Dolphin S200 stop working

[pd29154]

I bought my Dolphin in 2019 and recently it stopped working. I tested the power supply and I have 29.45v coming out when I push the on button, the blue rings around the on button and 1,2,3 and below the 1,2,3 all come on. However, when I push the button to turn it off, all the lights go offf but I still have 29.28v coming out of it. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Paul

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Power supply sounds fine. The problem is likely the motor assembly. Take the robot out of the water, make sure it’s clean and and somewhat dry, take out the filter basket and put the bot up on blocks (cut pieces of 2x4 work great). Then, with the lid open, power up the bot and see if it goes through its motor self test. It should spin up the impeller motor to 3 different speeds (you’ll hear the motor change sounds), love the directional shroud, and then the treads should move forward and reverse. If it fails to do it’s startup test then the motor is likely the problem.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Paul,

Tell us what the robot does when you try it in the pool?

When the robot starts it will run through some self-tests. It will go forward a few feet and then backwards a few feet and then it will blow water out of the top vent. I normally see a little water volcano when this happens. If it does this and then stops, the robot has failed its self-test.

The most common failure is that hair or string has wound around the impeller motor. You have to take it apart and remove the impeller to see it or clean it. It is very easy to do and explained in your manual, although it is pretty obvious.

The next thing to check would be the swivel contacts which just unscrews.

As Matt points out, some motors have been an issue, and for average guy, they are not repairable.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[pd29154]

Thanks for the advice, I did what Matt suggested and the results were: the tracks went in reverse for a few seconds and the impeller spun and the directional pivoted back and forward. Then it stop.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks for the advice, I did what Matt suggested and the results were: the tracks went in reverse for a few seconds and the impeller spun and the directional pivoted back and forward. Then it stop.

Did you hear different motor speeds when the impeller spun up ? It should cycle through a low, medium, high set of speeds. You can hear the motor’s noise pitch change.

Also, if you turn the impeller by hand, does it rotate easily or does it feel like it takes force to over it?

The tracks should go forward and backwards.

 

[pd29154]

Didn't hear the impeller motor change speeds and it rotates freely. Tracks are only going backwards.

 

[Jimrahbe]

PD,

Try this..

Turn the robot upside down, with the track in the air, and then turn power on and tell us what happens.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Sounds to me like it’s probably the drive motor starting to go bad. It’s not repairable as Maytronics does not sell replacements. You’ll either have to buy an entirely new motor assembly (~ $450) or just buy a new robot.

One other thing you can do is remove the rubber tracks and then disassemble all the wheels and check to see if the plastic bushings on the wheel hubs are still round. They sometimes get worn down with age. You might consider the cost to rebuild the wheels and tracks with new parts to see if that gives you any more lifetime but I’ll be honest, I did that and the robot I had still failed about a month or two later.

Typically speaking, once the motor assembly goes bad, it really just makes sense to buy a new robot or else you’ll waste as much money on repairs/replacements. Sucks, but that’s how these robots are.

 

[pd29154]

I did what Jim suggested and the results were the same. However, funny thing is I tilted the bot to the side just a little and it ran normal. So, then I proceeded to put the bot back on the blocks to test it, it went back to not working correctly. Just ran in reverse then shut down. Looks like I'll be going shopping. But before I do, I'll try what Matt suggested. Thanks

 

[pd29154]

Update, I decided to buy a new robot, went with Active 20 which is the same as my S200. However, I did some research, and I did find the impeller and drive motor on the Made-in-China website. The problem was you had to buy in bulk but they were super cheap. Thanks for all the advice.