Only stays on if holding on button?

[evblazer]

I've been using my 3510 occasionally in small areas this year after 2 years on a shelf charging once a month. I put it away a couple weeks ago for some storms and today it will only stay on if I hold the on button. It sounds like a relay switches on/off when I hold/release the start button. The screen goes blank but it appears the leds blink every few seconds.
The 3510 also makes a high pitched noise in the charger. If I turn it on and hold the on button while in the charger it does not say charging just sits on pause. . 29+ volts at the charger the battery is at a little over 27.

Not sure if this is a sign that the battery is out or if there might be another issue someone has seen before? Upgraded to a 3500 in September 2009 (barely used till 2010 season) and after <500 hours use upgraded to 3510 in June 2010  and doesn't have that many hours <400 since I stopped using it in the beginning of 2011.

[toolbelt]

If the battery is showing 27 volts then it must be working.  Something else is wrong.  To confirm, remove the battery connector wires and then check the battery voltage.

The squealing could be a hung up motor.  If possible with the cover off, Blade removed!!!!!, The bot sitting on blocks so it can't go anywhere, try removing the motor connector to one motor at a time.

While you have the connector off the motor, check the voltage at the connector.

Check for a fuse that may have blown.

[evblazer]

Thank you it was not the battery it was ok as you said. It is fixed now but I'm not entirely sure what was the issue.
After checking a few things I checked continuity between the plug into the motherboard and the charging nuts. One beeped right away the other was hard to get a beep. I pulled off both and cleaned off the post threads and the inside of the nut threads the best I could and put them back and on continuity was much easier to get. A few days ago I noticed alot of crusty stuff around one and had unscrewed it and just wiped off the green surface and then screwed it back up perhaps mucking that connection up.
It seemed now the squealing went away in the charger but it did not solve the problem with the bot staying on when I released the on button. This go around if I had it in the charger instead of the bot going to pause it went to charging but would click off immediately on release of the on button. I decided to leave the bot in the charger and go do other things.
I just went out to try some more stuff and what ended up working is holding the on button while keeping it in the air and going through the whole boot-up, synch, blade motor startup and the return to charger. Once it wanted to go forward with the blade motor on I put it on the ground and let go of the on button it stayed on. It then went forward and found the wire in it's little play pen and followed it home. Once in the charging station it stayed there and the screen stayed alternating charging and the other thing(s) it scrolls through. It seems it got stuck in a loop or something mechanically stuck and only going into mowing mode let it escape or unsomething whatever was causing it to shut off when I let go of the on button. For now it works though.
I'll try it for a few more days and if it keeps working I may buy some real underground wire and yank what is left in the yard since it is so wripped up by the bot and my tractor ripping it up. In addition to burying the wire this time I'm going to put some plastic chicken wire on top to hopefully combat the trenching of years past.

[evblazer]

It seems I still have a problem.
Went out this morning the screen was blank. I hit the on button and it did stay on without holding it but somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes the screen went off. I was able to turn it back on and sent it out but when returning to the charger since it wasn't mowing time it drove right through and hit the wall and I got a bump error (bump02 but perhaps I didn't read it correctly I always saw bump03) and it wouldn't reset just kept beeping. I decided to just leave it and go to work since I was already late and I didn't have the screwdrive on me to get to the plug. I really need to add a physical weatherproof toggle switch on the battery wire which is accessable from the outside.
All fuses have been replaced, all plugs reseated and the motors all work fine until it all decides to shut off.

[evblazer]

Replacing the button panel in the rear did the trick. Chopper has been happily mowing his 100 square feet without incident for a few days now. I've been hoping to be able to find good wire but I've completely given up on getting wire locally, or spark plugs for my tractor or a battery for it too. At least I can order chopper's stuff from paradise robotics along with a new blade to replace the rusty one. There is a bit of rust on it since I probably didn't clean it off a couple years ago when I shelved it.

[toolbelt]

Glad things are working for you.  The wire Robotlady sells is good stuff, ain't cheap, but you don't want the cheap stuff.

As far as the rust on the blade, just take some sand paper to it.  Clamp the blade to a piece of scrap wood on the work bench and use a belt sander to clean the rust off.  You could use just a piece of sandpaper but it takes a tad longer.  I just use a bastard file to put and edge on the blades.  A squirt of BD-40 helps too....

Before I clean my blades I soak them for a few minutes then use a putty knife to scrape the caked on grass.  Once that is off then I use the sand paper.  Come out looking like new blades.