Discovery--help me analyze this problem please!

LoveMeARoomba · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

Hi there and thanks for coming in to read my post.

I've been the proud owner of a refurbished Discovery 4210 with scheduler for about 6 months now...but things aren't as good as they used to be. I'm very careful about cleaning roombie to the best of my ability, but in the past several weeks, it just hasn't been running properly.

Here's what's happening:

--indicator charging light pulses from red to green in a very short period of time; I don't believe it's fully charged
--charging light doesn't stay ON; sometimes leaning roombie while plugged directly into charger helps with this, or readjusting it on the home base. sometimes not. It does register that its connected as the green light on the home base is lit--it's just the status light on the roomba that isn't showing up
--roombie just shuts off for no apparent reason while cleaning, and then turns back on at some point
--it's become difficult to get roombie started by pressing the buttons on the top. i have to press hard or use the remote to have it respond.

I have cleaned as much as I can. I did find lots of dust and hairs and cleaned them out, but I'm not sure how to remove more than the brushes to be 100% thorough.

The battery seems to be 'loose' in its slot. Could this be the problem and if so, how can I 'tighten' it?

I was able to get a pretty good cleaning cycle out of it yesterday...it ran for about 40 minutes or more with no problems, but then it just shut off again. It played a nice little tune and then I heard 3 beeps.

I've tried removing the rechargeable battery and replacing it, charging the roomba for a few days, and the cleaning.

What else can I do? Any suggestions, help, direction would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Gordon

LoveMeARoomba wrote: ... owner of a refurbished Discovery 4210... for about 6 months..., but in the past several weeks, it just hasn't been running properly. ... I don't believe it's fully charged...it's become difficult to get roombie started by pressing the buttons on the top. ... A very obvious problem in the above descriptions, is the inability to switch Roomba ON; and, that fault is due, generally, to some grit having gotten between switch-contacts. Read about it in this old thread. If you are unable to dismantle Roomba and do the detailed cleaning & sealing indicated in that link, you may want to get in touch with RoombaExchange to have that work, or part replacement, done. All other problems could be corrected during that same visit. Quote: The battery seems to be 'loose' in its slot. Could this be the problem and if so, how can I 'tighten' it? If "loose" means the battery's spring-loaded catch at the connector-end of the battery is not engaging the chassis, then yes, the connector might loose contact with part of the chassis-connector, and charging would be interrupted. The catch-problems I have seen, have been at the opposite end. A nuisance, yes, but should not cause a battery disconnect.

You might try a temporary mechanical wedging scheme, to stabilize the battery. Wedges should be inserted between the front face of the battery and the chassis-wall (to force the battery's side-contact to the rear). Quote: I was able to get a pretty good cleaning cycle out of it yesterday... That behavior suggests some electro-mechanical variable at play.

TooManyPets · Joined: 16 Oct 2007 Posts: 42

LoveMeARoomba wrote: ...it ran for about 40 minutes or more with no problems, but then it just shut off again. It played a nice little tune and then I heard 3 beeps.
That nice little tune, followed by three beeps is probably its "I'm all finished. Come find me." message, which is what it does when its cleaning algorithm indicates the area has been covered sufficiently.

As for the other problems, they could possibly all be explained by a combination of dirt under the switches and a loose connection with the battery. I know there was a thread not too long ago about poor contact at the battery terminal and using something to bend them to tighten it, but I can't find the thread. If you do try to bend them, you'd want to be real careful not to short across the terminals.

LoveMeARoomba · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

Thank you both for your advice.

I took apart, cleaned thoroughly--my god, it was disgusting in there--and reassembled the roomba. Now the buttons work again and the roomba seems happier...and yet, it still shuts off mid-cycle. If I pick it up, it sometimes whirs back to life, and sometimes it just goes on again on its own.

This has to be the loose connection with the battery, don't you think?

I'm considering buying the pet hair kit as well as the special roomba-cleaning tools, since I can see I'll need to clean it better in the future...but what about a replacement battery? I do run the roomba often but always charge it and have only had it for about 6-7 months.

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3429 Location: Louisiana

It would be best to obtain a good electrical connection between the battery and the Roomba terminals. Once you have proven that the connection is proper and that the Roomba now behaves correctly then consider your other options.

LoveMeARoomba · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

OK, I went totally low tech here and TAPED the battery pack to the body of the roomba. While I understand this is at best a very temporary solution--it did some hw floor-to-area rug-and-back cleaning this afternoon and did not stall/stop.

i am encouraged!