The main brushes don’t turn on when the roomba is running. The side brush operates and it seems to be operating appropriately in every other way. I put in some new brushes I already had and it didn’t help. I took off the bottom cover of the roomba and removed the brush deck module. I used some canned air to blow out the dust. I then re-installed it to check if it just needed to be re-seated. I put everything back on and the brushes don’t turn. I opened it back up and took out the module again. I noticed that when I turn the brushes the rotor of the motor turns. So It shouldn’t be the gears or brushes. The motor isn’t seized up either. What I don’t know is if it is a problem with just the motor, electrical connection to the main unit, or maybe the main unit isn’t sending it the right signal/voltage.
Dose anyone know if I could apply a DC voltage to two of the pins to test the motor on the brush deck?
Are there any other troubleshooting steps that I can do to narrow down the problem?
Thanks
Bryan
Thanks for the suggestion. I hooked up a 9 volt battery to the motor and there was no response. The brushes and motor turn freely so it looks like it is an electrical side problem with the motor. I’ll probably by a new brush module. Just wanted to reduce the probability that it was a cpu problem.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Bry_Guy.
Welcome to the RobotShop Forum.
You are correct; either the module is defective, the module isn’t making good contact with the motherboard, or the motherboard is defective. Since you’ve reseated the module and have checked the connection, likely that is not the problem.
When you turn the brushes, are they hard to turn? You should get an even resistance but not too much. Very dirty brush bearings (or seized gears) can overwork the motor until it burns out. If the brush motor spins, then the gearbox is still intact and mated properly, though you may want to take a look to make sure there is no warped plastic on the casing that holds the brushes and motor, and that the gears are not dirty.
You can definitely test the brush motor; the easiest way to do this would be to use a 9V battery. You just need to wire the battery terminals to the + and - terminals on the motor and see if it spins. If it works, then likely the problem is the motherboard’s output. If not, make sure your connections to the motor are all good and that your battery (if you end up using a battery) is good, and then try again to be sure.
Let us know what you find out and if you have any questions.
Thanks,
