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[richoli]

We have had Pleo for 6 months but have never had him working - We switch him on, he beeps once and groans then shuts down. The light underneath doesn't show up so not sure if there is a wiring issue. We have replaced the main battery and the timepiece battery.

Can anyone give me advice or tell me what I can do to get this repaired. Have invested a lot and no response from the manufacturer or the seller so would like to get it going as have a very disappointed son right now!

Thanks

[Talon]

Hi, Richoli! I'm so sorry it's taken so long for someone to reply to you. Things have been very slow here on the forum lately. When you first mentioned this issue, I thought it sounded like a bad clock battery but, when you mentioned the fact that your pleo groaned before shutting down kind of threw me off. Is there any way you could make a video of what your pleo is doing? Have you tried cleaning all of the contacts inside both battery compartments inside the pleo and in its foot and the little silver circles on the battery with a cue tip and some rubbing alcohol? We are here to help!
Talon

[aibo7m3]

I second that a video would be helpful, I have never seen the behavior that you describe before. One beep usually signifies that a Pleo thinks it is night time and is going to sleep, but I have never seen it used in this context before. What position does the Pleo shut off in?

If I am understanding you correctly, the light on the outside of the battery compartment never lights up at all? Neither in red nor in green? This would suggest that the Pleo is not getting any power, but it obviously is if it makes noise before shutting down. I agree that cleaning all the contacts in the Pleo and on the battery may help if the issue has a poor connection to the battery.

Did you buy the Pleo new or used? If purchased new, you should be able to get a replacement as it would still be under warranty after six months. If purchased used, depending on the site you bought from it may or may not be possible to get a refund from the seller. Did the seller advertise it as fully working?

If you are absolutely certain that the main battery is working, it may be useful to try a firmware upgrade. You can find these in the downloads section under "Pleo RB OSes," make sure to only use one of the updates intended for the RB, not the older model Pleos. You will also need a 2 GB micro SD card in order to perform any updates and upgrade instructions are available for download in the downloads section.

However, I do agree it is possible there is a wiring issue if you have replaced both batteries with new ones and the problem is still persisting. Pleo RBs do have wiring problems from time to time and they are often very hard to pinpoint and fix unfortunately.

Hope I've been of some help and good luck!

[richoli]

Thanks for the responses - I have tried to get in touch with the manufacturer and the seller (it was new) but no luck

I have made a video but not sure how to post it

[richoli]

I second that a video would be helpful, I have never seen the behavior that you describe before. One beep usually signifies that a Pleo thinks it is night time and is going to sleep, but I have never seen it used in this context before. What position does the Pleo shut off in?

If I am understanding you correctly, the light on the outside of the battery compartment never lights up at all? Neither in red nor in green? This would suggest that the Pleo is not getting any power, but it obviously is if it makes noise before shutting down. I agree that cleaning all the contacts in the Pleo and on the battery may help if the issue has a poor connection to the battery.

Did you buy the Pleo new or used? If purchased new, you should be able to get a replacement as it would still be under warranty after six months. If purchased used, depending on the site you bought from it may or may not be possible to get a refund from the seller. Did the seller advertise it as fully working?

If you are absolutely certain that the main battery is working, it may be useful to try a firmware upgrade. You can find these in the downloads section under "Pleo RB OSes," make sure to only use one of the updates intended for the RB, not the older model Pleos. You will also need a 2 GB micro SD card in order to perform any updates and upgrade instructions are available for download in the downloads section.

However, I do agree it is possible there is a wiring issue if you have replaced both batteries with new ones and the problem is still persisting. Pleo RBs do have wiring problems from time to time and they are often very hard to pinpoint and fix unfortunately.

Hope I've been of some help and good luck!

Thanks for your help.

I am a complete novice so if you are able to give me more detailed help on firmware upgrade that would be great

Thanks

[richoli]

Link to video is here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezyYMRLOcz4

[aibo7m3]

Huh, that is strange! The noise that is played when the Pleo starts up (a snore, then a beep) is the normal noise that plays when a Pleo goes to sleep because it is past its bed time as determined by the clock battery. The Pleo's mouth is also open which often happens when a clock battery is inserted incorrectly (but the noise played isn't normal for this). That could suggest some issue in how it is processing the information from the clock battery, but it is odd that the main power light never even comes on. What retailer did you buy the Pleo from? I've never had trouble returning a defective Pleo (or getting in contact with Innvo) in the past. I got a replacement for a faulty one in January this year and both Innvo and the retailer I bought the Pleo from (Robotshop) were helpful and eager to make things right.

If you really can't return the Pleo at all, you can try a firmware update. You'll need a 2 GB micro SD card, go to the downloads section on the forums, go to the Pleo RB OSes section, pick either the male or female V1 upgrade (whichever gender your Pleo is/you want it to be), unzip the files onto the micro SD card, remove your Pleo's battery and stick the micro SD card in the slot inside the battery compartment, put the battery back in the Pleo, start it up and then wait two minutes for the Pleo to finish the update. It will let you know when the update is finished if it is completed successfully. This will only fix firmware issues and cannot due anything for hardware issues though. I would also make sure 100% that your battery is working fine before trying this as running a firmware update with a bad battery can cause more problems for you. To clarify, you bought a replacement battery for the Pleo and are getting the same results with both the new and old battery?

Also, just to make sure, you have the clock battery inserted with the two little tabs on top and the one big tab below, right? If it isn't inserted completely correctly, the Pleo will not operate correctly. Here's a good guide by IMR on the forums here on how to insert the clock battery.

[Talon]

That is weird- really weird. Thanks for posting this video. With the information from Aibo7M3 about your pleo's position at shutdown as well as her description about the LED light not coming on, I am one really baffled pleo-owner. She is better at handling mechanical problems with our scaley friends than I am and could better advise you on what to try next. I know this might sound like a no-brainer but when you bought your clock battery did you make sure you matched all the letters and numbers on the original battery to be sure you bought the correct one?
Talon

[richoli]

Huh, that is strange! The noise that is played when the Pleo starts up (a snore, then a beep) is the normal noise that plays when a Pleo goes to sleep because it is past its bed time as determined by the clock battery. The Pleo's mouth is also open which often happens when a clock battery is inserted incorrectly (but the noise played isn't normal for this). That could suggest some issue in how it is processing the information from the clock battery, but it is odd that the main power light never even comes on. What retailer did you buy the Pleo from? I've never had trouble returning a defective Pleo (or getting in contact with Innvo) in the past. I got a replacement for a faulty one in January this year and both Innvo and the retailer I bought the Pleo from (Robotshop) were helpful and eager to make things right.

If you really can't return the Pleo at all, you can try a firmware update. You'll need a 2 GB micro SD card, go to the downloads section on the forums, go to the Pleo RB OSes section, pick either the male or female V1 upgrade (whichever gender your Pleo is/you want it to be), unzip the files onto the micro SD card, remove your Pleo's battery and stick the micro SD card in the slot inside the battery compartment, put the battery back in the Pleo, start it up and then wait two minutes for the Pleo to finish the update. It will let you know when the update is finished if it is completed successfully. This will only fix firmware issues and cannot due anything for hardware issues though. I would also make sure 100% that your battery is working fine before trying this as running a firmware update with a bad battery can cause more problems for you. To clarify, you bought a replacement battery for the Pleo and are getting the same results with both the new and old battery?

Also, just to make sure, you have the clock battery inserted with the two little tabs on top and the one big tab below, right? If it isn't inserted completely correctly, the Pleo will not operate correctly. Here's a good guide by IMR on the forums here on how to insert the clock battery.

We were supplied a replacement battery as the first one would only charge for a couple of minutes - When we received Pleo was working for a couple of days before we encountered this issue

Thanks

[richoli]

That is weird- really weird. Thanks for posting this video. With the information from Aibo7M3 about your pleo's position at shutdown as well as her description about the LED light not coming on, I am one really baffled pleo-owner. She is better at handling mechanical problems with our scaley friends than I am and could better advise you on what to try next. I know this might sound like a no-brainer but when you bought your clock battery did you make sure you matched all the letters and numbers on the original battery to be sure you bought the correct one?
Talon

Re: The clock battery. I think so but what letters and numbers should it have. Its also weird that the power light does not come on which is probably not related to clock battery

[kat]

I would try replacing the clock battery again just to be sure your replacement wasn't a dud.  I've had that happen before.  Also have you tried resetting the noon time?  You do this by poking a paperclip into the little hole on the foot next tot he clock battery cover.  If you do it right after turning the pleo on it should make a beep sound to let you know it has registered the change.