Problème de "Critical Battery" sur Neato XV-15

[sukria]

Bonjour,

J'ai récupéré un Neato XV-15 quasi neuf (très peu servi), parfait état matériel.
Quand je le met à charger, il me fait une erreur (visiblement assez connue) : Erreur critique de batterie - et visiblement il ne charge pas : le voyant reste orange au lieu de clignoter.

Après avoir cherché sur le net, il semble que ces problème disparaissent lorsque on met à jour le firmware en >2.6, cependant j'ai deux problème :
- 1 : comment mettre à jour le robot s'il refuse de s'allumer ?
- 2 : impossible de trouver un logiciel Neato pour procéder à la mise à jour

Dans le doute, j'ai commandé un jeu de batterie neuve - dans le cas où ça soit de ce coté que le problème existe, mais cela ne me dit pas comment mettre à jour le firmware s'il s'allume...

Merci beaucoup de votre aide...

[glnc222]

This error is not a software bug. The battery is defective or poorly connected (check the pins), or the system board is defective.
The robot can be powered on the dock and the USB will operate. However, flashing firmware was always done off the dock on battery power, possibly because the software for dock interface was being updated.
Flashing the firmware can damage the system if it is not working properly, as the flashing is performed by the robot itself. USB just transmits the data.
The battery can be tested and charged externally to see if it is excessively discharged. It is best to just try a new battery.
The critical battery error and red ring light means the battery voltage is too low for the system to operate at all. Sometimes it will still charge and move to the orange indicator state. It can take several hours to charge fully. Hardware defects will prevent any charging. The sensor for the battery voltage and current can be damaged. Excess temperature reported over USB can also indicate a problem. Defective batteries will heat up quickly, terminating charging. The charging procedure for the NIMh batteries is terminated by detecting increasing temperature as the property of this kind of battery chemistry (lithium batteries work differently).

[sukria]

This error is not a software bug. The battery is defective or poorly connected (check the pins), or the system board is defective.
The robot can be powered on the dock and the USB will operate. However, flashing firmware was always done off the dock on battery power, possibly because the software for dock interface was being updated.
Flashing the firmware can damage the system if it is not working properly, as the flashing is performed by the robot itself. USB just transmits the data.
The battery can be tested and charged externally to see if it is excessively discharged. It is best to just try a new battery.
The critical battery error and red ring light means the battery voltage is too low for the system to operate at all. Sometimes it will still charge and move to the orange indicator state. It can take several hours to charge fully. Hardware defects will prevent any charging. The sensor for the battery voltage and current can be damaged. Excess temperature reported over USB can also indicate a problem. Defective batteries will heat up quickly, terminating charging. The charging procedure for the NIMh batteries is terminated by detecting increasing temperature as the property of this kind of battery chemistry (lithium batteries work differently).

Thanks a lot for all these notes. I've purchased a new battery set, as I also thought this was the first thing to try. I should get them today.I'll post an update here when I have a chance to test them...

I just hope it's not the motherboard/battery sensors within the robot that are broken.

As the robot used to work properly for months before getting this "critical battery" error, I guess there's no reason to see the board failing... I hope!

[sukria]

So. I change the battery set with a brand new one... Same issue: "Critical Battery Error".

So I started unmounting everything. I open the Neato entirely, looked at the battery slots, a pushed them a bit, remount everything...
And it worked.

...

Until it didn't. After a small run, the robot went again on the "Critical Battery Error". Now it seems I cannot get it working anymore, even by pushing a little the slots.

Any suggestion on what I should do/test to fix it for good.

It really looks like a weak signal somewhere, but I'm not skilled (at all) in electronics.

I would really appreciate advices...

Thanks.

[glnc222]

There are two common points of wear on the XV Molex battery connector plug.
1. The male pins in the robot are not firmly attached and depress when the plug is inserted. Check by pressing each one with screwdriver.
2. The hollow pins on the battery cable are expanded and do not grip the solid pins well. Tighten with needle nose pliers, pinching.

In the worst case the connectors can be replaced, if equipped with a soldering iron etc. Molex 03-06-2042 and related, pins separate.

I am not sure what you did to make it work. It sounds like the problem is that connector.

Wires from the battery plug go to another plug on top of the system circuit board. There are no reports of replacing this connector.

[sukria]

Thanks again for your comments. I managed (somehow) to fix my Neato.

I just unboxed it, and put as many glue tape as possible on the wires, because I realise the error popped whenever I close the box. I guess there is a point where things that should not connect do.

So, I fixed the wires on the plastic case with glue tape, making sure this protected wires from touching other wires or metallic parts.

It seemed to do the trick: my Neato worked all weekend (3 runs) and even this morning. Since this "hack", it has not shown the "Critical Battery Error" anymore...

Merci !

[glnc222]

Unusual case. Perhaps a wire was not positioned properly in clips and channels so it was pinched somewhere by the closed case.