CatGenie: Resetting a SaniSolution Cartridge

Step 5 Let There Be A Joining...

Okay. We've got an Arduino with an LED and four wires sticking out of it, our sketch (aka "program") loaded into the Arduino memory, and our CatGenie cartridge holding unit successfully extracted from the processor. We must connect them.

See the four silver contacts on the side of the holder? Those contacts are how the processor connects to the cartridge. We're hijacking them. Those silver contacts have wires going out of them to a small connector... If you used colored wires and set it up like I did in the photograph, it's easy as 3.14159. Just stick the blue wire into the connector where the blue wire is, etc.

If you didn't use colored wire:

• Connect the Arduino 3V3 to the connector's red wire
• Connect the Arduino GND to the connector's black wire
• Connect the Arduino Analog In 4 to the connector's white wire.
• Connect the Arduino Analog In 5 to the connector's blue wire.

Just like that, you're ready to go.

Comments

[Doctorhash]

After reading through allot of the blogs it sounds like to me that the cartridge is using a RC charge timer to disable the cartridge. They do this in the auto industry to tell the computer the engine is still in its break time. After so many hours of charging the cap through a resistor the computer triggers on a set voltage setting a bit in the computer and then computer allows the engine to run at full power and acceleration limits. I read in one of the blogs that a gentleman shorted the two center contacts on the cat genie and he could constantly refill the cartridges. While another Gentleman tried this after the cartridge had been disabled and it would not work. I think what happened is the gentleman it worked for did this while the cartridge was new, shorting the blue contact to ground never gives the capacitor a chance to charge. But if you do it after the cartridge reaches 60 cycles you have to reset the EEprom which gets set when the cat genie reaches 60 cycles. So what I am saying is if you short the two contact pins (4 pins) in the center before the cartridge is disabled the cat genie never triggers on the RC time constant voltage and the EEprom never gets set. What keyed me in on this is you are using the analog voltage pins, why the analog voltage pins. If the cat genie is also using analog voltage I/O pins which are different from Digital I/O pins then there has to be a reason. Let me know what you think. I have a cat genie with about 8 wash cycles on it and a new cartridge. I am going to measure the voltage on those pins with a DMM to see if there is a difference between the two cartridges. If there is I will get back to you and let you know.

[nelu57]

Hello. Who is gentleman. Write address of bloog where he said that he had made changes to reset. Thanks.

[steve3rj]

Hey doc, hope you get back soon. Since there are 11 pins on the cartridge and four on the unit is it easier to short the unit pins or the cartridge? If on the cartridge which of the 11 should be shorted together? Do not want to cause harm to the unit by shorting all of the wrong pins as my GF would NOT be happy with me and of course I would end up paying for a new board!!! Thanks, Steve

[Doctorhash]

Steve, The pins maybe reversed from right to left rather than the way I stated left to right. Just follow Scotts instructions and you will be OK.

[Doctorhash]

Hi, well the contacts are as follows from left to right 11,10(Skip 9) 8,7 (Skip 6) 5,4 (Skip 3) 2,1. The two pin line up like (1,2) are the same signal, why they used an 8 pin format for a two wire communications set up is anyones guess? (4 wire actually including +3.3v and Gnd) Probably did it to try and confuse everyone and make it look harder to mod than it really is. I don't suggest Shorting them on the cartridge as it may interfere with the mechanical fit or damage the contacts. Actually I'm pretty sure the pins on the cartridge are already shorted internally so all you really need to do is make contact with one of the contacts in each of the paired up sets. I used contacts from a AA wall type battery charger (Non spring type), the contacts on it were just the right width to contact both pins and long enough to glue to my home made sleeve. The skipped pins (9,6 and 3)are not connected to anything so if one of your contacts touches it and the adjacent pin does not your in the clear. At worst you ruin the cartridge or burn out the analog ports on the arduino processor board. Thats half the fun of it though, then you get to try again. Just follow Scotts instruction to the letter and you will be ok. Also the program does need a mod, that "While wire available" statement needs to be taken out. If the cartridge is removed the while sequence can't run and the light can never be turned off. The program is ok the way it is now, it will work just turn it on and press the reset button while connected to the cartridge. Have fun?

[jace26]

Hey doc, any luck with shorting the cap?

[Doctorhash]

No it did not work. Theb arduino does the job well though. I don't know what the guy who did this had but he claimed it worked. Definitely was not configured like the current cat genie what ever he had or even if it ever really worked? No capacitor.