I bought a Husqvarna robotic lawn mower after seeing it running in a palace garden and subsequently seeing it again at a great discount. I fired the yard guys and locked my yard to save cost and improve my privacy. The 115H is a budget model, but it is not cheap, and worse, it does require maintenance.

Husqvarna is not immune to Enshittification. OEM replacement blades are not cheap but possibly worth it. I do not want to run the risk of the mower loosing blades in the grass for example due to bad fit of the screws. Other repair parts are expensive.

Replacement blades

The blades look like thick razor blades. A special screw holds them in place. Just turn the mower off, place upside down, and replace all blades at least once a year, but probably much more frequently.

Replacement of battery

Almost replaced my battery but then discovered that the real issue was the charging contacts between the charging tower and the mower. Try to sand the contact rails on the mower with fine sanding paper, or scratch it with a knife, to clean off corrosion. Then apply something like DeOxit Gold contact enhancer. Make sure that the base plate is flat too and that the mower can dock properly. Mine started charging normally again. I saved a lot of money.

Fixing loop wire

Sometimes the mower stops running, because of a missing boundary loop or guide wire signal. Rabbits and squirrels love chewing through the wires. When all is okay, the base station light should be continuously lit green.

When the wire loop around your lawn has a disconnect in it, the light will start blinking blue. Always fix that loop wire first. Once the loop wire is good, a yellow blinking light may indicate a broken guide wire. Fix that second. I am not sure why, but this saved me a charging tower replacement. This item costs hundreds of dollars. This is the second time that my engineering background saved me lots of money.

Locating breaks in boundary wires is way easier if you have an “underground wire locator.” It’s useful for boundary wires as well as for sprinklers and checking wiring in your house. I have a Noyafa NF-826. Not cheap but worth every penny in time saved. An AM radio at around 700 kHz or so is an alternative, I hear, but this requires the charging tower to operate properly. Of course, a multi-meter to test the resistance of a loop is invaluable to know where to start.

Tip: Do not buy Husqvarna wire connectors, which are ridiculously expensive and they cut through the wire core sometimes. Crimp regular 16-14 AWG spade connectors instead. You will get a better and longer-lasting connections.

updated: 20240603