the servos that came with the kit have connectors that are too small to remain seated in their socket. they do fill up all three pins, but they don't cling to them tightly enough to remain electrically connected. were they intended to be wider or was it just designed poorly? is there a way I can fix this?

(I don't know which site has miscellaneous hardware questions so I took a guess.)
edit: here's a picture of the board in question:
(Click for larger view) enter image description here

the sockets look like the kind made for larger connectors with tabs,but instead are receiving 2 smaller ones.


migrated from superuser.com Dec 26 '13 at 20:09


  • \$\begingroup\$ Pictures would help. Hot glue, used judiciously, might solve your problem. If your problem is somewhat different, sometimes bending contacts helps. \$\endgroup\$ – Ecnerwal Dec 26 '13 at 16:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ IIRC? this is basically because there is a fair bit of variability in servo connectors. Some RC servos have alignment/keyway tabs on the connectors, so a really snug fit could prevent some RC servos from working. \$\endgroup\$ – Connor Wolf Feb 9 '14 at 10:15

I encountered the same problem, then discovered that the servo plug actually does fit in the BOE Shield's servo port. You just have to push hard for it to go all the way in.

To see how deep the servo plug really is, try inserting a wire into one of the 3 holes.

However, if the plug still doesn't fit, there is a workaround. Connect the plug's red wire to a 5V power pin, black wire to a ground pin, and white wire to a digital out pin (P12 or P13 in your picture). Effectively this should be the same as using the servo port.

  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks- I had initially accidentally not pushed it all the way down. it looked and felt like it was, so I hadn't put much force for fear of breaking it.pushing more did solve it,and both connectors now fit snugly in their socket \$\endgroup\$ – ZCoder Mar 10 '14 at 20:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Glad I could help :) \$\endgroup\$ – Ahmad Mar 10 '14 at 21:43

Your Answer

