Troubleshooting Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Problems

A robotic vacuum cleaner can be a great help around the house. However, as a robot is a mechanical device, functionality issues may arise as time goes on. Your once reliable robot friend may stop moving, go sideways, or just not operate correctly. Most of these issues are simple things you can locate and fix yourself, as with any normal vacuum cleaner. A little time and effort can get your little buddy up and running again in no time.

Check Your Belts and the Drive System

The first thing you would want to check on your robotic vacuum cleaner when it's not functioning properly is the drive belt. You want to look for the brush belt and the driveline that moves the unit. If these are broken or worn, you may have to replace them for the unit to function properly again. These parts can generally be ordered through the manufacturer of your particular unit. The belt can range in price depending on the quality of your particular model.

Check the Units Battery Supply

Another thing that can go bad on a robotic vacuum cleaner is the rechargeable battery unit. This can easily be removed and replaced without much fuss. You will want to make sure you are ordering the correct battery charging pack from the manufacturer, unless the unit simply runs on replaceable AA or AAA batteries. Many times we don't realize how long a unit has run on the batteries, and this is generally the reason our devices stop working.

Reset the Electronic Brain

If you have checked the belts and the battery, and all seems to be in working order on your robotic vacuum cleaner, it could very well be the system itself. You can check this easily by doing what is called a reset. Simply disconnect all power (including battery's) from the unit, and set them aside. Once this is done, hold down the power button on the unit for 30 seconds to one minute. What this is doing is resetting the data stored on its onboard memory, which will clean out any garbled data or code that might be interrupting its functionality.

Once you are finished, replace the power and batteries in your robotic vacuum cleaner and turn it on. If it is a programmable unit, you will need to reprogram the perimeters that you previously set, as the reset will have deleted the data back to factory specifications.

Check the Drive Motor

The last thing that could be causing issues with your robotic vacuum cleaner could be the drive motor. In some units, this motor is replaceable and can be ordered from the manufacturer. You can also find good guides on how to do the repair from their website. In many cases, there are videos that will teach you what you need to do to replace the part, which in many situations only involves removing some wires and screws and simply taking the old part out.