Alfred is not picking up dirt

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

The other day he started making a strange noise. I gave him a good cleaning but the noise is still there. Now today he is not picking up anything. As far as I can tell the beater bar is turning but he is not picking anything up. HELP
Alfred is a Scheduler model 4232. He is out of warranty so that is no help. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can look at. Oh I should say that Alfred has been mute for months so doing a diagnostic is no use.

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3410 Location: Louisiana

Try taking the dust bin off and then send your Roomba on a mission. Look through the opening left by the removal of your dust bin. Can you see the brushes turning ?

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

Thanks for getting back with me so quick Vic. I bought a new battery off you a bit ago and you were so helpful then. Hope you can help me out this time.
Now for the brushes. They are NOT turning. :(

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

I have another Scheduler that I had issues with and was supposed to return to IRobot but never did. Wonder if there is a way I could use spare parts off that one to repair this one. The issues on the old one was it was going in circles or stopping and turning like it was nuts.

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3410 Location: Louisiana

You should be able to just replace the brush deck on the one that is not turning the brushes with the other one that travelled in circles.

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

Can you direct me to directions on how I can open him up and replace the parts?

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3410 Location: Louisiana

Sure, Chris at RoombaExchange has some helpful info about how to disassemble your Roomba. This URL will take you right to it.

http://www.roombaexchange.com/roombatd.php

richnorto · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 267

I know this may be a "Duh, I did that first" suggestion, but I just "fixed" a friend's roomba with the same issue by removing the bushings from the brushes an pulling out clots of dog hair that had wound up underneath.

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

richnorto wrote: I know this may be a "Duh, I did that first" suggestion, but I just "fixed" a friend's roomba with the same issue by removing the bushings from the brushes an pulling out clots of dog hair that had wound up underneath.

Well, I gave Alfred a thorough cleaning and there is no hair to be found. I had a long pair of needlenose pliers, a long skinny screwdriver and a fresh can of compressed air. No hair anywere but still have the same issues with the sound and not picking up anything.

richnorto · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 267

Well I figured as much! No luck with an easy fix like clogged bushings - too bad! The next thing is opening this roomba and taking a look inside. The string may be broken - although a problem shifting from wood to carpet is usually noticed if this is the case. The gears may be totally clogged or stripped. Is there rounding where the square brush ends fit into the box? Opening up the roomba is a little scary but if you keep the screws straight it really isn't too bad! The gear box does take a complete take apart but you can get some understanding of the roomba doing it, and although I could never change out parts that involve soldering, I've managed to fix other problems found thanks to the wonderful people here! Good luck and listen to the advice of Gordon and Chris!!!! They are the best! I think take apart info might be in the sticky notes but I couldn't promise...It is in the archives if you do a search though!
Lauralie

Gordon · Posted: June 25, 2008, 10:41 pm Post subject: Re: Alfred is not picking up dirt

Back in the old days, early 1940s for example, we had no internet, no computers, no television, and FM-radio was a baby. We had AM-radio, and a telephone.

Of course there were ball games, bicycles, home-built skateboards, and such, but, sometimes kids just had to cook up their own fun things to play with. The item that come into mind, and which is appropriate to this thread is a rotary, home-made noisemaker.

When Mom finished off a spool of thread and donated it for play, boys would take them, use their pocket knife to cut vee-notches all the way around the flared end-flanges, both ends, then slip the spool over the shank of a screwdriver, tightly wind about three feet of twine around the spool, and with that assembly in one hand, and the tag end of the string in the other, the spool would be placed firmly against a window pane, followed by briskly pulling the entire length of string off the spool! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And any adults withing hearing of that noise would be heard from!

With that sound in mind, WNYmom, vic7767 recognized a gear had stripped when you said WNYmom wrote: The other day he started making a strange noise. Most likely, a small gear, located in a black casing at the right-end of Disco's brush-motor, has lost all its teeth; and, the strange noise you are hearing is rubbing of tooth nubbins against the neighbor gear that was previously turned by the stripped gear.

That's why vic7767 wanted you to check for bristle-brush rotation. You found it was not rotating. Then vic7767 suggested doing a brush-deck transplant, and I agree that will be your quickest, most thorough repair tactic.

As a small diversion, along the transplant path, you could dismount Alfred's brush-motor, and remove its gear-case cover so you may inspect for a stripped gear; and, thus give you satisfaction that the failure assessment was correct. This little diversion adds only the effort of removing six additional screws in addition to all the other steps required to remove a brush-deck assembly.

BTW, when you do dismount the motor from the brush-deck, or the brush-deck with the motor still attached to it, be sure to make some notes (and take some close-up photos) about the pull-up string arrangement and about the motor's rotary limit stops -- basically crutches you may need to re-assemble those components and have them work properly. The re-assembly task has tripped up a number of owners.

This question may come into your mind: If I have dismounted the motor/gear-head assembly, and found it to be the failed portion, why can't I simply transplant the working motor/gear-head assembly? The answer is 'yes', you can, and that would be the very fastest way to get Alfred cleaning again. However, the general feeling is once an owner has gotten this deep into the robot, it makes sense to remove the brush-deck assembly so that its brush-end gearing may be inspected, cleaned, and re-greased. Frequently, replacement parts will be needed in this area, to give greater assurance of a longer operating life. Shucks, you may even want to send the bits to vic7767 for a ball-bearing retrofit!

So, follow vic7767's advice to make use of the re-work guidance provided at www.roombaexchange.com . You might also find it useful to review "Accessing Disco's Interior", a document that is limited to dismounting the bumper and cover, and, taking care of screws and connectors. Your Alfred is constructed in the manner that I call "Handle on Bumper", which basically requires that Cover's screws be loosened a couple turns, or removed, at the time the Bumper is being freed from the assembly. Not everyone recognizes that benefit.

Once the Cover and Bumper are set aside, you must still depend on the RoombaExchange take-apart guides for deeper disassembly steps. Once again, make notes to yourself, complement them with photos as necessary, when you find you are doing work that is not well documented. You may need that back-up info on the return trip.

And finally, you said... Quote: ...Oh I should say that Alfred has been mute for months so doing a diagnostic is no use Not so. Sound is not critical, so long as you can see the Dirt Detect LED blinking. The dits & dahs sounded by the speaker to announce the test-number, are replicated as short and long bursts of blue light, emitted by the Dirt Detect indicator.

WNYmom · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Western New York

I am pleased to announce that after 2½ hours of surgery Alfred is now working. OK, he is still mute but he works!!!!!
Thanks for all your advice. I knew I could count on you guys/gals!!!!!