There are times when an RC car does not turn smoothly, many people have made this complaint about their cars. If the car does not turn sharply and smoothly, you would have trouble driving it, and you would find it impossible to enjoy when operating. Nevertheless, there are some tips you can use to improve turning.
If your RC car does not turn sharp, the cause could be the servo or the remote control does not control it properly. To make your car turn sharper, you need to adjust or replace the servo as the case may be. Alternatively, you would need to check the remote controller and fix any faults on it.
It is almost impossible to operate an RC car without turning, especially if you are a newbie learning how to operate it. And with time, you would still go round bends and curves, so it is essential for an RC car to turn smoothly and sharply.
Why Does An RC Car Not Turn Right?
If your RC car does not turn right, you do not have to panic or worry about what to do. You should not dump your car because it is not turning right. We will show you why your car does not turn right and how to resolve the issues.
Servo Has An Issue
There are four issues the servo can have that will affect the steering and turning of your RC car:
- The servo connectors are loose
- The servo gears are rifled
- The links on the servos are unattached and not responding
- There is a torn wire in the servo
If your car has any of these servo issues, there will be a problem with the steering, you will not only have difficulty turning, but it would also be difficult to steer and control. So, what do you do when your servo has any of these issues?
Check if the steering horn on the servo is within range; if not, set the trim to zero while the transmitter is on, turn it off, and adjust the steering horn back to the center position.
If your RC car makes hard rights or lefts, check the steering horn and the trim settings. If the first step does not work, you may need to reset the EPA (endpoint adjustment), or there may be some stripped gears in the servo or lose links on the side of the car.
When resetting the EPA, place the car on the ground with the wheels turned to the right and left as endpoints. Most times, when an RC car does not turn well, the solution is to reset the EPA so that the controller can communicate well with the servo.
Remote Control Is Faulty
When an RC car does not turn well, many people are quick to check the servos. However, the problem may be with the remote controller, not the servo. Since they are not aware of this, they assume the car is not functional anymore. The major reasons an RC car does not respond to the remote controller are:
- The batteries
- The remote control is out of range
- There are loose wires in the remote
Batteries
If the batteries in your remote controller are dead or there are no batteries, the remote controller will not connect with the RC car. Many times, the solutions are simple steps, but we overlook them because we are looking for complex solutions. If you notice that your remote-controlled car is not turning right, check the batteries of the remote and replace them if necessary.
Out Of Range
Every remote controller has a limit to the range it can cover, so if you go beyond the range, you lose control of your RC car. You need to know the range limit of every car you purchase, so you will not exceed the limit and lose control of your car. The closer the remote control is to the car, the stronger the connection and the better the control.
Loose Wires
The third reason the remote control does not control your RC car is that there is a loose wire in the controller. The wires in the remote control are responsible for the transfer of electricity. If they are not connected, there is no transfer of electricity, and the remote control cannot control the movement of the RC car.
To resolve this, you would have to remove the circuit board in the remote controller and locate the loose wire. First, remove the battery cover of the remote controller, separate the back from the front panel. Be careful not to force them apart so that the front panel will be aligned with the back panel when you are reassembling it.
Next, remove the right and left buttons in the controller, remove the screws connecting the antenna to the circuit board. Remove the screws at the bottom of the circuit board and any wires connected to it. After removing the old circuit board, replace it with a new circuit board, and connect all the wires.
Once you have connected all the wires to the new circuit board, reassemble it back by following the steps above in reverse.
How To Improve The Steering Of Your RC Car
The best way to improve the steering of your RC car is by upgrading the servo. The servo receives electrical signals from the remote controller and turns them into the commands that make the car move around. So, if you want your car to move better, upgrade the servo.
The servo is made up of five parts, the potentiometer, the controller circuit, the gearbox, the motor, and the driveshaft. All these parts are responsible for the movement of the RC car. Ideally, you should upgrade just a part of the servo, but there is no availability of the individual parts, so you would have to upgrade the entire servo.
Before you can upgrade the servo of your RC car, you must know the model in your car and search for a servo that is compatible but with higher specifications. You also need to ensure the new servo and old servo horn are compatible. If not, you should purchase a compatible servo horn.
The first thing to do is to remove the old servo from the car. You detach the servo cable from the receiver, then remove the servo mount from the bottom of the car. Next, remove the servo horn. After removing the servo horn, you can install the new servo.
You need to center the servo after installing it. Set the Travel, End Point (EPA), and Dual Rate (D/R) to 100 percent. Set the Sub Trim and Trim to zero. Link the servo to the steering channel of the receiver. Switch on the transmitter power and the car, so the servo centers itself.
Turn the wheels of the car to ensure the servo turns and works properly. You can power off the car and the transmitter; the servo has been centered. Next, you should install the servo horn. You must install the horn at ninety degrees to the servo case so that the servo horn moves in both directions simultaneously.
After installing the servo and servo horn, you need to set up the transmitter; this includes the maximum travel range, the turning direction, and the center point. These settings should be adjusted to the most appropriate settings for your RC car.
Final Thoughts
If your RC car does not turn properly, you should relax and troubleshoot it. It could be a simple issue that requires a simple solution. You do not have to take the car to the store for replacement or major repair. After upgrading the servo of your car, ensure you take it for a test run to see how the servo functions and to adjust the settings if necessary.
Shawn Manaher loves to play with new toys and dive into new hobbies. As a serial entrepreneur, work definitely comes first but there is always room for hobbies.