The steering servo on a Traxxas Slash RC car is the central component used to control the steering. A high-quality steering servo will give the driver precise control of the vehicle. You can also fine tune the steering servo by adjusting the servo trim on your receiver. In this post, we learn how to reset the steering servo on a Traxxas Slash
A Traxxas Slash comes equipped with a single steering servo that houses all of the critical electronics that control the steering. Without a proper functioning steering servo, you will be unable to control the vehicle.
Occasionally, you may need to reset the steering servo on your Traxxas Slash. But how do you do it safely and in a manner that won’t damage the car? Let’s find out together.
What Is The Traxxas Slash Steering Servo?
The Traxxas Slash steering servo is responsible for turning the front wheels left and right. The Traxxas Slash steering servo steers the vehicle. The trucks comes with the Traxxas 2075 servo. This is one of our recommended replacement servo, but there are several upgrade options throughout this article.
Reset The Steering Servo On A Traxxas Slash
Resetting the servo on a Traxxas Slash is a detailed process that can take up a fair amount of your day. Before you start taking you car apart follow the steps below to see if your steering horn is misaligned or you need to re-calibrate the trim on the transmitter.
Here is our procedure to reset the servo horn:
How To Reset The Steering Servo On A Traxxas Slash
Total Time: 15 minutes
Remove The Servo Horn
Take the servo horn off of the servo motor by removing the screw holding it in place.
Power On The Electronics
Power on your transmitter first, connect the battery second, and turn on the receiver last.
Reset The Steering Trim
Set the servo trim to center on the transmitter. You can turn the trim knob to the center 12 o’clock position to have have a neutral steering trim.
Power Off The Electronics
Turn of the receiver and unplug the battery from the electronic speed controller
Center The Servo Horn
Put the servo horn back on as straight as you can and tighten down the screw. Make sure the wheels are pointed as straight in line with the car as possible.
Power On The Vehicle
Power on your transmitter first, connect the battery second, and turn on the electronic speed controller last.
Test The Traxxas Slash Straight Line Driving
Drive the truck without any steering input and note if the vehicles pulls to the left or right.
Calibrate The Steering Trim
Adjust the steering trim knob on the receiver and retest if the Slash drives in a straight line or not. Keep adjusting the steering trim until the truck drives straight without any steering input.
Supply:
- Traxxas Steering Servo
Tools:
- 1.5 mm hex head screw driver
- 2.0 mm hex head screw driver
- 2.5 mm hex head screw driver
Materials: Traxxas 2075 Steering Servo
Now power the Slash back on, and test how straight it drives. Try to trim the steering using the knob on the transmitter to straighten it out.
Most of the time, adjusting the servo horn will fix steering issues. If it does not, read on to see more in depth testing.
The servo horn should look something like this:
Prepare to Reset The Steering Servo On A Traxxas Slash
If you crash your truck hard into a tree, or have a few rough landings while jumping, your steering servo could have been damaged or may not be correctly aligned.
If you notice your Slash is pulling to one direction and won’t drive in a straight line, you may need to reset the steering servo or at least reset the steering trim.
Most of the time all you need to do is re-trim your truck by adjusting the trim knob on the transmitter. If re-trimming the truck doesn’t solve your problem, you may need to dig in a little deeper to see what went wrong.
Test The Transmitter and Receiver
Turn your transmitter on and make sure it has been paired with the receiver. Read this guide if you don’t know how to bind your Traxxas TQi transmitter and receiver.
The goal with this test is to ensure both the throttle input and the steering input are working correctly.
If you pull the throttle trigger and the motor turns, that means the throttle channel is working correctly. Next turn the steering controls and see if the tires move in the correct direction. If both of these tests pass, the transmitter and receiver are paired and working properly.
If your motor isn’t working and the steering wheels aren’t turning when you test those channels, something is wrong with either the transmitter or receiver.
In my experience, the motor channel works fine and there is power to the wheels, but the steering servo is not responding to steering controls. If this is the case for you, odds are the steering servo has gone out and you need to replace it.
You can always plug in your motor channel into the steering channel on the receiver to test if the steering controls will power the motor. If they do, that means the transmitter is working properly and the steering servo is bad.
How Do You Reset The Steering Servo On Traxxas Slash?
If you tried to reset the servo horn and that did fix the problem, its time to test your steering servo electronics.
First, open up the water proof receiver compartment where the steering servo is plugged in. Next, unplug the servo wire and try plugging it into a different channel. Move your controls on your transmitter. This will test if the servo receives an input from the transmitter. Does the servo work, move, or is it lifeless?
You can also try plugging the steering servo into the motor’s channel on the receiver. You should be able to activate the servo by pulling the throttle.
If the servo responds to the throttle input, that signifies a problem with the receiver and not the servo.
If the servo does not work after changing channels, then that could mean that the servo is faulty and needs to be repaired or replaced.
According to Traxxas “A damaged receiver could also cause one or all of the servos to fail”. Traxxas continues by saying, “if the steering servo is not operating, unplug the connector that is installed into channel 1 on the receiver and plug it into the channel 2. Of course you’ll need to temporarily unplug the throttle/brake servo in order to perform the test. Operate the throttle trigger to test the steering servo. If the servo still does not work, then it’s time to replace or service the servo. If the servo operates normally when installed on a different channel, then it’s the receiver that is causing the servo failure.”
You can read their guide on failed servos here.
Adjust the Traxxas Slash Steering Servo By Adjusting The Trim
You should see a trim knob on your transmitter that can be used to slightly align the wheels to the left or right. Do you notice your trim knob turned all the way to one direction or the other? If so, center the knob on the transmitter.
Once the trim knob is centered, calibrate the steering by driving the Slash slowly without adding any steering input. Does the car drift to one direction? If so, adjust the steering trim until the car drives in a straight line.
How To Calibrate the Traxxas Slash Steering Servo
I take my truck to an empty parking lot with straight painted parking lines. Set the truck up on one of the lines and slowly drive it forward. You can see quickly which way the truck is pulling.
Adjust the trim, and reset the truck back on the painted line. Repeat this process until you are happy with the steering.
It might take a few tries to get the trucks steering trim dialed in. But, once the trim is set, your car should track very straight without any input from the controller.
If you crash, you may need to re-calibrate the trim again. Sometimes a hard crash can cause the steering to pull to one direction.
How Do You Replace The Traxxas Slash Steering Servo?
If you find that you have to replace the steering servo on your Traxxas Slash fully, then don’t worry because it is pretty easy to do. The only actual difficulty is purchasing a brand new servo. Though not overly expensive, a new Traxxas servo could cost upwards of $30 or $40 dollars.
I like the Traxxas 2075 waterproof servo that comes stock on most Slash models.
Once you have your new servo, remove the old servo and install the new one in the same exact configurations. Make note of the slot that you unplugged the old servo from on the transmitter. If you aren’t sure, look up receiver channel configuration online or in the user manual. Also, take a look at the servo horn on the OLD servo and make sure the new servo horn is set up in the same orientation.
Plug the new servo into the receiver, give it a few seconds, and you should see it power up. Now, test the steering to make sure everything is working properly. If the steering is backwards, watch this video to change it.
Can You Use Any Servo On A Traxxas Slash?
You may be able to use different brand servos in your Slash. However, it would be best if you use the standard Traxxas servo that is packaged with the car. I recommend using factory Traxxas parts because other brands of servos may not fit inside the frame of the Slash. They could provide too much torque to the wheels, potentially damaging the car overall.
We suggest using the Traxxas 2075 servo.
If you find that you need to replace the stock steering servo, Traxxas has upgraded servos that will fit and work with the Traxxas Slash.
If you want to improve the steering of your Traxxas Slash, check out the Traxxas 2255 servo. The Traxxas 2255 is built from metal components that vastly improve the car’s durability.
Are Traxxas Servos Good?
Traxxas servos are well made and are designed specifically to fit Traxxas vehicles. Many Traxxas servos are waterproof and won’t short circuit if you get them wet.
Traxxas specifically calls many of their servos “water proof” and not “water resistant”. There is a big difference between the water proof and water resistant, so always go with a water proof servo.
Do I Need A Water Proof Servo For My Traxxas Slash?
I often drive my vehicle on a Saturday morning and their is always dew on the grass in my backyard. Even though its not raining and I’m not driving my truck through puddles, the car still gets dripping wet from the dew alone. I think a water proof servo is a must have component in my RC vehicles because it is very rare to drive your truck in completely dry conditions.
To Wrap Up
As you can see, resetting the steering servo on your Traxxas Slash is not too difficult. Still, it can appear like quite a daunting procedure from the outside. You will need the proper tools and knowledge to test the servo and reciever.
If all else fails, servos are not too expensive and can be replaced. Replacing a servo is very easy, thanks to how most Traxxas Rc cars are designed.
You can even replace the standard stock steering servo with one of Traxxas’ many other servo options, such as their waterproof metal one, which can allow you to access immense power even under the worst conditions!
Reset Steering Servo On Traxxas Slash Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my servo stop working?
One of the main reasons that your servo stopped working was because it overheated while you were driving your RC car around. If the servo keeps shutting down during use, the solution so often is to replace it altogether.
Why does my servo only turn one way?
If your servo is only turning in one direction, it may not be receiving a strong enough signal from the transmitter or receiver. A loose wire or faulty transmitter could be preventing it from receiving the signals that tell it to move in a particular direction. You may find that the servo has come slightly loose from the control board and simply needs to be nudged back into the correct position.
Is the Traxxas servo waterproof?
The stock servo 2075 packaged in with new Traxxas Slash RC models is waterproof. You can also buy upgraded servos from Traxxas that are waterproof. The 2255 servo model is fully waterproof and very durable.
