I bought mine at this point but can't take it back now. Ebay although is coming to mind.

What really needs to happen is Losi and Horizon need to get their act together and get this problem fixed. Dumping it on their customers with no warranty at all is a bit pathetic in my opinion. But that's what they have done up to this point. From my first servo until now their answer has been the same, set the end points, cut the throttle spring, use the rubber grommets and use heat tape. All hey have done is repeat what they read on forums and have no real clue or research into the problem. When I've told them I've done all that and more i get an I'm sorry.

As far as Truggy's go, when I get mine in a month or so it won't be the 8ight. I personally need a little more than lip service. OFNA is looking pretty good and their customer service is topnotch.

ixsna

I do agree with kyjoe it most likely is carb relatrd on the rtr. I did burn up 1 270 due to the fact we were running electric and nitro and accidently had the radio on the wrong model. Who actually knows how long that servo would of lasted probably in the 2 gallon mark or better. kyjoe told me to pull the 270 and put a servo of better quality, but with oiling the slide carb I had to see how long it would go. Everything was going well until my radio mishap. You could even tell when the carb slide would stick with nose high attitude over jumps. I would then just re oil the slide and it would be fine for probably 8 tanks or so.

crotolus

I too have had 2 357s go out and 2 jrs go out.I am trying a different set up this time.I am going to raise the servo up a little bit i think it may be hitting the chassis.

Luggy

I might get a chance today to try out oiling the slide carb to see if that helps it. We've got some high winds here in Amarillo and the sky looks nasty so maybe I won't. So tomorrow for sure. I am hoping it makes a change.

357's were going to be my next choice but they cost to much to risk it. I'll use either a Hobbico cs-70 or Hitech 635.

FoamyVictim

There's no need to spend any more than $40 on a JR Z590. I've been running one for several months and gallons and races, no problems. The reason people keep repeating proper setup, is because that's how you solve the problem. Rubber gromets UNDER the servo, to not only reduce vibration, but to clear it from the chassis. Insulate the side facing the motor, cut the spring and set your EPA just short of full throttle, and just enough brake to race with...that's it.

Rockman

I am finishing the build of my Losi 8 and originally was going to put a JR 9000S servo for the throttle and brake. I never could get it to setup properly. I do notice on my OS engine that the carb will close and then open some. I am going to change out to a Z590 servo today and see if analog does better. Response rate on 590 at .15 is pretty good.
Does any one have suggestions on why the carb seems to open up on itself?
I have cut the ball cup and cut the spring. Set EPA to about 50% on the throttle side and 75% on the brake.
Please help.
Rockman

Luggy

The reason I keep saying my 8ight is properly setup is because it is. It's simple, it's been done. It's odd that KyJoe and ixsna both have their cars setup exactly the same and one works flawlessly while the other does not. The problem isn't simply setup because it doesn't always work. If it does work for one person then great for them but that doesn't solve another persons problem. I'm not trying to be contrary to you FoamyVictim but proper setup doesn't seem to always fix the problem.

I do think that due to the size of the problem with the number of complaints Horizon needs to step up to the plate. So far they haven't.

There are good reasons for better servos. The number one is speed and torque. I've got 357's in my JRXS and in my son's OFNA Ultra. The handling alone is unbelievable and spoils you. Once you use them you never want to go back to the cheaper slower ones. But on the 8ight better doesn't mean it will last a long time.

The weather is still lousy so I can't check out the oil job on the carb but I will. I did notice a big improvement when simply pulling it by hand. It was rough and felt notchy but it smoothed right out with a little oil. If that doesn't work then it might be time for a new chassis, Kit type, and maybe even a new engine. All that would be cheaper than buying a new buggy and scraping this one.

KyJoe340

Proper setup is important but it did not solve the problem for me. I can't stress that enough. My problem went away when I changed motors and got rid of the sticking carb on the 427 RTR. Oiling the carb slide on the 427 helped but I still had to keep a close eye on it. I've got 1 1/2 gallons thru the new motor and no servo problems.

People that keep saying that proper setup is the ONLY reason for smoking the throttle servo obviously have kits. Most people that build a kit put a quality motor in it ( certainly not the 427) and consequently it has a good working carb. Anybody that has a RTR with 4+ gallons thru it and has done proper setup alone resulting in no throttle servo problems, please lets hear about it.....

FoamyVictim

I know 4 people with the RTR, only one was still having throttle servo issues. He tried to follow my advice on setup, and still lost a couple. I set his up this afternoon, and he won his main tonight. Needless to say, my setup worked... on RTRs with the 427(I helped the other 3 as well). The fact that servos are dying in both kit and RTR versions, says to me it's not the motor every time. There are probably several things at work here, and because the design is so new, we haven't quite nailed it yet.

Mrfranchize02

Sell your 8ight and buy another 8ight. I kid you not. My buddy and I bought and built our 8ights at the same time. I've been running 8th scale for 5 years so I know how to setup a linkage. But anyway, I went through 2 KO 2366 servos, one jr 650 and an old jr 590 on my throttle. I was on the grid desparately trying every possible adjustment to prevent it but it kept happening. Meanwhile my buddy who knows very little about linkage setup has never had one fail. Some 8ights eat them and some don't.

KyJoe340

FoamyVictim,
I've read thru the entire 8ight forum and 80% of the throttle servo problems seem to be with the RTR. My friend and I have meticulously gone thru the setup procedure and then some yet we still lost servos. I've lost 2, my friend 7. The only variable that made a difference in our 2 8ights is when I changed motors and stopped losing servos. The setup remained the same, the only difference was the motor, explain how the same setup fried servos with one motor and not the other.

So, how many gallons are on your 4 friends RTR 8ights? Let's hear from them. My question was for anyone with 4+ gallons thru their RTR 8ight with no throttle servo failures, have any of them hit that mark? Remember, I was getting a servo to last for 2+ gallons with my 427 using the setup outlined in this forum. But I still lost servos, and I'm betting so will your friends and anyone else with a 427.

I don't want to sound argumentative but the problem is bigger than just proper setup and I'm tired of someone telling me it isn't, and I think some others on this forum are tired of it also. For those of use who have done every aspect of setup and still lose servos we have to look elsewhere. I did and I hope my problem is fixed.

Luggy

If my problem was simply setup i wouldn't have gone past the second servo. I used the setup guide in this forum and in the RC Tech forum which is very detailed and still lost 2 more.

I'm a bit curious why Horizon has put the 8ights on back order with a release date some time in March? Are they working on it and just don't want to tell anyone?

Luggy

KyJoe what engine did you put in yours? I'm thinking about the STS D21T. Looks like it might work.

[link=http://www.stsmicroengines.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=10]STS D21T[/link]

ixsna

Kyjoe is running a novarossi plus 21-5 with a jammin jp-3 pipe. It's more than a setup issue with the 8. I would love to hear from anybody that has an rtr with 4 gallons and an original throttle servo.

FoamyVictim

I wish I knew exaclty what caused the problem, but the truth is, nobody really knows. I merely repeat again and again what I did to fix mine and the others I've worked on. If you can't figure it out and want to give up, that's your choice.

KyJoe340

Early on I thought mine was fixed too but after a gallon or so there goes another servo. I don't think the problem can be refered to as "fixed" until you get some gallons thru it, 4 or so is a good measure. A descent servo should last much longer but we'll set the hurdle low. I'm at 1 1/2 gallons with "the setup" and my new motor, I hope it's fixed. Also, to be fare, my 21 plus gets nearly double the milage of the 427 RTR so it's more comparable to 2 1/2 gallons for the 427.

I'm still waiting for anyone to say they've got 4+ gallons thru their RTR. So, FoamyVictim, any of your fixed RTR's past the 4 gallon mark?

metroman

I just ordered the Hitec 5995TG & 5955TG, and I have the losi 8 kit. Does anybody forsee any problems that might come up for me. What might be the procautions I should take or does even having these servos make a difference. Are only the weaker/cheaper servos messing up or are they the high end ones as well. Thanks for the input.

KyJoe340

Just follow the setup procedure outlined in the 8ight forum (do a quick search, easy to find). With the kit, a good setup and quality motor you should be fine. The 8ight will indescriminantly eat expensive or cheap servos if everything isn't just right.