Battery Replacement

[esk3]

So, I got a black warranty replacement battery and I looked at http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=11029
this thread, but I still do not know what to do.
My new battery Ni-CAD, btw will only run the Roomba for about 1 hour and it will only clean two rooms. This is below what iRobot advertised when I bought my 580.

Anyway, what should I do in order to get a battery that will work? I don't care what kind it is as long as it runs the Roomba for long enough.

Funny thing is, like in the above thread, my battery went just after I switched to the new CHM from the old one and when I put the old one back in, it ran for about 20 mins longer than with the new one.
Should I try to get iRobot to replace it too?

[TechGuy]

I would contact iRobot to ask for another battery that meet or exceed the original requirement.

Sooner or later, iRobot will be out of business if they continue to treat their customer like that.

[esk3]

But are they actually obligated to send me an equal replacement, or do I only have the whole advertised to clean four rooms thing to go on?
Do you know where I can get the full text of the warranty online?

[Fraggboy]

Get a hold of iRobot CS. They should make this right, and I'm sure if you tell them exactly what is going on and what has happened, they will take care of you. And, possibly with a brand new 580 (Roomba and battery, minus the dust bin). I have had issues with my 560, and they did replace the whole robot, plus battery, minus the dust bin and charger.

You can find iRobot's warranty HERE

I have never seen a black battery, just the yellow ones for my 560. Even when I got it replaced they sent me a yellow battery.. I don't know why they are sending out a Ni-Cd battery.

I don't know if the black battery has enough power to run the new CHM, but yea. I would let them know that the new CHM is giving you fits also. Now, I'm assuming that you are still under warranty with it being a 580.

[esk3]

Yeah. I'm still under warrenty. Thx for finding it, btw. I tried and tried and couldn't find it online.

They said that:


Am so sorry, there is nothing wrong with your battery. The battery that you received will not run as long as the APS, the run time of the battery is short than the APS but will last longer.

Earlier they said:

We apologize for the inconvenience. The replacement battery you will receive is a blue nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery rather than the original NiMH battery that you had. Your Roomba's cleaning power will not be affected by this change.

Which kinda contradicts itself....

This is the exact conversation:
Thanks for sending me a new battery. It arrived and I charged it 16
> hrs and it still only cleans two out of four rooms... for just under
> 35 min each before returning to it's base in Room 1. This is almost
> exactly the same as the broken one, but about 15 min longer... The
> old one never came close to finishing the second room.

It does this after multiple uses, the battery didn't get better with
further use, it stayed the same (to within about 5 min).

I tried resetting everything and doing that, too.
It still doesn't clean four rooms.

I also noticed that the new battery is a Ni-CAD, and it is black. It
also does not say APS.

Maybe I was supposed to receive an APS battery that would run my
Roomba as advertised.
-------------------------------

Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.


We apologize for the inconvenience. The replacement battery you will receive is a blue nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery rather than the original NiMH battery that you had. Your Roomba's cleaning power will not be affected by this change.

If you have any further questions, please contact us again.
--------------------------------
Am I going to get another battery (#3 by now) that is blue and will
> run the roomba for the full cleaning time through all four rooms?

The battery I got is a black nicad that doesn't run it for much longer
than the dead battery.
--------------------------------
Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.


You are more than welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact us again should you have any further questions or concerns.
-------------------------------
So, I'm going to get another battery? If were you talking about the
battery I got, that one is black.
--------------------------------
Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.

I'm sorry, but you did received the correct battery, it should be black.

=====================================================================================================

If your battery is new, it may take a few charging cycles for the battery to reach maximum capacity and optimal run time. This is normal for nickel based rechargeable batteries.

Keep the Roomba plugged in and charging when you are not using the robot. This will ensure that the battery always has a full charge and will be ready when you need to clean.
It is also important to remove the brushes regularly and thoroughly as well as cleaning and replacing the filter. Failing to do so will result in shorter run times with the battery.

You may need to reset the memory of the Roomba if you're experiencing a charging issue. To do this:

1. Hold down Roomba's SPOT and DOCK/DEMO buttons for 8-10 seconds (*If you have a Roomba 610 model, hold the SPOT and MAX buttons).
2. The Roomba should play a tune, indicating that the reset is complete.
3. Charge the Roomba until the CLEAN light turns solid green, then run the unit.

If the issue persists, please respond so that we can assist you further.
------------------------
I did both kinds of resets and everything, but the new Black battery
> is just as bad as the old one. Only gets to two rooms. Actually, the
> old, dead (APS) battery runs for about 10 mins (consistently) longer
> than the black battery.

Also, I purchased one of the new CHMs from your online store because
mine came with the old red and blue one. I switched the new one out
for the old one and the Roomba ran for about 30 mins longer, now up to
about 1 hr 15 mins, but it still only gets to two rooms, sometimes it
traverses the second lighthouse and cleans the third room for about 30
seconds before returning (every time!) to the base.

I think that something might be wrong with my CHM because the old one
(with a working brush deck string/cable - I checked when I took it
out...at least I know it still is attached) runs longer than the new
one, and the new (black and blue one) runs makes funny clicking
noises. Oh, and the Roomba tells me to clean the brushes about once in
every five missions with the new CHM, even though I clean the before
and after each and every mission. Also, I have no pets and there is
usually about four strands of actual hair (not dirt or carpet fluff)
in the debris bin after each mission, so that's not causing the problem.

Anyways, the new battery is slightly worse than the old one, I suspect
that it is a lower capacity battey, also it's a NiCd battery...
And, the CHM has funny issues that I think might be causing some of
the problems, but even when I run it with an old CHM, the batteries
still aren't up to actually cleaning the rooms.

The only reason that I don't use the old CHM all the time is that it's
little square spot where you put in the brushes got all messed up and
it works fine, just is really hard to clean (hard to get the brushes
in and out - this wasn't a defect, so I didn't want to get it replaced
under warranty because it was really my fault and not a problem that
iRobot had anything to do with - now a defective battery... That's a
problem for iRobot) and sometimes I think it makes the Roomba tell me
to check the brushes (because of this I got a new one, but after a
week or so that one was just as bad about telling me to check
brushes)....


I think that a new APS battery and/or a new CHM (probably and) would
fix it - at least it ran for 2 hr 10 min and cleaned all four rooms as
advertised when it was very very new (i.e. first couple of weeks).
----------------------------
THIS IS THE MOST HELPFUL ANSWER I WAS GIVEN (just kidding)
Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.


For online access to your support issues, please click on the Registration link at the bottom of the http://www.irobot.com/support page.

To submit a question click on: http://www.irobot.com/emailsupport

Our Customer Support Line is also available and can be reached toll free at (877) 855-8593. The hours of operation are 9am- 7pm ET Monday to Friday and 9am - 6pm ET Saturday.
----------------------------------
So I have a defective/bad replacement battery and a CHM I suspect
> has problems. What should I do? You are CS correct? Can't you send
> me a good battery, since the one you sent me only cleans two rooms
> just like the bad one.
----------------------------------
Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.

Am so sorry, there is nothing wrong with your battery. The battery that you received will not run as long as the APS, the run time of the battery is short than the APS but will last longer.
--------------------------------
I JUST SENT BACK WITH:
""Am so sorry, there is nothing wrong with your battery. The battery that you received will not run as long as the APS, the run time of the battery is short than the APS but will last longer."

"We apologize for the inconvenience. The replacement battery you will receive is a blue nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery rather than the original NiMH battery that you had. Your Roomba's cleaning power will not be affected by this change."

It seems to me that these two statements contradict each other.

The way I see it is that my Roomba does not clean four rooms as advertised, and you will not replace the battery is such a way as to enable it to clean all four rooms that I spent the extra money on in order to make it clean.
It used to clean all four rooms when it was new. For over two hours. And still have battery left to get to the base.

What am I supposed to do about this?

I know that battery is covered under warranty."


Thanks for helping.

[Fraggboy]

Ok, it seems that you are emailing them. Try calling them (I think they are closed now, but try tomorrow). Now, take your approach differently. Don't bring up that your battery is black, or it being a Ni-Cd. Just bring up that your battery is only lasting 20 minutes, then the clean button is going red, and stopping. Tell them that you have reset the Roomba a few times and every time your Roomba isn't lasting longer than 20 minutes. Tell them that you keep the Roomba on the charger until the clean button turns green. Also, tell them that your Roomba is saying "Please Inspect and clean Roomba's brushes". Reply to them that you have taken out the brushes and they are clean. Which you also reset the Roomba between and she keeps complaining about it.

If you bring those up to CS, they should get you a new (Hopefully Yellow APS battery), and a new CHM on the way to you. Just imply to them that you have already reset the Roomba (Pressing SPOT + DOCK buttons together UNTIL the melody plays). Plus, say that you have even taken out the battery one time and pressing the clean button for at least 10 seconds and replaced the battery.

Hopefully that will help you..

Unfortunately, iRobot and other vendors view batteries as consumable items, meaning the warranty for batteries are much shorter (Time not known). Laptop companies are like this also regarding their batteries..

[esk3]

Nice! Thanks so much. I'll post after I call them (which might not be for a while, I'm kinda busy during their open times) and let you know how it went.

I actually have done all of the reset stuff and the brush stuff with the talking is exactly what is happening, so I feel better about telling them that. The Roomba is running for about 45 min, but only getting to two rooms, but I think 20 mins gets the point across better.

Has anyone had iRobot refuse warranty batteries while the rest of the robot was under warranty? I really hope they don't do that.

Does it do any specific number of beeps when it says to clean the brushes? I only come from the other room when I hear it talking because the beeps are usually inaudible over music or something else.


Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it.

Eric

[Fraggboy]

Eric,

I personally haven't had iRobot deny a battery issue, but I did with my Dell laptop.

The 5xx Roomba will say "Uh-Oh", and 'say' what is wrong.

Roomba 5xx Audio Troubleshooting

Hope this helps. Definately let us know how it goes. That 'Should' get you a new brush and battery coming to you.. **Keeping Fingers crossed**

[mfortuna]

Check with your state's B.B.B. Warranty repairs are supposed to return your product to original condition. Substituting a battery with 40% less capacity is not original condition. I'm frankly amazed that they would do this.

[stevematlbch]

Hammacher Schlemmer. I bought my Roomba and Scooba from them. I can tell you from experience that if you have any issue at all, they'll tell you, send it back to us and state whether you want a refund or a replacement. They ask you to state the problem but they do not otherwise ask any questions whatsoever.

I waited a month for a CHM from irobot, who would not even answer my email requesting an ETA on the thing. I asked HS for assistence, and they just said, "send it back (the whole thing), we'll send a new one".

You can beat the price but not the customer service.

[TechGuy]

Hammacher Schlemmer. I bought my Roomba and Scooba from them. I can tell you from experience that if you have any issue at all, they'll tell you, send it back to us and state whether you want a refund or a replacement. They ask you to state the problem but they do not otherwise ask any questions whatsoever.

I waited a month for a CHM from irobot, who would not even answer my email requesting an ETA on the thing. I asked HS for assistence, and they just said, "send it back (the whole thing), we'll send a new one".

You can beat the price but not the customer service.

The Costco no question ask return policy provides similar customer service without dealing with iRobot.

[marquesalan]

Yes but even Costco has a time line of how long they will take a product back. Hammacher has a lifetime guarantee. Can't beat that! Especially since these robots seem to have alot of parts that can break.