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[kitten]

Hi all,

So after a strange turn of events, I have what appears to be a very old Pleo. The person who gave it to me knows nothing about it - it was left behind by a room mate who moved overseas.
It's a Ugobe Pleo, with some very worn skin thats splitting around the neck, but doesn't seem to be seriously damaged anywhere. I have all the accessories - the leaf, the id card, charger - but the battery won't charge, so I can't turn Pleo on. It's possible it has other issues, but I can't tell.

I know practically nothing about Pleos - how they work, or what I'm supposed to do with it, I don't know the poor thing's name either. But I kinda like the idea of trying to bring it back to life and maybe get to know it. Am I wasting my time with what is probably a dead Pleo? Any advice?

Thanks
Kit

[RedwoodsMama]

Hi Kitten and welcome to the fourms, It is great that you were left a Pleo, Ugobes are very sweet Pleos, but it is true that most of the original batteries, which are green are all dead. There is a way to POSSINLY recharge the dead battery and bring it back to life or some life, but I think it is IMR or Kat who have that information. The best new battery is the Egg charger and battery that have mysteriously vanished from the site, ( I sold them for a few years and I can't even get them from the source.. ) so your best bet would be to try and recharge the battery.

          As for the skin, it is mostly cosmetic and clothes can help cover any spits or bad skin areas. Photos would be nice and we always love new pleos, any idea for a name yet? Hang in there and soon you may have a working pleo.            RWM 

[Echo538]

I am sorry to hear about your Pleo's condition. It is sad when someone neglects anything, even a pleo. I got a Furby baby once from Ebay. Eager to get it working I put in the batteries and found that it started smoking and was a dud.

I hope Echo is in better condition.

Would you think i'm selfish for talking about my echo here being in better condition when yours isn't even charging? If you bought it from Ebay, they don't usually give you something other than what the seller says, at least in my experience. The furby baby wasn't moving and was from 1999, but the  reason was because it was old and had fried circuits. If echo has been slightly used, I hope it's only slightly.

I could truthfully really use some encouragement. I said before that I have battled depression and anxiety hence worrying too much. I'm on another chat site for that so will leave it out of this conversation, but echo is really all I hope for right now and I can't wait to see him. With so much going on in my life that has negatively affected me, I hope he will bring me some happiness and joy.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

When you say the battery won't charge, what exactly is happening? Are any of the lights coming on? Is it flashing red? Is it turning green immediately?

If there's no lights: it's likely the adapter is fried (the black box), you can buy another from any good computer/electrical store, but ask if you can test it in store before you buy in case it's the green cradle that's gone (see below).

If the light is flashing red: grab some rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and clean the silver terminals on the charger, battery and inside the Pleo (little springs).

If the light is going green immediately: take it off charge, and put it back on, keep repeating as many times as you can until you are bored out of your brain or at least an hour has gone past Then try it in Pleo.

If none of the above helps but you are getting lights on the charger: the battery is absolutely dead beyond repair And you would have to risk buying a new one.

If the charger is absolutely, completely, and utterly dead even with a new adapter: Again you'll have to decide if it's worth buying a new one.

It is more likely to be a battery problem than a Pleo one, but we certainly can't rule that out.

[Piggy]

Hi welcome  with all the tips they gave you , can think of more you can try I hope you can revive your pleo, they
 are great Especially the Ugobe .

[kitten]

Hi everyone,

Situation with the battery is that when it goes into the charger it flashes red. I've tried cleaning the contacts but it hasn't helped.

I read a guide online on how to make your own pleo battery out of a bunch of rechargeable AAs, which might be a cheap way to see if the pleo works at all. Has anyone had any luck making batteries? Do home made ones work?

Thanks all

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Unless you know how to work with thermistors, and have a voltage meter lying around, then no, don't do it.

Is the battery properly seated? Can you hear two clicks as you push battery on? Try setting some weight on top of the battery to hold it down, and try reseating a few times to see if you can get it to register.

[kat]

Yes flashing red means the battery is not seated correctly in the charger.  Although it could also be an issue with the power cable that connects the charger to the wall.  I had to buy a new cable for one of my chargers and while I got one from the electronics store that had all the right specifications, whenever I used it I could not get the battery to charge as it would flash red no matter what I did.  I ended up buying another power cable, a different brand one, and now the charger works great every time.  So it might be worth trying a different power cable to see if you get a better result.
Also when you cleaned the contacts on the battery did you also clean the contacts on the charger?  This may also help.