iRobot 536 Charging Error 3

Help & Support Domestic Robots
1

I’ve stored by Rooma for about a year in a temperature controlled environment (my closet) and now when trying to charge, I get a red blinking lights and it says Charging Error 3. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  1. Inserted charger into side of Roomba instead of using charging station
  2. Attempted to reset the Roomba by pressing the top and bottom buttons and holding down for 10 seconds, then attempting to charge again
  3. All Charging plates/contacts are corrosive free and clean.
  4. I left the charger in the side of the Roomba and only received that error message once, but the red lights continue to flash

Also - which basket filter should I use for it? The one for the 500 series in the parts section doesn’t look quite right.

I bought this from either QVC or HSN. Probably QVC. It ran beautifully prior to storage and I’ve kept it and all parts clean.

Suggestions? If you are suggesting new parts, please link me to them.

Cathy

2

@cathycross57, what was the outcome of plugging the robot directly with the charger without using the base? Did you get the charging error code?

3

Yes, sure did. Lights still blinking (I’ve ket it plugged in overnight but the error 3 msg only announced once.

4

@cathycross57, it only announced once at the beginning of the charge? It can take up to 24 hours if the battery is bad, this can either be caused by a bad battery or the charging application in the robot.

5

OK - It’s still charging, and yes, it only announced once when I first plugged it in. I’ll wait it out for now.

6

@cathycross57, let us know how it goes.

7

It was still blinking as of last night, so I pulled the plug and surrendered.

8

@cathycross57, did you try the reset battery procedure? If not you can view this here.

9

Seeing some progress - the light is now amber instead of red. Can’t use the reset procedure
until it’s charged enough for the light to be green.

Cathy

10

Saturday 1:35pm

Holy Cow - It’s GREEN! :smiley:
I did the reset procedure - all went well (as video described) and now we’re coasting for another 72 hours on charge.

I’ll check back in on Wednesday! Thanks for all of the help!

Cathy

11

@cathycross57, we are glad to hear that the reset procedure worked, keep us posted on how it turns out.

12

I tried it out and it only works now for under 2 minutes. I ordered a new battery yesterday.
Hopefully that will resoolve it. I should have kept it plugged in and turned off while in storage.
Lesson learned.

Will keep you in the loop.

13

OK - so I received the new battery today. While unscrewing the backplate - heard a four-quick tone “song”, inserted the new one, screwed the plate back down - got the tone again.
Plugged in the charger directly from the wall (not using the dock) and about 15 minutes into the
charge - I heard the same tone again.

What was that about? Should I reseat the battery or leave it alone?
Charging light is Amber and blinking - slow pulse.

Cathy

14

@cathycross, sounds like the sound it makes when turning on the robot, unless you could hear a distinct Uh-Oh sound then it should be followed by a number of beeps to indicate the error. But slow pulsing amber light is on the right track. Have it charge for a least 16 to 20 hours. That is about the time it should take until it is fully charged and the light turns green.

15

First run with the new battery to full discharge was 48 minues and it was glorious!
I’ve emissed my old friend! (I named mine Myrtle).

Will come back with subsequent updates on battery life on the next 3-5 cycles.

Cathy

16

First run , as previously mentioned.
Charge time for the light to become green again = 50 minutes.
Second run to full discharge only 20 minutes. Not good.

How long should I leave it charging before I run it again - even when the light has turned green?

Cathy

17

@cathycross57, since it is the first charges even if the light turns green we would suggest to let charge for about 6 to 8 hours before each cycle.

18

Thank you. Will do that and report back.

19

I let the battery charge about 29 hours this time, and the run time after charge
to full discharge was 38 minutes.

What should it be and what can I do to better improve the cycle time?

Cathy

PS - Can I use the dock to charge now or should I stay with direct charge?

20

@cathycross57, you can try the charging station, it depends on the obstacle it has to manouver around, if there is many obstacles it will take up more battery. Let it on the charger and start it from when the battery is near dead it should come automatically to the charging station. After a few cycles the battery should be at an optimal working time.