Servos frozen on Mars Rover

đź“‹ Support
#1

At part of build when connecting servo to main board of Rover and just get hummus, no movement. Tried another servo that i use on RC airplane and it moves fine !!! All 3 of my servos won’t move on Rover main board… I have brand new duracell batteries, and Have tested voltage of each battery pack = 4.68 volts. FYI, I have placed a Rover servo on my airplane receiver and it works fine there!!! Seems like low voltage on Rover to servo …Please advise… Randy

#2

Hi Randy,

Thanks for reaching out and providing such detailed troubleshooting steps, it really helps us narrow things down! It’s great to hear the servos are working on your RC receiver, as that confirms the motors themselves are healthy. Based on your description, we have a pretty good idea of what might be causing the “humming” without movement, but we want to be 100% sure before advising on the next step.

Could you please send an email to contact@circuitmess.com with the following:

  • Detailed photos of the Rover’s main board from several angles.
  • Close-up shots of the servo connections and the battery headers.
  • A short video of the “humming” when you try to move them.

Sometimes a tiny solder bridge or a specific orientation of the connector can cause this behavior, and seeing the board will allow our tech team to spot the issue immediately. We’ll be looking out for your email so we can get your Rover exploring in no time!

Best regards,
The CircuitMess Team

#3

I have the exact same problem and sent a message on your web page.

Thanks,

Craigk

#4

I just sent the pictures and video you requested to contact@circuitmess.com
Craigk

#5

Thank you for sending over those pictures and videos. Please don’t worry, our technical team will review everything carefully to get to the bottom of the issue. They’ll work on resolving it as quickly as possible and will get back to you via email with the next steps.

Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted!

Best regards,
CircuitMess Team

#6

Update on my problem of the servos not moving:

When I first completed my rover last month none of the servos would center, they would just buzz. Working with support via email we identified the TowerPro servos that I received were counterfeit as shown in the following picture. A real MG90S Tower Pro servo has metal gears inside, a trademark symbol and CE certification marking on the bottom.
image
Your support people shipped me new servos, but unfortunately they were the same counterfeit servos and none of them worked. As part of my investigation I purchased a servo tester and a real Tower Pro SG90 servo which worked great with the rover. Checking the rover servo voltage under load at the servo connecting pins I measured 4V. Testing the real Tower Pro servo with the servo tester I found that the real Tower Pro servo would work with voltages as low as 3V. Testing all of the counterfeit servos I found that they would not work below 4.5V and would just buzz. You should send real Tower Pro servos to the customers that were shipped the counterfeit ones.

#7

Thank you for your continued patience while waiting for my reply.

I am incredibly sorry to hear that you received the exact same incorrect servos again. I want to be completely transparent about what happened here: I personally processed this replacement order and left specific instructions for our warehouse team to ensure the newer, updated servos were sent to you.

To give you a bit more context, the servos you received are not counterfeit; they are genuine, fully tested components. However, they belong to an older production batch that is unfortunately incompatible with the newer version of the rover board you have. This incompatibility is exactly what is causing the voltage discrepancies you noticed during your testing.

To resolve this permanently, I am going to send you a component we call “the rover fix.” This is an additional board that connects directly to the servos to supply the proper power they are currently missing. We are currently in the middle of transitioning to a new warehouse, which has caused some temporary logistical hiccups. However, I have opened an internal investigation with the warehouse team to find out exactly why my previous instructions were ignored, and I am monitoring your case personally to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Given the delays and the mix-up, I felt you deserved a completely honest explanation. I will keep a close eye on this and notify you the moment the correct fix is packed and ready to ship.

Thank you again for your incredible patience, understanding, and trust in us.
CircuitMess Team