I bought a “Parallax Continuous Rotation” servo from a grocery chain turned elecronics chain and connected it to my beloved Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller (Assembled) taking care with correct pole insertion. Immediately I saw thick white and brown smoke emanating from the small aperture on the servo. I did a quick disconnect. The typical electronic fire odor was present. Two days later I checked all the connections and tried once more and the same thing happened. In the one or two seconds that it was connected, the servo became very hot. Anyone got an idea what happened? By the way I tried a “Parallax Standard Servo” servo which reciprocates 180 degrees and everything worked fine. No overheat. In fact it was my very first success with any kind of servo controller and servo. Thanks for any help that you may give.
Hello,
What are you using to power the servos? Can you describe how you have everything connected or post a clear picture of your setup?
- Kevin
To power the servo I am using three AA batteries equalling 4.5 volts DC. The batteries are connected to the Maestro’s two battery prongs and the servo is placed on the three “0” prongs. There are no other attachments. The Maestro is attached to my pc via the usual UBC cable.
I don’t see anything wrong with your description of your connections. Is it possible you might have connected the batteries backwards? Otherwise, it’s possible you just had a defective servo, especially given that your other servo works fine. (By the way, if the first servo gave off a burning smell and is heating up, it is almost certainly permanently damaged at this point, so I wouldn’t expect it to start working if you try it again.)
If you would like to post a picture of your setup anyway, I can still try to help you double-check your connections for any problems.
- Kevin