Sometimes it happens that a perfectly serviceable Roomba vacuum cleaner does not hold recharging, although it has stood on it almost all night. Usually there are several main causes of this unpleasant malfunction. Most often, the main problem occurs due to significant contamination of the contacts, battery failure or difficulties with the charging station.
Most of these robotic units are an extremely comfortable addition to the technical equipment of any home, as they clean the floors very easily.
It helps to save the forces of the hostess and their full automation. If you set up your Roomba settings right from the start, you won’t have to worry about them again. They will continue to function throughout the life of the vacuum cleaner. What’s more, it can independently detect when the battery is low and automatically dock to the charging station. But sometimes its owner suddenly realizes that the unit has suddenly stopped working.
Charging contacts dirty
The household appliance and its charging station are equipped with appropriate contacts to facilitate the transfer of energy. They look like a pair of small metal strips that, when charging, come into contact with similar strips of another device.
But gradually dirt accumulates on the sites. Then the necessary points stop completely docking and the equipment will not be charged. Roomba’s contacts get dirty especially often because they are next to the brushes at the front of the vacuum cleaner. As a result, they constantly get dust.
Cleaning the contacts of the unit itself and its charging station is not difficult. Contaminated points most often lead to the fact that the household appliance does not charge. Therefore, this issue needs to be clarified first.
There are effective methods for cleaning contacts. You can take a dry cloth, and if it was still not possible to remove the dirt in this way, then it should be moistened with alcohol. You should also try using an abrasive, such as a steel wool sponge. Before cleaning the charging contacts, you must first unplug the charging station from the power supply to avoid injury.
Battery failure
The battery is a special element that feeds the equipment and holds the charge. This model uses rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. According to the latest data from iRobot, the well-known company that makes Roomba, under normal conditions, it usually takes about two hours to charge and can withstand about four hundred cycles.
Vacuum cleaner batteries tend to go bad when they reach their full expiration date. But sometimes other reasons can arise, leading to their early discharge. If the unit is left under the sun for a long time, then oversight can damage the battery, because it does not function well when it is overheated.
Such a part wears out faster than usual even if the brushes of the household appliance are not kept clean. When they get clogged with hair and other debris, the motors that spin them experience too much resistance. The higher it is, the more power is needed for normal operation and the shorter the battery life is.
If it is completely discharged, then you need to replace it. Replacement parts are available from iRobot and installation is fairly easy.
It must be done as follows:
- Remove the five screws holding the bottom cover in place. Four of them are for herself, and the fifth holds the rotating brush.
- Then, to gain access to the battery, remove the cover held by a pair of protrusions.
- They need to be released, and then pull the part out of the socket.
- In the end, you need to insert a new one and completely assemble the device.
To keep the battery in action for a long time, you need to make sure that the equipment is in a cool and dry place. You should also clean its brushes regularly.
Charging station malfunction
The charging station included with Roomba allows the vacuum cleaner to charge itself. The owners of the unit manage to do without it, but it is required to automatically charge the household appliance.
This element breaks quite rarely. The main problems in his work are most often closely related to the fact that his contacts are heavily contaminated.
It also happens that for some reason it ceases to be supplied with electricity from a home outlet. Therefore, it is necessary to very carefully find out the cause of the malfunction.
To achieve this, a number of steps need to be taken.
- If there is a GFCI outlet, you need to check if it has been turned off. It also happens that the charging station itself is automatically disconnected from the switch associated with the outlet.
- It is also worth checking whether the plug is securely inserted.
- If the first two points did not give any results, then it is advisable to conduct an additional test by connecting the charging cable through the unit directly to the outlet. The activation of its battery indicator indicates that the station is to blame.
- If it is dead, then you need to order another one by contacting iRobot. During the warranty period for the equipment, such repairs are carried out at no additional charge.
Checking the battery tab
Like many other electronic devices, Roomba comes with a factory yellow battery pull tab. It blocks its points of contact, preventing the vacuum cleaner from turning on until it is purchased and installed.
So you need to be careful. You should be aware of these things and pay attention to them before operating the unit. Before starting it, you need to pull out the battery tab.
It is worth remembering a few more simple steps. First you need to turn the household appliance and find the yellow tab. Then you need to pull it out. After that, the functionality of the equipment should be checked.
Caster wheel pollution
This part is a small wheel located in front of the Roomba. It is not a functional part that provides steering. The component is intended only for holding the vacuum cleaner in the correct position.
Gradually, garbage is clogged into its niche. When there is too much dust, this state of affairs causes the part to be pushed too far out of the housing. Since it is very close to the charging contacts, it raises the unit unnecessarily. As a result, it stops touching the contacts of the charging station.
Removing and cleaning the wheel is very easy. It is mounted to a household appliance using a rod. Therefore, to carry out processing, it is necessary to securely grasp the part and pull it out. As a result, access to the niche will open. It is necessary to carefully wipe the surface and put the element back in place. Then the device will function as expected.
Wrong temperature setting
The technique also stops working when the battery is too hot or cold. Then it turned off due to temperature problems, displaying error code 6. This symbol indicates that the battery is too hot, and 7 indicates that it is too cold.
Typically, these problems are caused by Roomba being in a room that is too hot or too cold. If the vacuum cleaner functions at home, then it also happens that the central heating radiators heat up too much. But usually, users rarely encounter such problems.
To fix the unit giving the error temperature code, you just need to move it to a cooler place and leave it for 60 minutes. If the malfunction is related to a violation of cooling, then the situation will soon improve. Then you should move the charging station to a more ventilated part of the living space.
As it becomes clear from all of the above, there are quite a few reasons why the Roomba vacuum cleaner stops charging. But the vast majority of them are easily solved with a relatively small investment of time and money. If you understand in advance what you need to pay attention to when problems occur, it will be quite simple to eliminate any of the unpleasant situations that arise.