I’ve had this robot vacuum cleaner sitting waiting to be fixed for a while now. The left wheel was locked up, and wouldn’t turn.
I disassembled the robot, took out the motor and tried to find out what was wrong. Once the load had been taken off and the gear reduction removed, it turned without any problem. But the right side motor was more silent and worked.
So I tried to find a replacement. First, I called the company that made the motor, Kysan Electronics. While they weren’t able to find a replacement for me, they helped me find the voltage (12v) and speed (60rpm) of the motor. I made the tests on the working right-side motor.
I decided to go to amazon and get the first 12v 60rpm motor I found. I got two for $15 each. Now, with the new motors in, both wheels turn, but if I start the vacuum mode, it displays an error (E4) “Wheel motor overloaded”, though I can move it with the remote control.
Now I’m stuck. I don’t know how I could find the amperage of the motor. My best guess is that the new motors don’t have enough torque, so I need lower speed motors.
I have the serial number of the old motors, if that helps: RB350060-3LQ22R
Also had the same issue with one motor failing and not being able to replace it. Manufacturer does not seem to offer replacement parts. Long-term, best to go with Neato.
Sounds like the motors draw too much current, and there are not enough specs on the Amazon page to know how much it consumes under load. A customer wrote 0.92A.
If you can get your hands on a multimeter, you can measure the current of the functional motor to know the max. current and voltage, and select motors within those specs.
It says 12vdc on the original motors, and I do have a multimeter. The problem is, it has a circuit on it. so to measure the load I’d need to unsolder it, make a bridge between the circuit and the motor prong and activate the wheel… Feasible, but I didn’t really want to go to the trouble. Guess I’ll do that after all.
Yeah… wish I could say I hacked it and found a solution, but switching to a different cleaner was the overall best solution. FYI the Neato is quite powerful and intelligent.
To make matters even worse… but also to be honest, the iClebos were thrown away; in retrospect, might have saved a motor or two for situations like this, but hard to predict.
Keep an eye on your local Craigslist / Kijiji for old iClebo (even create a post saying you’re looking for one).
The thing is it cost €1000 (!) back when I was in France… Feels like a waste to get another one. I have a roomba 680, and it’s not nearly as good: no remote, doesn’t seem to memorize the area, gets stuck on ledges…
Guess I’ll have a look on Craigslist, that seems like a good idea. Thanks for the help!
