Automatic Litterbox Central

I hope I am not repeating someone...I have been reading posts for a while and can't find this info...

On Friday evening I took apart my LR to clean it. When I put it back together & plugged it in, it started to run, but then stopped with 3 lights blinking. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and nothing happened! I have had the problem before--I unplug it to clean it, when I plug it back in, it won't come on. Usually if I keep it plugged in it will start to run after a while, but this has been since Friday and it still won't ever come on.

I have emailed LR and haven't got a response and I was hoping to get this going again. Its hard work turning it manually for 6 cats!

Hope someone can help me out!!

Oh wow, I've not heard of this kind of problem before, I hope you get some answers soon. +++++++++++++

thecatspyjamas wrote:I have had the problem before--I unplug it to clean it, when I plug it back in, it won't come on. Usually if I keep it plugged in it will start to run after a while, but this has been since Friday and it still won't ever come on.

This is usually because moisture has gotten into the circuit board or the motor and shorted something out. If you're lucky, the water will evaporate and the LR will come back to life. If you're unlucky, it will fry something on the circuit board (most likely the surfaced-mounted fuse) and it will need to be replaced. How do I know? The same reason I bought two extra circuit boards.

They recommend that you clean the base with a damp cloth so water won't get into any of the exposed parts under it. It's also a good idea to just leave the thing unplugged for several hours after cleaning to make sure that any water that got into places it shouldn't have has evaporated.

I had the same problem! before I found this forum. It finally stopped working and I had to send it in for repairs. I'd contacted LR months ago about the problem.

When I sent it in, I included a note and sent Customer Service an email the day they received the LR. I didn't get any reply from Customer Service so I sent a F/U after 2 weeks. They replied to that pretty quickly but it was about 2 more weeks before they were able to give me an estimate for repairs.

I wonder if they are swamped with problems and repairs?

I'm becoming disillusioned with LR. After reading through this thread, I realize I was having problems with the circuit board & moisture from the drawer contents in my old LR, and that was before it was out of warranty. I didn't realize what the problem was so I never tried to get it repaired then. Now, it will cost about $163.00 (including shipping there & back) to get it fixed.

Inky wrote:I'm becoming disillusioned with LR. After reading through this thread, I realize I was having problems with the circuit board & moisture from the drawer contents in my old LR, and that was before it was out of warranty.

How can moisture from the drawer affect the circuit board?

Ummm, I don't know....but I had problems with 3 lights blinking and then it didn't work. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and ususally, that would "fix it". Then, one time, nothing happened! I aslo had a problem off and on with partial cycling or it stopping at the wrong place.

The reason I thought it was moisture from the clumps in the drawer since I never used anything wet to clean inside the base. However, I would find some tiny bits of litter that had escaped the drawer from time to time. gotten under the tape holding wires, etc., along the side under the rim on the right if you are facing the LR, and the tape seemed to be coming loose for a long time. I couldn't think of where else the moisture would be coming from.

And, as a result, if you remember my "To be repaired or not to be", everything went kaput. I'm disillusioned with LR.

My dream was to have 2 working units so I could stop using a regular litter box as a back-up but now I'm thinking of trying a newer model Litter Maid or something.

Wow - I AM REALLY GLAD I never bought one of these things. I came very close at one point, but decided against it because of the price and size. I hope all of you get these problems sorted out!

Inky wrote:The reason I thought it was moisture from the clumps in the drawer since I never used anything wet to clean inside the base. However, I would find some tiny bits of litter that had escaped the drawer from time to time. gotten under the tape holding wires, etc., along the side under the rim on the right if you are facing the LR, and the tape seemed to be coming loose for a long time. I couldn't think of where else the moisture would be coming from.

The circuit board is actually behind the buttons and fairly well protected. The best way to ruin it is to get some moisture into the motor which will blow the fuse on it.

Did you see what three blinking lights means in the manual?

shfwilf wrote:Wow - I AM REALLY GLAD I never bought one of these things. I came very close at one point, but decided against it because of the price and size.

I thought that was because you became a beta tester for another product.

No, I became a beta tester for another product long after I decided to not buy a Litter Robot, so these things were unrelated.

Prior to that, I had no idea there would ever even be another product. I was using a dying Litterfree, had no idea what (if anything) would ultimately become available, and was looking for a solution to the problem. I used an Omega Paws for a long time prior to the Catgenie becoming available.

I am sure that the Litter Robot is a great product, but it seems like a bit of "fine-tuning" is needed, just like it is for virtually all consumer products.

Yes, it's a great product and some people need to make adjustments to get it work properly. Once you understand how it works and make the adjustments, it's extremely reliable.

But you're "REALLY GLAD" you never bought one of them. Why are you really glad you didn't buy a great product?

I'm just one of those lazy people who doesn't like lugging bags of litter around...

3 lights blinking fast (2 blinks per second) means the motor has jammed somehow, or the clean cycle has been interrupted more than 5 times via the cat sensor.

3 lights blinking slow (1 blink per second) means that the globe cannot find the home position. The LR uses magnets and a special sensor that detects the magnets' presence to determine where to stop etc. It is possible that during the cleaning of the base the position sensor got wet and is not working properly. It is also possbile that one of the magnet sets came loose in the globe - possibly if the globe was dropped or shocked somehow.

No power at all could mean that it got too wet and something shorted out. Incidentally, we still cover this under our warranty.

If you're having trouble getting through to customer service, don't hesitate to contact me directly at mailto:bbaxter@litter-robot.com. Thanks.