csberry

I ran my Scooba yesterday in the kitchen while exercising in the bedroom. When I was done, I heard the Scooba shut off in the kitchen. I walked in and the floor was drier than it should have been. I noticed that the red light by the power button was on. So, it seemed that the battery ran out before the cycle was done...but still there should have been some water down.

I run through all the steps needed to check for pump problems and put the battery into the charger. After the charger says the battery is back up to full, I reassemble the Scooba to do another swipe at the kitchen floor. It won't start. I run through my troubleshooting checklist and call up customer support. The rep and I basically run through everything and then decide that maybe the battery needed a full 16-hour refresh charge because the system was convinced that there wasn't water in the tank, juice in the battery, or something else the computer/robot does when it does its diagnostics before working.

After doing my Tyra post, I walk into the kitchen to do the Scooba. I have the same problem as what I had at the end of the phone call yesterday - the power comes on, I press the clean button, it blinks a few times, and then it flashes a blue "Check Tank" light. Soon, I'm back on the phone with IRobot's support personnel. I let her read the summary of yesterday's call and tell her all the steps I took today. Then the following happens:

IRobot Chick: Okay, I have one last suggestion for you.

Me: Lemme have it.

IRobot Chick: You have to try not to laugh when I tell you what to do.

Me (curious): Okay...

IRobot Chick: Try not to laugh...I need for you to remove the battery and tank from the robot.

Me: Okay...

IRobot Chick: Again, try not to laugh...Do you have a hard surface nearby? I need for you to pick up the robot, don't laugh, and hit it 10-15 times against the surface. You need to hit the side where the pump is. There may be something in there that you dislodged earlier while blowing water through, but it's still in position to hamper the flow of water.

Me: *bangs robot against the "half-wall" between our kitchen and computer room 12 times* Alright, I slapped the lil bugger around a bit.

IRobot Chick: Now put it together and see if it works for you now.

YUP! The damned thing started right up and was putting down water, too. I guess it needed the old Fonzi treatment.

She did say that if I have the same problem again and none of the steps work, they will send me a new robot. *whew*