4pl steering pot off center...
 

Anybody had this happen, is there any way to fix it (other than sending it to futaba)

My steering on my 4pl is off center by a good amount, probably about 1/3 at first I thought it was maybe the return sprint stretched or something, but based on my research, there's no way this is possible... i believe maybe the pot for the steering malfunctioned or something and it's lost it's centre...

i tried different models, and the problem persists, i even went in to the "adjuster" menu but that does not allow for enough of a calibration, it only compensates for about 10-15% out, this is probably closer to 30+... is there a way to "reset" a pot? i don't mind taking the remote apart if it means i can avoid being without it for a month.

I can shoot a video later explaining it better if anybody wants it.

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

Huh? Question, why do you say it's off center?

Not knowing anything else about your situation, work done, etc. I would start by:

Steering trim to "0"
Power up rig and let TX set "0" in the servo (maybe wiggle the steering wheel a bit to let things settle while the front wheels are off the ground)
Kill power on rig
Carefully remove servo arm and center the front wheels
Reinstall servo arm as close to centered as you can
Power up the rig
Use steering trim as required

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

I've had steering pots go out in my 4PK before. I did a write up on how to replace it and it is posted on this website (with a good amount of pictures). If you can do basic soldering, you can replace the pot yourself. Futaba has even sent me the parts for free (I think they appreciate not having to do the work).....

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

I have tried all of these things, on the radio, it indicated the truck is steering about 30% to one side, recentering the servo horn wouldn't do much good, then i would have steering limited to 70% one way and 130 the other, wouldn't give me full movement both ways... the pot has lost it's centre, not sure how to better explain it.

cool, thanks for the info

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

OK, i called futaba, they said the Pot part number is HSP82032 and they are cheap, $4 + ship... problem is they are BO til end of jan... i googled that number and got zero results.... anybody have any idea if/where i can get one?

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

I didn't doubt the pot can fail, just wanted to make sure that was the issue and not something simple.
Not sure if it would help cleaning the pot itself with contact cleaner. If you try cleaning it, there may be another number on it that would allow replacement now rather than wait.

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

yeah, i might have to rip in to it again to see if there's a number on the pot it's self... was hoping futaba would be a little more helpful... it works ok in it's current state, I just clocked the trim all the way 1 way, and messed with the steering expo, so i have it somewhat centered now, but still not where it should be.

Re: 4pl steering pot off center...
 

i ripped in to it to get a part number off the pot, unfortunately there was no number on it, but fortunately, i fixed it without changing the pot...

the problem was the pot had physically twisted...

i attribute this to a combination of things
1. i had a cheap aftermarket wheels on there and had busted one of the bump stops on it, i knew this was busted but didn't take it off
2. my daughter must have gotten a hold of it (she's 2) and cranked on it, with the bumpstop broken she would have met little resistance to twisting the pot...


so i twisted the pot back a bit and it's now a lot better than it was... not totally perfect, but i don't want to keep twisting it and chance further damage.


Thanks for the help guys.