Servos burning out

[Todd]

Has anyone had any issues (or success) with servos? I am currently on my fifth one, they all seem to burn out. I thought originally that I was shorting them out somehow, and I replaced every component, except the Arduino board itself. But every wire, breadboard, etc.  It is hooked up to the voltaic solar battery combo (3.5 Watt solar panel and 6,400mAh battery ).

Today I checked on the box, as I am in phase 2. The mechanism was acting funny, it wouldn't open or close all the way, sometimes unresponsive.  I swapped out with a spare servo, and no problems. Plugged the old one back in, and it engaged a little. I could hear the motor inside whirring a little bit.  The servo itself was pretty warm, although it is a warm day here too.

I looked at my purchase history, and every one is a different brand of the MG995 (unbranded, deegoo, treedix). Perhaps I need to try the Futaba? But figured I would see if anyone else was experiencing something similar, or had suggestions.

Thanks,

Todd

[Adam]

I had problems with servos getting wet (inside the servo) and sporadically working. I switched to a weatherproof one and made a cover for the coin box. That seemed to work, at least for awhile until something else broke.

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[Michael Kapp]

Todd,

I am not having issues with my servo and it has been out a few months. I am in stage one and I have actually changed it so it is always closed. I designed and 3D printed a food wall to keep the food on top of the "Sliding Lid." 

Otherwise, when it rains, the water just funnels right inside the box... 

Email me back if you want the food wall .3mf file. (Unable to attach here)  Same for a Coin Cover. 

Here are the servos I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQJ1VZ2

I am thinking this is the solar kit you are using: ?

https://voltaicsystems.com/3-5-watt-kit/

It doesn't seem like this kit is the problem. I think phase 2 might eliminate this problem for you since the lid is closed, but you will definitely have to cover the coin magazine too. 

Keep me posted. I'll support anyway I can. 

What was your approach getting through stage 1? 

Thanks,

MK

[Josh Klein]

Todd, we’ve seen plenty of problems with off brand servos in the past; it may be you just had bad luck with the ones you had. :/

And Mike, can you share pics of the food wall you made?

All best,

Josh

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[Michael Kapp]

Josh,

Here are picks of my food wall design:

In use (with Coin Cover in background)

Top view:

Model view:

Thanks,

MK

[Todd]

Thanks everyone:

Michael: I have that exact servos from Amazon.  It's nice to have a couple in order to test against.  For phase 1 (and now), I don't even have the box turned on, and now I have the servo out of it while I troubleshoot.  

That is the solar power system I have, and it seems to work great so far - we'll see about winter months.  But a 5v output, and 5v through the arduino shouldn't be causing an issue - especially since if I swap the servo out, the new one immediately works.  Perhaps to the earlier points, these are cheaper knock offs and either die early, or perhaps get condensation in them that affects things.  

It hasn't been rainy in Seattle so far, so the condensation is the only thing I can think of that could cause it to act funny.  I did take apart one of the servos to check for blown fuses, and everything looked fine - no burn spots or loose items on the circuit boards there.  So seems likely something to do with the DC motor.  I purchased a Futaba 3003 servo, so we'll see if there's any difference there.  I also did some research into more "weatherproof" servos to see if that could be the next troubleshooting step.

I was worried about water getting in through the coin slot.  I had taken a piece of saran wrap, put it over the coin slot and between the layers of the landing perch and the coin slot holder.  Unfortunately for me, the crows found that very interesting and kept poking holes in it.  I may just duct tape over it for the time being.

Regarding the approach to getting through stage 1....I don't know I guess!  I've got a lot of crows in the area anyways.  Squirrels and raccoons as well, but I've moved the box o a pole with a baffle, that has pretty much stopped them from visiting - although I did build them an adirondack chair feeder so they didn't get too jealous.  But the crows visit every morning between 6am and 8am and clean me out.  Sometimes they visit in the evening as well, although they seem to have other food that they're interested in at that time.  At least one juvenile, very noisy and hungry.  So after a couple of weeks of them getting comfortable with it, I just moved to stage 2.

Stage 2 is still rough.  The servo holds up for a couple of days, but the crows are still skittish with it.  The box opens and they fly away, and don't visit back in time to get the rest.  I just need more perseverance with that, and consistency with my servo.  

Thanks again for all the advice!

Todd 

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