Advice for Dolphin S200-Not Working

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DanF

DanF

Silver Supporter
Mar 17, 2019
610
Chandler, AZ
Pool Size
12500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
I guess I'm another one to add to this list :(.

Purchased my Maytronics Dolphin S200 from Marina nearly 3 years ago to the day, and I believe it is dead, but would welcome any advice:

I have removed the top cover and impeller cover and the impeller spins freely and has never had any dirt/leaves/hair on it. However, it runs less than 5 minutes upon startup and then stops. I have watched a few youTube troubleshooting videos, but wondering whether they apply. Given that it runs at all, can I assume that the cord and power supply are OK? I could do a voltage test but not sure it would be worth it.

I turned the unit upside down and powered it up. The track on one side seems to have a slight skip in it, but would that cause it to stop running?
Could it be the motor? Probably, given the experience of others on this forum, but an eBay link shows motors starting at $400, and I'm not technical enough to take the unit apart and try to replace.

I really loved the S200 while it worked. Did a great job cleaning floor, walls, and waterline. Liked the fact debris was not passing through pump basket and filter, as with a suction cleaner. Completely independent of pump run schedule, while not requiring any minimum level of pump speed to work effectively. Loved that I could program it from my phone to run while on vacation. I never left it in the pool when not running (except for vacations), cleaned the filter basket regularly, hosed the unit down during filter cleanings, and stored the unit in a resin patio box under cover when not in the pool.

Do you have any recommendations for next steps? Would it be of any value to contact Marina? Maytronics? A local pool store that sells them?

Thanks...
 
Not sure about the troubleshooting so I will have to defer to others but if you purchased with a credit card that has extended warranty protections you may want to look into a claim.
 
DanF said:
I guess I'm another one to add to this list :(.

Purchased my Maytronics Dolphin S200 from Marina nearly 3 years ago to the day, and I believe it is dead, but would welcome any advice:

I have removed the top cover and impeller cover and the impeller spins freely and has never had any dirt/leaves/hair on it. However, it runs less than 5 minutes upon startup and then stops. I have watched a few youTube troubleshooting videos, but wondering whether they apply. Given that it runs at all, can I assume that the cord and power supply are OK? I could do a voltage test but not sure it would be worth it.

I turned the unit upside down and powered it up. The track on one side seems to have a slight skip in it, but would that cause it to stop running?
Could it be the motor? Probably, given the experience of others on this forum, but an eBay link shows motors starting at $400, and I'm not technical enough to take the unit apart and try to replace.

I really loved the S200 while it worked. Did a great job cleaning floor, walls, and waterline. Liked the fact debris was not passing through pump basket and filter, as with a suction cleaner. Completely independent of pump run schedule, while not requiring any minimum level of pump speed to work effectively. Loved that I could program it from my phone to run while on vacation. I never left it in the pool when not running (except for vacations), cleaned the filter basket regularly, hosed the unit down during filter cleanings, and stored the unit in a resin patio box under cover when not in the pool.

Do you have any recommendations for next steps? Would it be of any value to contact Marina? Maytronics? A local pool store that sells them?

Thanks...
Click to expand...
I had about the same issue with mine last year. Mine would run about 15-20 minutes and then stop. With mine, the power box would get quite hot to the touch. I contacted Maytronics and they sent me a new power box and AC cable. It has been working perfectly ever since.
 
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Put it up on a wood block to lift it off the ground and run it with the cover open and the filter basket removed. Watch and listen as it runs through the self test. You should hear the impeller go through 3 distinct spin speeds. Then the tracks should move forwards and backwards and then then the impeller should spin up again.

If it fails any of those then the motor assembly is likely dying. The skipping wheel tread is caused by the wheel bushing losing its circular shape. The way the treads pull on the wheel causes the shaft opening and bushing to slowly deform into an oval shape. That causes the wheel to skip. If the motor assembly works then you need new wheels and bushings.

Problem is, mine had both those symptoms and, even though I completely replaced the tracks, wheels and brushes, the unit still died.

Decision time - stick with robots or go with a different cleaner. You can’t expect more than 3-5 years out of a robot. If you can afford that then just buy a new one. Repairing them is not worth it.
 
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Dan,

Did you actually take the impeller off and look under it? Not saying this is your problem, but it could be...

Hair, string, etc. will sometimes wrap around the motor shaft under the impeller. The extra drag will cause the robot to fail its self test.

It can't hurt to call Marina and see what advice they have.. (Other than send it in for repair.)

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I’m having the same issue with my Dolphin Active 30i (aka S300 and same guts as S200). It ran great for the first year, then stopped climbing the walls, then would quit moving before the end of its cycle, and the run-time got progressively shorter, eventually only going a couple feet...power stayed on, controller on but unresponsive.

Marina got a replacement motor for me and that worked for a few months but then the same exact thing started happening. I re-seated the motor multiple times, fan spun freely, self-test was smooth, everything worked fine except the track on the gear side would want to skip a tooth every once or twice around. After a closer look, I noticed that the intermediate gear that connects to the drive brush gear was worn down more on one side (the side closest to the brush gear). The brush gear was only slightly worn, the motor gear and the other intermediate gear were fine. Problem solved...gear wears down, wheel wobbles, track gets off balance, motor gets overworked. Not quite:/

I replaced the gear, ran a smooth self-test, put the track back on... slightly better but still skipping. Took the track back off, re-seat motor, re-test...runs smooth and keeps going. I read in a post that the shape of the drive brush can start to get misshapen (slightly oval), so I took a look at mine and the brush and the connection hub still seemed perfectly round, but I did notice that the axle itself (hexagonal extension from the brush hub that the gear attaches to) was a little wonky...when it rotated it did not stay centered. It was very noticeable when I put the brush and wheels back on and ran another self-test... as the brush turned, the axle rotation was clearly not balanced. That’s gotta be it...axle rotates off-balance, causing friction between the gears, gear wears down, wheel wobbles, track gets off balance, motor gets overworked. Not so fast:(

I replaced the drive brush and all its components (including gear and axle hub), the passive brush and all its components, all four wheels, and both tracks. Did the self-test with wheels but no track and everything was smooth except for a very similar off-centered rotation of the drive brush axle (uh oh) and wheel wobble. I reseated the motor one more time for good measure...no improvement. I put the tracks back on, and although it was slightly better, the dreaded skip was still there. I’ve had it back in the water now for a few weeks...it made it up the walls for couple days, and ran full cycles for about two weeks, but it’s back to no walls and quitting a few minutes into the cycle. When I run the self-test with the track on it also quits a few minutes after it gets into the regular cycle. When I run the self-test without the track, the motor continues to run and wheel/gears turn without quitting even well into the regular cycle.

Is anyone else seeing this particular problem with the drive brush axle? Is it possible that the new one I just got is just a dud, or is this a manufacturer defect in all of them? Or is there a separate issue that I’m missing?

Video: Running with Track
Video: Running Without Track
 

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I did a lot of similar work on my S300i back in the day. The wheel hubs were all worn down and non-concentric. Did all the same fixes - new wheels, tracks, brushes, etc. nothing fixed the track skip. It’s just got marginally better but not enough to matter. I believe that over time and with use the plastic components undergo so much mechanical wear that the entire unit becomes warped and no longer works properly. These robots are not serviceable. You use them and throw them away and buy new. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
I did a lot of similar work on my S300i back in the day. The wheel hubs were all worn down and non-concentric. Did all the same fixes - new wheels, tracks, brushes, etc. nothing fixed the track skip. It’s just got marginally better but not enough to matter. I believe that over time and with use the plastic components undergo so much mechanical wear that the entire unit becomes warped and no longer works properly. These robots are not serviceable. You use them and throw them away and buy new. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
Click to expand...
That's what I was afraid of. I'm looking for my next one now. I hate to give them more money but I'm considering upgrading to one of the Maytronics with a longer warranty.
 
@ifunlisted

Here is another option...

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Jimrahbe said:
@ifunlisted

Here is another option...

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Yep, the Evos are in the mix for the next one, but I haven't had much luck with new model releases...was thinking I might want to wait and see how they hold up after a year or so. You've still been happy with yours?
 
Just remember - price of the robot and lifetime are not a positive correlation. Just cuz you pay more didn’t mean you get more. I’m not sure the 3-year warranty is worth the bump in price. Better off paying for the cheapest model you can find and throwing the die 🎲 🎲
 
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