Roombas can’t talk like us humans, so they use other ways, like indicator lights, to tell us what’s going on, going wrong or just whatever they’re feeling.
Here, we’ll take a look at some common questions regarding indicator lights, what they mean and what to do about them.
[1] What lights does a 500 and 600 series Roomba display when it is charging?
Roomba is incredibly smart when it comes to conserving energy.
That’s why you won’t see any lights on display on the Home Base when their 500 and 600 series models are charging.
When your Roomba first docks for charging, there’s a green indicator light on the Home Base that will illuminate green for about four seconds before going out.
This is just to show you that the Home Base knows that the Roomba is there and that it did start charging. Cool, right?
On some 500 and 600 series models, a red or amber light will flash while charging.
This will turn a solid green when it’s fully charged.
[2] What lights does an 800 and 900 series Roomba display when it is charging?
The Roomba 800 series doesn’t display any lights while it’s charging.
This is to conserve energy, ensuring that all the much-needed power goes into the battery, not the lights, giving you a faster charge and longer cleaning cycle.
The same is true for the Roomba 900 series, except when it goes back for a quick charge in the middle of a cleaning session.
If this is the case, the “Clean” button and the battery indicator will flash while your Roomba 900 series is charging.
You can also see your Robo pet’s charging status on the iRobot HOME app. Nice!
[3] What does a red flashing light mean on a 500 and 600 series model?
Roombas can’t talk, so they use other ways to communicate with you. Kind of like babies or cats – sort of.
If your Roomba displays a red flashing light, it probably needs to charge, since the battery is discharged. It will only be a few minutes before even the red flashing light goes out for lack of juice.
While your Roomba is charging, it should have a flashing red or amber light to indicate that it is indeed busy loading up on some juice. Once the battery is fully charged, the red flashing light should turn a solid green.
[4] What does a red flashing light mean on a 700, 800 and 900 series model?
If your 700, 800 or 900 series Roomba has a flashing red light, it’s a cry for help. Seriously.
The poor thing’s battery is too empty to start cleaning, so you should place it on charge to feed it.
While charging, that red flashing light will become an amber flashing light until it’s fully charged, whereupon it will turn a solid green.
[5] What does a red flashing light during charging mean?
Roombas are excellent non-verbal communicators.
If yours has a flashing red light during charging, it means that it’s happily sucking up all the energy it needs to go for another sprint around your home.
It’s a perfectly normal indicator that it’s properly charging.
[6] How do I check that the home base is working properly?
First off, when you plug your Roomba Home Base into the power supply, a little green light on the Home Base should pulse to show that it’s connected properly.
When your Roomba docks for charging, this light will either turn solid green or turn off completely after a few seconds, depending on the model.
The most common complaint seems to be that the Roomba isn’t charging properly when it’s connected to the Home Base.
Here, you can usually figure out whether it’s the Home Base or the Roomba that has the problem by plugging a separate charging cable directly into the Roomba’s charging port.
If it charges, your Home Base has a problem or the connection pads between the Roomba and the Home Base are dirty. Giving them a good wipe should fix this problem.
If your Roomba won’t dock, there are many possible causes, of which few are actually related to the Home Base.
Check the cables for any form of damage to rule this out. If your cables are in good condition and your Home Base is placed away from any obstacles, it’s probably something else preventing your robo pet from getting home.
Lastly, the Roomba Home Base has some system diagnostic checks that you can run. In order to access these, you should take a look at the manual, since the procedure differs between models.
Here, the Roomba will check itself out, testing all the major functions and letting you know whether it can pick up any internal errors. Now that’s smart.
[7] Why won’t my battery hold a charge?
Batteries get tired, just like humans.
So, if your battery isn’t holding a charge, it probably needs a holiday. Lucky for us, that doesn’t mean actually going away.
You simply need to reset the battery and give it a deep charge.
This isn’t as complicated as it sounds, but does differ slightly between models. Here’s the basic idea:
In order to initiate the deep charge cycle, you need to make sure that your Roomba’s battery is completely drained.
So, let it run until it passes out.
Then remove the battery from the unit and hold in the power/clean button for a few seconds.
This sounds weird, but is actually pretty smart, since you will remove any latent charge left behind in the system. Neat!
Now, you’re ready for the deep charge.
Replace the battery and charge your Roomba directly from the wall socket, not through the Home Base, for at least 16 hours.
After this, let it run until completely empty. Some people recommend doing this a few times, others say that you can return to normal straight away.
Either way, it’s a good idea to let your Roomba charge fully, after which you let it run until completely drained, regularly, since this protects the battery life.
If a deep charge cycle doesn’t sort out your battery issues, there may be something else sucking the life out of your little robotic pet.
It could be that you just need to buy a new battery from Roomba and finally give up on that cheaper third party battery that yo have been trying to use- the dreaded charging error 8 message.
And if you do ending up buying new then read this guide on how long a new battery needs to be charged for.
Or that your Roomba or its homebase is so dirty that the battery can’t make a proper connection.
We recommend getting it checked out for other errors.
