I’ve had my 580 for a bit over a year (last xmas). It has worked well, but last time I ran it I noticed it did not seem to be picking things up as well, but was still exhausting air out the vent. The brushes (the bottom ones not the side) did not seem to be spinning with their normal gusto while on the carpet. Normally you could see “brush marks” where the carpet nap was brushed in the direction of roomba’s movement. I thought they weren’t spinning at all when I tried easing my hand under it as it ran, but based on a forum post I pulled the debris bin and watched it. They did spin a little, expecially when passing over wood floor areas instead of the carpet.
Being an electrical engineer I decided to have a look. It was easy to remove the brush module, and the gear train seemed intact because I could spin the brushes and see the motor being back driven. It seemed to spin pretty easily so I didn’t think it was a stripped gear or badly clogged gears but none the less I opened the gear box and inspected and cleaned the gears. There was some hair around the gears which I cleaned but not enough to cause the problem.
I didn’t fully remove the motor because there is some kind of “tensioning” string attaching it to the module, which I assume lifts the brushes if the torque on the motor increases and I didn’t want to risk messing it up if it was adjustable before I discussed it with you experts.
So to sum it up, the brushes spin some, but not well. So I know it’s getting some electrical drive, but as an Electrical Engineer and not knowing the circuit or programming, I can imagine electrical drive problems, maybe parallel FETs with a couple blown, or a current sensor telling the computer to shut down the motor because the torque is too high. I can also imagine that the motor may have sucked enough debris in through the hole where I could see the armature spinning when I spun the brushes by hand to damage it or badly “gum it up”.
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So based on your extensive experience fixing roombas, how often do you see brush spinning problems caused by electrical drive problems vs physical problems.
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What is the story on the little string connecting the motor mount to the brush module. Is it much of a problem to reattach if I remove the motor to inspect / clean / replace it?
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What is you considered opinion?
Thanks, Cla.
Well, I tried blowing out the motor with my air compressor through the hole where I could see the armature rotating. This had very little if any effect on the operation. Struggling to spin on the carpet. I’m sure it used to spin more because It used to pickup small debris and the knap of the carpet would be brushed in one direction.
I guess I could try breaking it down further and remove the motor to see what else can be cleaned.
I also looked on iRobot’s web site and they are apparently selling a new replacement brush module with motor for $49. According to the one review, it is supposed to be a new design that works better, however the reviewer states that the original brushes do not fit it. I still have quite a few new brushes from the my original purchase, and I don’t want to throw them away.
Do you have any experience with this new redesigned brush module? For only $49 including a new motor it looks like a pretty good deal except for the replacement brush issue. I’ll copy the review below:
review quote start:
[INDENT]The new design works much better with pets. Before even after cleaning the unit every usage, pet hair still got into the gear box. The new design uses bearings to make a perfect seal to the gear box. Have ran it 20+ times and no problems. Only bad part is the new design uses new brushes which are 10x more easy to clean but if you have bought older style replacements you are out of luck.[/INDENT]
review quote end.
Again Julie, Thanks for your reply.
The Cleaning Head Module linked to on your site appears to be the old design … perhaps the picture is just dated, or is there a different item for the new design? Secondly, I appreciate the expertise advise available here, and would love to give you my business, but unless I’m not reading something correctly, it appears that your Cleaning Head Module is $40 more than ordering it directly from irobot. That’s a cost difference that I can’t ignore … please tell me that there’s something I’m missing?
Thanks Again, Cla.
Good day clabrown,
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In most cases this problem is caused by a physical problem (ex: dirt in brush motor and gears) and not an electrical problem.
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If you turn the brush module over, you may be able to get to the motor without having to remove it. If you remove the small red sticker where the string attaches you will see that this string can be easily removed by removing a few screws on the blue part of the module. You do not need to remove them all in order to loosen the string in order to detach it from the module. You then have a few screws in order to remove the brush motor.
Make sure that if you remove your brush motor, you place a new sticker or piece of tape on your module, where the motor string is attached. If this sticker is not placed correctly it could result in a broken motor retention string.
- Since your motor seems to run, it may be a simple debris problem. We therefore, suggest cleaning your robot thoroughly before replacing any parts. If this does not function, we suggest considering replacing your brush motor.
Please let us know your results concerning this issue.
The Cleaning head module sold at iRobot is the new bearing modified module which prevents debris from entering the brush gears. We have sold many bearing modified modules and have not yet had any problems with them or had to exchange them under warranty.
Our tests have proven that the old brushes and new brushes are interchangeable in both modules. Therefore, if you still have brushes of the old style, it is possible to use them with the new cleaning head module.
The cleaning head modules that we sell are usually the bearing modified version. Although, in some cases we do ship cleaning head modules that are not modified and come from brand new robots. This is why the image is the one for the old cleaning head module.
We sell the cleaning head module the same price as other iRobot parts distributors. The price is higher considering that we do need to pay shipping fees and custom fees for products entering Canada. We do have two branches, one in Quebec, Canada and one in Vermont but, do need to pay custom fees for products entering Canada from the USA and we want Roomba parts prices to remain equal for Canadian, USA and international customers. We also give a 60 day warranty on all new parts sold. We believe that iRobot does not offer a warranty on parts or accessories sold.
Hi grandpere,
In the previous post the mention of the new Module was for the black module with bearings. iRobot has now decided to discontinue the black module. The new module is now green.
Following are the differences between the red and green modules:
- Foam ring on the brush motor drive shaft
- More rigid design of gearbox cover
- New position of gearbox cover screws (better sealing effect)
- Washers on some (not all) gearbox-shafts (for better shielding the shafts against dirt)
If your robot is still under warranty with iRobot, our first suggestion would be to contact them in order to exchange your entire robot under warranty. You should not have to pay for replacement parts if it is still under warranty.
Hello Mme Gendron.
When you refer to the “new cleaning module”, are you referring to the "Green color cleaning module? if so, please tell me how different (other than the color) is the green module from the “red” module???
No, I have not purchased my Roomba 530 from RobotShop…I bought it from Canadian Tire and the warranty is covered by iRobot-USA.
So far, both wheels and the entire cleaning module of my Roombaa 530 have been replaced. It is still not properly picking up debris on the carpet. Where is the problem??? What else should be replaced?
Should the entire Roomba be replaced? or should I revert to the “old fashion” (FilterQueen, etc) method to vacuum my carpets?
Thank you for your prompt attention,
Hi grandpere,
Maybe it will sound crazy but try bringing back to Canadian Tire. Without the buying paper, they will not refund you but*… exchange the same thing. I did it a couple of times with stuffs that didn’t work well. Also, on a carpet it’s doing a fine job but not on high carpet (like little one sold for the bathroom).
Try it…
Hi clabrown,
I have one hypothesis, your roomba works well until some day, it stopped working well. Did you clean your floor with a new product ? Is it possible that some liquid entered the roomba ? Maybe there is an electronical problem. But i don’t know… it worked well before… Nah, I think the problem is physical.
Good luck,
Jeff
