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Neato Project - How To Unplug The Fan Without Stopping The Neato

Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since I didnt dive into my hobby again. After having built two awesome remotely controlable robots to play with my cats when I'm away, I am now trying to retrofeed a Neato XV21 vacuum into a floor scrubbing robot, using an EZB to activate a pump that will inject the cleaning solution when the wheels are running.

I wish to deactivate the fan that generates suction in order to save battery but the program won't allow it since it sends a message saying that the fan is not running.

The fan has 4 wires : one Red and one Black, obviously for power, and one Blue and one Yellow.

I assumed the Yellow and the Blue ones are signal cables but I have no idea how to make the robot think that the fan is running. I'm considering sending a 5V low amp signal to the blue wire just in case.

If someone has any idea on how to deal with this, that would be great.

Thanks a lot,

Elfège.


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#1  

Try running the fan using the built in commands via the USB port.

In the Test mode you can run the SetMotor command to turn on the vacuum motor and how fast to run the vacuum from 1 to 100 percent. Then take measurements on the control leads to see what their values are. At that point you will possibly be able to determine how to fool the MCU into thinking the vacuum is running.

#2  

Thank you! I actually sent a 3.3v signal current bridged from the wheels signal port and so far it works.

Do you know a way to completely rewrite the firmware? This root behaves weirdly and I wish I could try flashing its firmware.

Thanks,

Elfège

#3  

Sad to say but not only is the firmware proprietary, it is also encrypted. If you attempt to use a BDM device to write new code, you will basically wind up with a $400 door stop.