# Turning off the servos

**URL:** <https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169>\
**Category:** Robotic kit for Raspberry Pi\
**Created:** [May 9, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169 "2025-05-09T02:48:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DaveG](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.sunfounder.com/daveg/32/1655_2.png) [@DaveG](https://forum.sunfounder.com/u/DaveG)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169/1 "2025-05-09T02:48:55Z")

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Can I assume that keeping the servos locked in position consumes battery? If I want the pidog to just stay put and use as little battery as possible, what are my options? Can I release the servos? Anything else I can do to put the RPi into low power mode, using python? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![SunFounder\_Moderator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@SunFounder\_Moderator](https://forum.sunfounder.com/u/SunFounder_Moderator)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 9:15am UTC](https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169/2 "2025-05-12T09:15:10Z")

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Servos consume power when maintaining position. To release them:  
• Use terminal command: robot\_hat reset\_mcu  
• Or in code: Set relevant PWM outputs to 0 width  
This stops power draw when servos aren’t needed.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DaveG](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.sunfounder.com/daveg/32/1655_2.png) [@DaveG](https://forum.sunfounder.com/u/DaveG)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169/3 "2025-05-12T19:44:14Z")

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Thanks for you feedback.  
reset\_mcu() doesn’t release the servos.  
When I set the pulse\_width\_time to 0 the servo moves to an extreme and still doesn’t release. How do I set the PWM to 0 width? Or turn off the pin that controls it?

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**Author:** ![DaveG](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.sunfounder.com/daveg/32/1655_2.png) [@DaveG](https://forum.sunfounder.com/u/DaveG)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://forum.sunfounder.com/t/turning-off-the-servos/3169/4 "2025-05-12T23:03:32Z")

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Also, is there a way to keep the RPi voltage from sagging, and sometimes rebooting? Maybe a large capacitor somewhere, or a component change? Thanks.