Litter Robot 3 - broken pinch sensor

Help & Support Domestic Robots
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Hi!

I require your help regarding a problem I’m encountering.

I have a Litter Robot 3 which I purchased in April 2021

S/N LR3171595
Order #: 1085085

About a week ago the yellow light for the pinch sensor started flashing rapidly. At first I was able to take the unit apart and use a soft brush to clean litter and dust out of the base and this would fix the problem. Then I was having to do this several times a day. I looked at your video on how to clean the pinch sensor and was going to try it the next time the yellow light started flashing.

Then this morning the yellow light started flashing again. This time when I removed the globe I found that the plastic housing for the pinch sensor had partially broken off. I tried to snap it back into position but the whole thing broke off. There’s a loose wire underneath with a piece of metal on the end, which I was careful not to disturb too much.

I’m wondering if my cat might have broken it off. He likes to try to catch the clumps of litter when the robot cycles. He’s been getting more bold lately and I’ve caught him climbing right inside it to catch the clumps before they fall into the drawer. At first I thought this was the reason why the light was flashing, but after that I noticed it starting to flash when no cats were in the box.

I’ve looked at the video that shows how to clean the pinch sensor, but now that the plastic housing is broken off I’m wondering if it’s possible to repair it at all. Now the box is useless because the yellow light flashes whenever it is powered on.

Can this be repaired or would the base need to be replaced?

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

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Hello @Creepella,

Welcome to RobotShop community.

We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your Litter-Robot.

Please provide us with a picture of the broken parts.

Are you referring to the black and red wires at the bottom of the base?

If yes, then no… these wires are there in case you wanted to order the emergency battery and connect it to the robot.

Awaiting your reply.

Sincerely,

1 Like
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Hi Ebram,

These pics are of the base tipped on one end with no drawer or other parts.

Here is the broken plastic piece marked in blue. I put it back into position so you can see where it’s supposed to be

Plastic piece
Plastic piece3968×2976 1.27 MB

Here is the side view of the plastic piece

IMG_20220228_153849_765
IMG_20220228_153849_7652976×3968 2.49 MB

Here is the metal which was exposed when the plastic piece was broken off. It’s attached to a wire. That’s the wire I was referring to. It looks like it may be bent/twisted/broken. I think it’s the “pins” for the pinch sensor. As you can see, I didn’t try to clean it yet in case it would make things worse.

I marked the seal strip in blue. The green is the sensors for the waste drawer.

Broken pinch sensor
Broken pinch sensor2976×3968 1.25 MB

I think the plastic that broke off was acting as a shield for the metal pinch sensor underneath.

Another view of the metal pinch sensor

IMG_20220228_153655_903
IMG_20220228_153655_9033968×2976 1.17 MB

I hope these will be enough!

Thanks

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Hello @Creepella,

Thank you for your reply.

The broken part is unfortunately not replaceable so the base itself will need to be replaced.

The function of this part is to stop the robot from rotating once the cat enters the globe to avoid harming the cat during the rotation.

The Anti-Pinch pins need to be taken out and be cleaned with WD-40 and sandpaper but it still won’t function properly without that plastic part.

We can check with the repair department if we have any refurbished bases for sale or not.

If not, we can provide you with a 5% discount on the next order if you leave a review on the website.

Currently the repair department is closed till next week so we won’t be able to confirm if we have a refurbished base or not until then.

Awaiting your reply.

Sincerely,

1 Like
5

Hi,

Isn’t this unit still under warranty? I bought it less than a year ago.

I guess it’s lucky I have a standard litter box my cats can use for the time being.

I guess I will have to wait until next week to see if I can get another base and how much that is going to cost me.

I must say I’m disappointed that a $600 litter box didn’t even last a year.

Thanks anyway

6

Hello @Creepella,

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

This part never broke before with other customers so we are discussing with the replacement department the options that we can provide for you and will get back to you shortly.

Sincerely,

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Thanks for getting back to me.

As a suggestion, perhaps that part should be connected to the base with more than just two tiny tabs that can break.

Better yet, make it so that the customer can snap it off and then snap it back on, this way it would be easier to clean the pinch sensor instead of taking the whole base apart from the bottom.

I’m sorry, I don’t know how it broke, I just found it that way when I took the globe out this morning.

Thanks,

8

Unfortunately, the design of this part is related to the detection mechanism made for the robot.

We are the distributor of the robot and not the manufacturer so we cannot alter the design of the robot.

This video will show you how to reach and check the Anti-Pinch pins without disassembling the base:

Thank you.

9

Hello @Creepella,

Thank you for your patience.

After discussing your situation with the replacement department, we have decided to exchange the base under the warranty.

Please note that this is an exception and we wouldn’t be able to exchange it again if this part broke another time.

We will need your shipping address and phone number to proceed.

Awaiting your reply.

Sincerely,

10

Hi, thank you for agreeing to change the base. I understand that if it breaks again there would be no further exchanges.

My shipping address:

PH 1 - 545 The West Mall
Buzzer code 6224
Etobicoke Ontario
M9C 1G6

Ph/Txt 416-786-7728

11

Hello @Creepella ,

Thank you for your reply.

Very well, we will forward you now to our replacement department to carry on with the process.

You will be contacted shortly with further instructions.

Have a lovely evening, stay safe.

Sincerely,

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This topic was transferred to internal RobotShop Support.

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