After using your Roomba to clean the surrounding area of your home, the robot vacuum is supposed to go back to the charging station to regain power.
This is possible because the Roomba vacuum cleaner is automated and needs little to no supervision to clean your home.
If you notice that your Roomba vacuum is out of place or not at the charging station, it means the Roomba vacuum is dead.
But if you are stuck with the question “Why is my Roomba not charging” after your Roomba has been docked yet it’s not charging, then there are a series of things that could be wrong with your Roomba vacuum.
It could be the result of a faulty battery, a dirty contact, or the fact that it is not getting power from the power station.
While all these are easy to spot when your Roomba vacuum is not charging, there are more reasons that I will uncover in this article as I break down all the answers to “why is my Roomba not charging?”
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Why is my Roomba not Charging?
If your Roomba is not charging after being docked for a while, it’s either due to an issue with the battery or the components that work together to supply power to the Roomba have one or two issues.
These problems might not be easy to figure out immediately, as you might have to troubleshoot each of them one by one till you arrive at the problem.
And since you are here I will be going through all possible reasons why you are stuck with the question, “Why is my Roomba not charging?” and the required troubleshooting step you need to follow to resolve it.
Starting from the easiest to troubleshoot
Check the Charging Contact
The charging station and the Roomba both have charging connections (metal strips) that allow power to be transferred from the charging station to the Roomba.
They will not charge if the metal strips are not properly connected.
So if they aren’t touching themselves when nothing is in their way, It’s because of dirt.
Dirt can accumulate on any of these contact points after prolonged use, preventing the battery from retaining contact with the contact points.
If you notice these, here is how you can fix them.
Troubleshoot
Because dirty charging contacts often leave you wondering, “Why is my Roomba not charging?” You should check these first because they are simple to troubleshoot.
Here is how you can go about cleaning the contact points.
- Clean the contact points with a dry towel.
- If that doesn’t work, use a wet cloth with a little alcohol.
- If the dirt is really difficult, try a steel-wool sponge.
NB: Before cleaning your charging station’s contact points, always unplug it from the power outlet. I don’t think you want an electric shock.
Roomba’s Battery has issues
Roomba uses rechargeable Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) batteries, which work optimally until they reach the end of their shelf life.
Aside from not using batteries that have reached the end of their useful life, there are a few things you keep doing that prevent the battery from lasting longer.
One of them is exposing it to direct sunlight for an extended period, while another is putting extra effort into the battery as a result of a minor oversight, such as keeping the Roomba brush clean.
All of these factors can have an impact on battery life, causing it to behave abnormally long before it reaches its shelf life.
That being said, here is how you can fix a faulty battery.
To repair the defective battery, you must replace it.
Here’s how you can go about doing it:
- Remove the five screws while still holding the bottom cover in place.
- Remove the first four screws, followed by the last screw that holds the rotating brush in place.
- After removing the screws, you may take the lid off to access the battery. Two tabs usually hold the battery in place.
- Pull the battery out of its compartment by releasing these tabs.
- Now, replace the battery in the slot and reassemble it.
The Charging Station is Faulty
There is no way for the Roomba to charge automatically without the charging station.
However, you can charge it without the charging station. The charging station is only required to charge it automatically if the charging station is not receiving electricity or the contacts are unclean.
That being said, let’s take a look at how you can solve this issue.
Troubleshoot
It’s conceivable that a GFCI outlet has been triggered or that the charging station has tripped the circuit breaker attached to that outlet.
If that is not the case, ensure the charging station’s connector is connected to the outlet.
If the problem is not caused by a power outage, connect your Roomba directly to the outlet using its charging cord.
If you do this and see that the battery indicator on your Roomba turns on, the problem is most likely originating from the power station.
Remove the battery pull tab.
Every new Roomba vacuum has a battery-pull tab right out of the box.
This yellow tab blocks the contact points of the battery, preventing the Roomba from turning on before it is removed from the box. If you have a new Roomba, you must remove it before it begins to work.
Here is how to do that:
- Check to see if the yellow tab is still in place on your Roomba.
- Pull it out if it is.
- Your Roomba should now be operational.
Soft Reset your Roomba Vacuum.
In rare cases, charging troubles may be caused by a bug in the Roomba’s firmware, which prevents it from working properly.
While you might not be able to figure it out right away, you can try doing a soft reset on your Roomba to see if it addresses the charging problem.
Resetting your Roomba is simple; simply follow the instructions in the user manual that came with it.
Troubleshooting
If you have a model such as the S, I, or 900 Series, you can reset it by simultaneously holding the Home, Spot Clean, and Clean buttons until you see a light appear around the Clean button.
Now, let it go.
Additionally, if you own a 600 or 800-series Roomba, the process is similar since you have to press the same buttons until you hear the vacuum beep.
Move the Charging Station
Another easy solution to the question “Why is my Roomba not charging?” is to relocate the charging station to a different power outlet.
All you have to do is relocate the plug to a different wall outlet.
Dirty Caster Wheel
The small caster wheel is located directly in front of your Roomba.
These wheels’ role is to keep the Roomba properly upright.
So why am I bringing this up? The Roomba vacuum collects dirt, and it is practically possible for it to become clogged inside the caster wheel well.
While these measures may be avoided by performing periodic maintenance on the Roomba vacuum, if extra junk gets in there, it might result in the wheel being pushed further out of its housing than usual.
It may also keep the Roomba from contacting the charging contact.
Troubleshoot
All you have to do to solve this is remove and clean the caster wheel.
Here is how to do that:
Remove the stem that connects the caster wheel to the Roomba to gain access to the caster wheel.
Once the caster wheel has been removed, clean any debris or grime from it.
Extreme Temperature condition
If you leave your Roomba batteries in an area where the temperature is severe, either too hot or too cold, your Roomba will show an error code.
Error code 8 is one of the errors you may encounter.
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Troubleshooting
All you have to do here is ensure the Roomba is placed in a room temperature condition while charging it to avoid these error scenarios or to stop it from charging.
Contact iRobot Customer Support.
If you’ve done everything on this list and you’re still wondering, “Why is my Roomba not charging?” you’re definitely dealing with a significant hardware issue with the charging station.
And you might not be able to solve everything on your own.
If this is the case, you should contact iRobot’s customer service for assistance.
Conclusion
By now you should have been able to figure out the answer to “why is my Roomba not charging?” If any of the troubleshooting steps have worked for you, or if you have tried any of the above steps before, feel free to tell us how it went to get it working again.