Roomba not charging
Start by cleaning the charging contacts and reseating the battery. Neither needs new parts.
Work through these steps
- New robot or new battery? Put it on the Home Base first to wake the battery.
- Check the Home Base has power. Its light comes on for about 4 seconds when the robot docks, then turns off while charging continues.
- Clean the charging contacts: unplug the base, wait 60 seconds, and rub the contacts on the robot and base with a lightly dampened melamine sponge until they shine.
- Clear the brushes and caster so the robot can sit squarely on the dock.
- Remove the battery and refit it. This reboots the robot and clears errors; you don't need to wait between.
- Still no lights? Contact iRobot with the serial number and proof of purchase.
A red light on the robot is normal when the battery is too low to start.
Charging error numbers
| Charging error | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Battery not detected: remove and refit it |
| 2 | Over-current: confirm the battery is genuine iRobot and check for liquid damage |
| 4, 5, 21 | Clean the charging contacts |
| 6, 7 | Battery too warm or too cold: let the robot reach room temperature |
| 8, 17 | Battery can't communicate or may not be genuine: reseat it |
| 9, 11 | Battery failure: the battery may need replacing |
| 19 | Charge timeout: reseat the battery and clean the contacts |
| 20 | Remove the battery for 15 minutes, then refit it |
If the battery needs replacing
iRobot treats the battery as an owner-replaceable part: an edge brush screw and five Phillips screws on the bottom cover. Use only a genuine iRobot battery; iRobot says aftermarket packs can trigger charging errors and void the warranty. Steps are on the Roomba i-series page.