Harmony Remotes

[Squirrelsb]

Hey guys, my 890 Harmony is no longer charging.  After doing the troubleshooting tips, I'm reasonably sure its the cradle.  I cant seem to get ahold (either by email or phone support) Logitech Support, so do you guys have a contact email I can use to get this resolved? 

Thanks and I'd be greatful for any help you folks can provide.

S-

Here's the answers:

1. Provide the PID numbers for the REMOTE and CHARGER.
Found on the inside of the battery compartment under the battery, and on the bottom side of the charger. Each PID number begins with 2 letters (LZ, or WD)
ANSWER:  (Will provide to TS)

2. Is the AC cord plugged in, and the blue LED on the cradle on?
ANSWER:  YES

3. Is there corrosion or foreign material on the contacts of either the remote or the charger?
ANSWER:  NO

4. Are the connecting pins inside the remote in good condition, or are some bent or broken?
ANSWER:  YES

5. Is there extra space inside the battery compartment that causes the battery to come loose from the pins that it connects to?
ANSWER: NO

6. With the battery out of the remote and it placed on the charger, will it turn on and go into testing?
ANSWER: YES

7. Placed onto the charging cradle does the remote show that it is charging? Does downward pressure on the remote help?
ANSWER: Initially, then No.  If I leave it, the battery will drain completely in the charger.  If I press down, it goes into charge mode and then stops once I remove my hand.

8. With the battery in the remote, and remote plugged into the USB cable connected to a computer. Does it light up? What does the battery indicator show?
ANSWER:  USB Connected.  I cant tell if its charging or not?
Please provide us with the following information as well.

Harmony LoginID
First name, Last Name  TBD
Email Address  sbessette67@gmail.com

Phone Number
Address
City
State/Province
Zip/Postal Code
Country
(no P.O. Boxes please) 

[rhachey]

You can buy a charging cradle on the Logitech website for $10.00  As far as answering any of those points, we are all users like yourself, you need to contact Logitech support directly

Message Edited by rhachey on 09-07-2009 12:45 PM

[Squirrelsb]

But why should I have to buy a new cradle, when the problem is clearly a defect in the design?

[rhachey]

I'm just giving you an option, if it is still under warranty, contact Harmony support.

[EasyLife]

I am on my 4th Harmony 890 in less than two years.  In fact Logitech replaced all four but mine stopped charging again and they refused to replace it a fifth time.  Since I was without the remote anyway, I decided to try and fix the problem myself.  This is what I found out and did to correct the problem and get my remote to charge.  This is not a solicited instruction and I would check with Logitech before completing any procedures to make sure that you don't void your warranty.  LOGITECH - Have your guys learn from this and it could save you and thousands of your customers from major headaches.

This is my own theory and I am no dummy but I am also not an electrician or a scientist.  On the back of the remote there are three contacts.  The right and left are the charging contacts and the middle one is used to suck down the remote into the charging cradle by a magnet in the cradle itself.  This middle contact is the problem.  Because it is so close to the pos and neg terminals and magnetic fields carry electricity and electricity can be used to create magnetic fields the electricity jumps between the pos and neg terminals in the remote which in turn causes the contacts on the charging base to "burn" through resistance...eventually not allowing our remotes to charge.  The thin piece of plastic that separates the three terminals is not strong enough to prevent the electric/magnetic field from creating the "short" which causes the base terminals to burn and even burn the remote terminals to some extent.

My fix-  I opened the remote and pulled out the middle contact.  It just slides out.  Put the remote back together.  I then cleaned the charging base contacts by gently rubbing sandpaper on them.  I then cleaned the contacts on the remote and base with first - an eraser, and then with some rubbing alcohol. Next step - Place your remote in the base and watch it charge.

I have done this with my remote and my neighbors, both with success.  I will admit that about once every week I need to clean the charging contact with rubbing alcohol.  My neighbor does not need to do this.  I guess my cradle was a burned out a bit more than his.  I may pick a new one up for $10.00 as someone else has suggested.

The other option that Logitech should look into is being able to use the data port as a charging port when the cradles fail.  Then one could plug their remote into their computer to charge it.  Since the charge lasts a week in my house, it is only a minor inconvenience but at least the remote still has a secondary means of charging.  This is the same port that is on many cell phones today. The customer could also get one of those adapters that allow you to plug a USB cord into an 110AC outlet to charge. 

[listener]

Hi EasyLife,

glad to hear that you brought your 890 back to charge. But I doubt that they will change the 890 to accept charging power via USB, as it is a almost discontinued model. And the newer models don't have any issues with charging.

Greetings

listener

[EasyLife]

Listener,

I did not know that the 890 was being discontinued.  I know there are also problems charging other models too.  Are these also being discontinued?  I wasn't aware that there were no charging issues with the newer remotes, or at least I can't tell by the number of postings on remotes not charging.  I may be also unaware of which remotes are new and which ones are not as I stopped looking for a new remote after I spent big bucks on this one and planned on keeping it for a long while. 

My post was more of a suggestion to incorporate a different means of charging into their remotes by utilizing a method that is predominately used by the cell phone industry.  I can understand that if they are going to discontinue models, they will not get any updates.  In addition, if the newer remotes are free from charging issues then my suggestion is mute because they found something that worked.

Thanks for your input!

EasyLife

[Squirrelsb]

Do you guys know if the cradle is required to charge the 890 remote or is it for ease?  That is, can the remote be charged without the cradle using the USB connection to a power source (computer, wall outlet, etc)?

[bevhoward]

nope, none of the harmony's except the new 700 can be charged via usb.

Can someone post a _small_ (no wider than 500 pixels) image of the 890 cradle's contact pads here?  (I may have some tips)

Beverly Howard

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

No it can not be charged this via the usb.

But Logitech has gone to USB charging on the 700.