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[Jamie Clay]

I've got a classic that was sitting in storage for a while (battery out).  When I start him up, he runs for brief spells then just freezes.  There is no consistent duration to how long he runs, for example if I make him do the Kermit "Not easy being green" skit, he'll get to the second verse and usually stop within a word of two of any attempt.

The battery tests well on my meter - it seems to have a good solid charge.

I've updated to the last rev of the Firmware.

It feels like it's crashing - I suppose the battery has some sort of problem that only fails under load.

Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

[Teddscau]

Okay, I know very little about these sort of issues so I probably won't be able to diagnose, but I'll ask you the typical questions the "experts" on here ask. As you said he "freezes" and you think that he "crashes". When this happens, does he actually turn off, or is it that his motors for some reason quit doing their job? I assume he isn't overheating at all? If that's the case, it's a mechanical issue (perhaps). It could possibly be a software issue or OS issue or something like that. I don't know, I'm just thinking aloud. Oh, you mentioned the battery might be fussing. If so, you should try cleaning the battery terminals with a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. Often times that can correct issues. I'm not exactly clear on how to do that, but you can search "alcohol" with the search engine on here. It's definitely promising that Kermit's running skits, even for a brief amount of time.

Here's a quote from kat about a similar topic (hope you don't mind kat!)

I would see if you can get him to run a skit.  If he runs a skit then I think his issue isn't mechanical and is more likely to be either an OS issue or a battery issue. 

I'm leaning more towards the battery angle for now. Hopefully cleaning the terminals will fix the issue.

[Talon]

Hello and welcome to the forums! More than likely this is a battery issue. Are you still using the original green Ugobe batttery? They permenantly die if they sit around for too long. You might get about five minutes out of them but they can't hold a full charge anymore. I hope nothing went wrong while updating the software while you were using this battery. Anyway if you're interested, RedwoodsMama here on the forums sells a white egg charger and battery that will give your Ugobe about a two hour run time. I have two of them for my Ugobes and they're still going strong after nearly two years. Good luck and we'll do whatever we can to help you figure out what's going on.
Talon

[Jamie Clay]

I may make a temporary battery using AAs to see if that changes anything but before that I think I'll try and get a couple of leads off the battery and monitor the voltage as he operates.  When he fails and I test the battery, it says it has 7.5 volts.

The OS update completes - it say "done" then he starts to move about.  Right now, because his personality is wiped he wants to sleep. But he doesn't wake from the sleep.

[RedwoodsMama]

Hi and welcome to the forums. Talon is right, most likley it is the green battery . I am RedwoodsMama and if you decide you do want a egg charger and white battery, let me know as I sell them here on the forums. I do not know if you have ever tried Dino mite, but if you download Dino mite, ( should be here on the forums in downloads section or you can find it on the internet under that name, Dino Mite. ) it when hooked up to your Pleo will tell you the condition of your pleo and if it is your battery, even if it shows voltage or power, it will tell you if your battery is dead or not. I have not used it in a long time and have it on my old computer, running Windows XP. I have a hard time running it on Windows 7, but there are other members here who can tell you how to run it if you have that version of Windows. You just need to use your USB cable and plug it into the computer and it will recognize Pleo and tell you the condition.

                 Good luck with your batttery.         RWM   

[InmemoryofRomeo]

It is most likely the battery, no matter what reading you are getting Pleo's seem to be really sensitive to their batteries.

However since you updated on a bung battery we can't rule out software. But a new battery would be my first port of call.

[Jamie Clay]

I hooked up a good solid 7.2 volts to the Pleo and it still behaves the same way.  Tried all the different OSs even.  It doesn't seem to install 1.0, but all the others give me a 'done' response.

I have to think something is bricked inside, that once it starts to draw power to the motors it kills the cpu.  It'll boot, but stop almost immediately one second into any movement. 

So, I'm going to post it on eBay for parts.  The skin is a mess, pretty tattered.  I wish I could say that was from play, but it was from sitting unused.

[DarkStar2k]

The problem may be the battery temp sensor. See my post on Pleo troubleshooting.

Darkstar2k

[Jamie Clay]

Just did - sounds like a worthy hack to try - so let me know once you've uploaded it!  Thanks!

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Pleo's are really, really sensitive to their batteries. The vast majority of 'broken' Pleo's in fact just have broken batteries. Members here have bought 'bricked' Pleo's only to find that they merely needed a new one.

However if you are going to sell for parts I'd say a few here would be interested.

[Jamie Clay]

Well, the battery I hooked it up to is a 3000mah 7.2 battery I use for RC airplanes.  I made "jumper cables" to connect it and for the most part it behaves as it did all along.

I monitored the voltage and where it would drop when using the standard Pleo battery I have, it's rock solid with the jumper.

If after doing the temp sensor bypass script, it still behaves the same - then I'll be selling it for sure and will alert folks here as I'm sure this is where it'll find the best home.

Thanks!

[Jamie Clay]

  DarkStar2k's work around script solved my Pleo's problems.  

And in celebration, he sang for me.  

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YGlAUe3Fw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YGlAUe3Fw</a>

In this video you'll see my poor tattered boy (his flesh is just coming apart) and the wires I clipped to him to give him life for this test. I may still have to replace the battery but now that I've solved this one hiccup, I can get a better idea as to how badly the battery I have performs.

Thanks for all the help - you folks are awesome!

[kat]

I'm so glad that someone was able to help    Your poor little fellow is in a bad way as far as his skin goes.  Does he run normally now as well as being able to perform skits?

[Jamie Clay]

As witnessed by the above Youtube linked video, yes!  I'm going to try some other skits now.

BTW - I tried a number of ways to make the YouTube link option work - is there some special trick to it or is it just broken?

[InmemoryofRomeo]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YGlAUe3Fw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YGlAUe3Fw</a>

I've had links play up before too, seems to be the www. that messes with it.

[Jamie Clay]

I see - it needs the HTTP:\\ in front of the www. to work and to make sure it's NOT HTTPS:\\ !  Cool beans.

So I do have another non-related question do people say Pleo as PLAY-OH or PLEA-OH?    I've always said Play-oh but a video I watched the other day, the guy was saying Plea-oh.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

The majority around here say Plee-oh I believe, but the official videos pronounce it as Play-oh Mine have always been Plee-ohs.