December 20, 2007 5:12 PM

Yes, there was a bad batch of wire used by the Chinese factory in some V2s. I'd contact WowWee support/customer service as soon as possible. Good luck!

Rovio rules!
Wisconsin Iron :: Cellular Atomics

December 21, 2007 3:50 PM

Just to split a hair, here.   A substandard wire is not a robot design defect, it's a raw materials or manufacturing defect.

If the wire insulation was damaged during robot assembly, it's a manufacturing defect. If the insulation was manufactured improperly, it's a materials problem for the robot, and a manufacturing problem for the insulation.

A design defect would mean that every copy made would have the same problem until the design was changed.  If the root of the problem was that the circuit design pushes too much current through the wire, and it slowly cooks the insulation off, then that's a design defect.

In this case it appears to have been a materials supplier problem that affected some part of the production run. The affected robots all seem to have a lot of crumbling insulation, rather than a single toasted wire from a bad drive circuit.

That's little consolation for somebody who got a bum bot. It is an important distinction when talking about the overall product.

Unfortunately, we haven't heard any statements from WowWee with regards to what manufacture dates or serial numbers might be affected by the bad wiring. I haven't heard of any announcments of recalls or warranty extensions for affected owners.

There have been cases where an owner has stated that working with WowWee support resulted in their robot getting repaired or replaced. 

Your mileage may vary.....yada yada yada 

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

January 3, 2008 1:09 PM

reay1 said:

Bud said: Ok.  I found it in the right foot.  The serial number on this RSV2 with defective wires is 28605WSHA.

new to this forum stuff So HI guys just checked serial NO' on my sons defected V2 28105WSHA the plot thickens i think, Bud where did you buy yours

I aso have purchased a V2 that died right after it was opened. Serial number is 28305wsha. I've contacted wowee but no resolution.

January 3, 2008 2:36 PM

hi emjic, I hope you get a response back from WowWee soon. Where are you located? It looks like these numbers are manufacturing codes, not really serial numbers; maybe equal to production runs. For example, I have a 28305WHSB, and someone else has a defective one from lot 28305WSHA.

Also, I believe everyone who has a valid purchase has gotten a replacement from WowWee, they just don't respond as instantly as a lot of people expect. How could they be more forthcoming? Since there's no product registration, and WowWee recalled as many as they could from the distribution chain, about all that can be done is wait for people to complain and return them. Our local TRU has one RSV2 still on the shelf that wouldn't surprise me if it had the same problem; but the outer box has no visible markings other than the bar code... (actually, I wonder if there is anything encoded in the bar code? anyone still have their packaging?) 

Anyway, I don't see how WowWee do anything more proactive; if you have a good idea, lets hear it!

-Scott 

Rovio rules!
Wisconsin Iron :: Cellular Atomics

January 3, 2008 3:59 PM

I don't know, that is really a question for MichelleC et al. Here's the list I have so far (without names):

28105WSHA

28305WSHA

28305WSHA

28305WSHB

28605WSHA

29005WSHA

32005WS

Rovio rules!
Wisconsin Iron :: Cellular Atomics

January 3, 2008 6:49 PM

This list looks to me like a list of batch or run numbers, not serial numbers.  It is highly unlikely that all of a group of 6 or 7 numbers would have the last two digits the same, and the first three digits are not enough to number all of the RSV2s that have been built.   

 That's just what I said, about 2 posts before the list of numbers. Still, I believe WowWee knows all of the affected batch  numbers, and ought to publicize them here in a sticky thread. I can PM MichelleC but about all we can do is ask; and on our own, collect the batch numbers of known bad units. All in my list are wire rotted.

-Scott 

Rovio rules!
Wisconsin Iron :: Cellular Atomics

September 2, 2008 7:09 PM updated: September 2, 2008 7:11 PM

There have been some folks who got an out of warranty replacement on these defective RSV2s. It usually required sending back key components of the defective RSV2, so that the same busted bot didn't just move to another person for another replacement claim.

http://www.robocommunity.com/forum/thread/12815/WowWee-RSV2-replacement-delay...

If you contact WowWee Customer Service and specifically state that you have the same crumbling insulation problem that many other RSV2 owners have seen, you might get past the initial "no repairs" response.

Other than that, you're talking about a product that's several years out of warranty. When is the last time you got a computer replaced when it was years out of warranty, or a DVD player, or a TV, or a dish washer, or a..... you get the idea.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

September 3, 2008 2:03 AM

I came up with a great idea to help people with this in the future. I have taken a large array of pictures so far. I thought maybe if I wrote down how I disassembled my unit step for step and use pictures to illustrate the steps, maybe people would feel more confident to dig in and attack the job. I am creating this "instruction manual" using Microsoft Word. I got a good start on it already. I will keep you posted as to how this project is going.

September 3, 2008 7:12 AM

I suggest you package up your how-to as an article published right here on RoboCommunity.

The article editor isn't Micro$oft Word (no tremendous loss, there...) but it gets the job done.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

September 3, 2008 9:39 AM

As an article here is a great idea. It is a long way from done though. When I actually have it completed, I am going to have to have someone else who has also made this repair check it out for additional stuff I might have overlooked. Having the original copy on Microsoft Word, I can email the package to someone for close examination plus keep on file for future reference.