Hello,

Well, this is a new one! It sounds as though the initialization process has gone haywire. I would suggest you check the connections, particularly those to the right leg motor, and to the head motor. Both of these are "checked" during start-up. The fact that it works during app usage, but not autonomously,seems to further indicate a failure during boot-up.

Have any other R2-D2 builders encountered this? Lets see what the hive mind has to offer as well.

OK, I've pulled and reconnected every cable involved with the head. I still does not perform the 180 degree spin on power up. I've also tested every function using the smartphone app and noticed that "shake head" does not work. I can still spin the head using the app, so the motor seems fine. I have seen the head move a bit on it's own during patrol mode, but it only is an occasional twitch. Any ideas? I'm scheduled to give R2D2 to my grandson for his 5th birthday in 5 days, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks...Pete

Thanks Mark, I'll give that a try. Do you know which cable is used for startup? I recall there is a red and a white cable connection to the motherboard. Just trying prioritize. I wish model-space furnished a schematic or a diagnostic app. I'll try this morning and let you know how things turn out. Thanks again.

Pete

OK, Hi All, some interesting developments and clues.

After reading lots of other posts (to be honest, I got much better access to forum posts using a google search), one post had an interesting comment. The person described a function not working , but when he plugged R2D2 into the charger and powered up, that function worked! I tried that today and when I pushed bottom power switch, then the on/off switch, R2D2 performed the 180 degree head test. Interestingly, it did not perform the forward lurch from the right leg motor.

Another point, R2D2 will not pair with phone app while on the charger. I have to be honest here, I have not checked the documentation to see if this is normal. I've been in computers for over 42 years and we're notorious for not reading the bloody manual .

When I disconnect the charger (and the head "boot" has completed), I am able to wifi pair the phone app and now the shake head function works.

So I've seen that every R2D2 function works, except functionality seems to change based on whether I'm using the charger, or not, or a sequence of the two.

Now, having said that, after reading all the posts, there is a common thread from the experts and they concern the batteries. All the responses suggest checking the batteries with most customers responding with something like "but almost everything works, it obviously has power, so why do I have to check the batteries...there must be something else wrong...circuit board, motor, etc:.

So, here's my battery history:

I purchased 6 Samsung 30Q 18650 3000mAh 15 A button top batteries from the 18650batterystore.com

I put them into the battery pack and charged them with the R2D2 charger. To be honest, I didn't know, what I eventually learned was the individual battery charger , was when I received it with issue 100. I looked at it and thought it was a phone cradle, because of the USB cable. I don't recall seeing any documentation on this charger.

As my thread stated earlier, the 180 degree test originally worked. When it stopped, I did pull the batteries and checked each of them with a multi-meter and the checked out as charges.

I've since read that people have been advised to charge the batteries singly and use the Model-space charger. My plan is to pull the battery pack tonight and check each battery individually.

So, the question is, since I have a fully functioning R2D2, but under different power options, do I have a power issue, and what do I do to resolve it?

I want to thank the experts for their timely responses and advice.

Cheers...Pete

I've been a software engineer for over 30 years. It's the same with code. Sometimes applications just heal themselves for no traceable reason at all. We'd have users ask "what happened?", our standard answer was "gamma rays hitting the chips."