Hello. I have a circa 2020 LR3. Within the last year I upgraded it to circuit board to the connect model, and have also replaced the bonnet and pinch pins along with the upgraded DFI harness V2.
For the most part it has gone well, however I have been getting a lot of cat sensor faults (sometimes mid cycle, sometimes after) along with what appears to be inaccurate waste level readings. Also, since upgrading to connect and setting all the values for cat weight, litter type, etc. I have to manually reset the gauge via the app after I empty the drawer. It warns me that it should automatically reset however it does not.
Is that due to the fact I upgraded a previous model, a potential fault with the cat sensor, or am I somehow not properly emptying it?
(As I did before the upgrade, I I power the unit off when I empty the waste drawer as stated in the original instructions.)
Welcome to the Robotshop community! We are sorry to hear that your Litter-Robot is not functioning properly.
Regarding your issues, please follow the steps below:
1-Make sure that the firmware is up to date in your app. This could resolve some apparent issues.
Regarding the waste drawer and the indication in the app, here is a short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CrQCz3Ho4E
2-When emptying the drawer, there’s no need to turn off the robot. You can simply empty the drawer, replace the bag, and when you put the drawer back in place, press the reset button on the unit or follow the steps in the app to reinitialize the drawer.
Regarding your other issue, we need to know if your device is displaying a light error code on the control panel, such as a flashing light after a cycle. You can also send us a video showing the problem your robot is having.
I replaced the cat sensor along with the pinch connectors and both sets of bonnet pins. I followed the online instructions for the cat sensor replacement, however one thing didn’t work as it had in the instructions:
After reassembling everything, I performed the calibration step of holding the empty and cycle buttons but I don’t get the flashing red led. I tried for 3 seconds (timed) and got no indication, then even tried holding it longer and all that happens is the power button LED turns blue and stays that way until I perform a power cycle.
I did this a few weeks ago and have been seeing how things work. It seems to be fairly functional as far as cat use
and recognition goes and there has only been 1 or 2 cat sensor interrupts. That being said, it does appear to be off a bit on the waste drawer fill level. IE: it says 90% when it appears to be ~ 1/2 full.
Thank you for the information. Could you please send us a picture of the waste drawer when it indicates 90% and appears to be half full as you mentioned?
As for the rest, if we understand correctly, the robot operates normally regarding the cycles?
The amount of waste in there I’d estimate at ~50%, maybe a bit more.
This morning it was reading 75% but was less than 1/2 full, and since then there were 2 more cycles and the app measurement jumped to 95%.
I would not normally empty the waste drawer at the level indicated in the photo.
Prior to my changing the sensor it seemed more accurate at the drawer measurement but kept faulting hence the replacement.
The thing is, drawer full indicator on Litter-Robot 3 can only detect when the waste drawer is full. Everything before that is just an assumption.
There is an algorithm inside the app which learns about how many cycles it takes to get “full”. Over time, when it gets more data, it should be more accurate.
But the main thing is, sensor would only trigger when drawer is full of waste and it triggers the sensor. Then reading in the app should be 100%
Ok, thank you. To my latest query though, it was just odd how I could not get the recalibration to work as described in the tutorial video.
Ultimately it was s functional, however it still didn’t respond as expected.
Im not sure if it’s a side effect of the unit not being the connect version originally, with the wifi board being added fairly recently.
When calibrating the cat sensor, litter must first be added to the globe.
Then, the Empty and Reset buttons should be pressed at the same time and only held down for 3 seconds.
If it’s not flashing red, the customer can try holding a second longer just in case.
Once flashing, the customer needs to wait 30 seconds before pressing Reset.
It should then return to solid blue.
As of this morning, it does look like the unit has been sensing a cat and going through cycles as normal.
We can see the notifications in our system that everything seems to be acting as it should.
Additionally, the Litter-Robot 3 does not have the ability to receive firmware updates. Please let us know if the customer is still having any issues with the robot.
Thank you Igor. I can confirm that I have performed the following as per the installation guide:
Litter was added to the line, and the empty and reset buttons were held down for 3 seconds, then
when I didn’t get the flashing red LED, I tried it again holding it down longer (probably more than 4, I didn’t time the 2nd hold)
I never did get a flashing red light, so I was never able to wait the 30 seconds as prescribed.
They are correct that it is (more or less) functioning as it should, however I’m still getting the odd cat sensor
cycle interruption and the estimates of fill levels seems quite off. I can’t help but feel the 2 are related.
This latest alert was from today. I reset remotely to ensure it doesn’t stall upside down making the cat evacuate outside the litter box.
The cat box was just entered a few days ago, so 70% full is way overstated. Like I said, it really feels like the inaccuracy + continued cat sensor interrupts (although far less frequent) = calibration failure
I think my next tactic will be tweak the sensor cover bolt tightness. I tightened it “enough to allow a slight wiggle” but that’s not exactly clear how much slight there should be.
