Hi Luke, thanks a lot. This was exactly my problem. I've spent only 1 dollar, 40 minutes and could fix it. you are the BEST. best regards from Switzerland Angelo
Hi Luke, I have a dolphin, E-10, it seems lately the unit will go on the bottom as it goes through the debris. The debris just blows around. It does not seem like it has any suction yet I do see water coming out of the top. Any ideas why this would not have any suction? I checked the impeller, and there was no debris. Mike
@@michaelbennett3202 If water is blowing out the top, then you have suction coming in the bottom. If it's able to cling to and climb walls, your suction is good enough. I'd double check your filter basket for small tears, any small tear means that filter basket will pretty much not work at all. Also make sure it's assembled correctly and sitting right in the unit. If you're climbing walls, and your filter basket is clean, then it should be sucking up and cleaning something! Hope that helps.
Been working on these for 6 years, seen a lot of seized motors and this actually makes a lot of sense. Normally do repairs by replacing, but lately been trying to rebuild. Kudos for this info~
Yeah, and my repair of just 1 bearing has kept it in service for like 1.5 seasons with no signs of slowing down. Any chance you have a good link to buying just the motors? Or do you usually replace the whole black box motor assembly?
@@LeisureLuke I usually order through second hand to replace the black box. I've had around 50 machines before here, so sadly I won't have time to break things down. Covid made getting new parts a challenge, so I've been adopting motor repairs specifically since summer. I have a stack of older parts too incase one of the boards went bad.
My friend don't forget to replace new rubber gasket when Dismantling impeller motor and drive motor or else you will buy the whole MU after a month or after a year. Sorry my english is not good. hahaha but believe me my friend. Im the service tech of that robotic pool cleaner.
@Liatriss Would you happen to know if the 63ZYW-A2 can be replaced with an A3? Specs appear to be the same, but I’m not an electrical engineer so I’m being extra cautious.
I spent $180 to replace the blue cable on my DOLPHIN Nautilus CC. It would only run for about 30 seconds and just stop. No indication on what was happening. Local pool shop suggested to replace the blue cable and I let them. Got it home a week later and of course it didn't fix my issue. They then suggested to replace the motor.. Adding up the cost of the potential repair, and I could have gotten a new unit for the cost of the motor and cable! :) I will for sure be taking my motor apart this afternoon to see if the bearing is the issue! Thanks for making this video!
Good luck! While you are in there you can check both motors. Some people have actually done the same fix on the other motor too! I’d use your old cable and save the new one :) someday you’ll probably need it! Might as well squeeze out the life of the old one!
@@LeisureLuke so taking the motor out in of itself showed me the issue. The propeller had hair and twine underneath it in a way I wasn’t able to see it from the top down view. Took the prop off the spindle and removed it and it’s working perfectly!!
My Maytronics Dolphin Active 20 just started having this problem where the impeller is not spinning. I bought brand new in 2020. We use it everyday in the summer. This is the 3rd season. With your instructions, I was able to take it a part. There was all this black carbon flakes. I used electrical contact cleaner to clean the inside of the 24V impeller motor, and both bearings. I couldn't take out the 3rd bearing off, put it all together and everything is working - back to normal! Without changing any parts! This took me 2 hours to do at a easy comfortable pace. Thank you for making this video. You saved me $1500. I was almost going to buy a new one.
Nice!!!! Congrats on the fix! It’s not a job for the faint of heart, and sounds like you did a thorough job and cleaned it like new! The black dust is normal - it’s from the wearing of the motor brushes, which I’m guessing will be our next failure and next fix-it video :). Well done! Party accordingly!!!
DUDEEEE credit where credit is due!!!! Dolphin moved backwards a few inches then forward a few inches then nothing. Checked impeller and stuck solid. Followed ur video and believe it or not a local skate shop had my bearing in stock and I fixed it in less than an hour. Saved me my hard earned cash man! Thank you!
Awesome video. Thank you for helping the algorithm find this repair and saving big $$$ A few notes as I'm mid-repair: 1) The sealed unit itself can be really hard to open. I used the shaft of a screwdriver (not the pointy end) to pry it apart using the clip brackets as leverage. I slipped a credit card into the gap to help work around. When it finally opened there was a large pop - I think the unit was REALLY well sealed and the temperature swing at night when I tried to open it caused a pressure / vacuum making it extra hard. 2) The long screws on the motor itself have SUPER SOFT heads. Immediately stripped one of them using a regular screwdriver. And that's the point I'm finding myself stuck at right now. Ugh. Be careful everyone with these! Might end up having to buy a new motor just because I've stripped some darn screws 😵 There is an eBay seller out there who will repair/refurb your motor for ~$110, or sell a kit of all the necessary parts for ~$30. Might be worth it if there's a lot of parts that need fixing, or if you're happy to outsource part of the fix without shelling out the full $450!!
Hey mate, thanks for the great video, saved me $600 AUD for a new motor. Ended up being the brushes not the bearings, cost me a grand total of $10 to change them out. Although not the same problem as yours, your video gave me an insight on how to pull it apart & put back together again, working a treat now. Cheers from OZ
Literally, you saved me $450 AND the fix was free !! Took apart as you did, took the motor apart and the inside was caked in fine carbon powder. A bit of compressed air later, the motor cleaned, everything back together and good as new. Thank you.
I'm 2 minutes away from ordering a whole new Dolphin but your video was so well done that, even though I've tried everything else, short of opening the motor, - which makes me nervous - you've given me the confidence to try this. Sounds like it is just the bearing and that will save hundreds!
I hope that's the case and you're back on your way to a clean pool!!! Yeah, it's worth trying anything if the alternative is a new $1k unit! :D Good Luck!
Got the bearing replaced and motor put back together. The seal must not have lined up right, Dolphin worked for about half hour then stopped. I took it apart and the housing for the motor is filled with water. Looks like I'll have to purchase a new one. Thanks for video, was super helpful!
AH! Shoot! That's a tough one to stomach, but you did all you could to save it in the first place. Enjoy the new pool cleaner, and let me know which you end up getting!
Thank you Luke. I had the same problem on my Dolphin Deluxe 4. It has 2 bearings 626rs and 608rs. Truthfully, I only really needed to replace the 608rs, but since I was already in there and its like 10 years old, I replaced both. Additionally my circuit board had some corrosion and a burnt up resistor. I got some 90% rubbing alcohol and cleaned the circuit board. Determined the burnt resistor was an 18 ohm 1/2 watt, soldered a new one of those in and let'r rip. It runs like new. I would not have done any of this without your video. So here's the breakdown. Multi pack of resistors $13. 10 pack of 626rs $9. 10 pack of 608rs $8. Rubbing alcohol from Wal-Mart $1.50 and a tube of silicone lube from HD $5. So, less $40 for enough parts to maybe keep this thing going for another 10 years. A ton of simple knowledge that I got to learn with my 15 year old son. It's a joy to watch a once dead Dolphin that I paid a $1000 for still going. One more tip. I've always had the habit of keeping those little silica packets that come with all the Chinese junk we buy. So I stuffed like 8 of those in the box to hopefully stop or limit future corrosion. I realize this this is now old and not as water tight as it used to be, I will probably open this thing up a couple times a year just to make sure. Thanks again Luke, you're AWESOME!!!!
Well done Russ!!! You really went the extra mile there, sounds like thorough and excellent work! You should be proud to have revived something, saved money, and probably learned a lot! Happy to be the inspiration to crack everything open. That’s some seriously good work 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Mine has been acting the same way, extended warranty is replacing the unit.. but now I'm going to give this a try, nothing to lose! Then I'll have a backup unit 😊 Thank you.
Well done. For all the maytronics owners out there, it would be phenomenal to be able to source those two motors somewhere @ the source. A fix for probably 99% of the failures for a few bucks, and not $400 for the entire drive unit.
Thanks! Yeah, there are hundreds of places to get the motor assembly and NO ONE sells the individual motors anymore. Glad you appreciate the fix! Let’s save some people some money!
This is a great video...my bearings where fine ...my motor was packed with carbon dust...cleaned it out and it runs fine now....this video is great showing all the steps...the engineering on this machine is fantastic...taking it apart and reassembling it is pretty easy...all the parts are indexed to only go together properly...even the power cord. thanks so much....saved a LOT of money. I recommend cleaning all the gaskets as you reassemble...just to keep water from creeping in. I sure wish they would sell the individual motors inside the $450 assembly....why engineer it so well to for repair and then not sell the interior motors?
Thanks for the comment! That carbon dust is a build up from the brushes wearing away on the motors. These are "brush motors" vs "brushless motors". Some people eventually have to replace the motor brushes when they become too short over time. Glad you fixed it! I agree about cleaning the gaskets, but I'm worried about getting the wrong silicon grease to coat them in before reassembly. Do you know what the right stuff is? Nice fix - one less thing in the dump and $1k saved a little longer! Great Job, party accordingly :)
@@LeisureLuke Mine weren't that dirty that I needed to wash them...just got the sand off and then cleaned the grooves really well...the gaskets were still pretty slippery with lube when I put then back on....there are quite a few on the old interne that seem appropriate - I did see some refurbished motors on EBAY...appears to be a guy who refurbishes them full time...good gig
Fixed!!! Thank you!!!Dolphin Nautilius CC Plus. 4 years old and I always leave in the pool. Robot would run for about 1-2 minutes and then stop and the blower fan on the top would continue to run without moving the robot. Fixed: opened up the motor assembly and found the motor that drives the wheels to be completely full of electric motor dust. Picked up a can of contact cleaner for electronics ( and safe for plastics) and cleaned the hell out of the motor. The bearings after cleaning rolled smoothly so I didn't need to replace. Put everything back together - be mindful of the little odd looking washer that sits ontop of the bearing- kind hard to put back but you'll figure it out with time. Only thing I noticed while it was opening the the brushes on the motor were running a little low. If it acts up again I'll plan to buy some extra brushes to keep the motor running. To make sure you have good seals you need some pure silicone grease. Total cost to fix: 1 can of contact cleaner: $12 since I already had the silicone grease.
Great how-to video! Thanks for saving me significant replacement $$. I almost ordered a new robot right away, but figured I'd try this first. It fixed my Dolphin model with the exact same bearing, threw it in the pool and it started working again. I used toothpicks to move the motor brush springs off and then used them to hold the brushes back while inserting the electric motor back into its housing. With the extra bearings, I'm ready for 4 more repairs if necessary.
Hey Luke, big shout out form Canada. After procrastinating for the summer I finally found your vid and did the same. The bearing cost me $7 here but still cheaper and quicker than sending it in to a shop. Thanks for the great vid.
I used to work on typewriters and when I tore apart the motors for cleaning, I always made a mark on the case and end caps. When you reassemble the motor, align the marks and the bolts will line up perfect.
My Nautilus CC Plus was spinning the impeller for a few seconds but the motor for the tracks wouldn’t start. Followed your advice and checked the bearings. Replaced one of the impeller motor bearings since it was noisy and failing. Back in business! Thanks for this video!
Thanks for the video. Mine started stopping after a few seconds this morning. Searched youtube for Dolphin Nautilus repair and your video popped up. Watched it and promptly pulled it apart, found one of the bearings to be seized and drove to Ace Hardware, and I'm now back in business! Nice feeling repairing it yourself and saving a boat load of cash on repairs/replacement.
Thanks Ricky! Happy to help & NICE WORK doing the FIX! Ahhh, yeah the motors were available over the winter and have seem to gone out of stock again pretty quickly... Good thing bearings are always in stock & cheap! :D
Thank you for the description and link to the bearings- that saved me a lot of research! I pulled my Dolphin apart last summer when it refused to run for more than a minute or two and found that same bearing you changed was not turning smoothly in my motor. I lubed it with some oil put it back together and the robot worked for the rest of the year. Fast forward to this Spring and that bearing was rough again so it is time to replace it. Oil has it working for now, but the bearing really needs replacing. One note for your viewers- when I reassembled the motor the first time it was running backwards and I needed to swap the red and black wires / brushes to the opposite positions from where they were originally to get the motor to spin in the proper direction. I'm not sure how I managed to get something backwards as it seems like all the parts were keyed for one orientation. I think it might have been the brass cap at the end of the motor. It isn't keyed to the motor housing but is keyed to the plastic enclosure. I think that going on opposite to original resulted in the terminals lining up opposite to where they were previously. I recommend putting an alignment mark on the brass cap and motor housing. It will help with aligning the screws to the holes, too. Does anyone have a source for replacement brushes or the brush springs? I don't know how long these will last, but it would be great to be able to replace them when they wear out.
GREAT feedback Ryan. Nice work on oiling up the bearings! Bummer that's only temporary, but at least it reassures you that you've identified the problem! I've seen a few people ask about the brushes and brush springs. From what I can tell these aren't parts that wear out in the life of a dolphin, yes, these wear out in electric motors (usually before the bearings), but you would probably have to run a 2+ hours a day for 10+ years to actually wear those out. That being said, they're generic, and brushes are sold by size, so if you remove the brush, measure the width & height with a caliper, you should be able to find that brush size on ebay, and you'll have to guess at the length. Springs too. I search a bit and found springs that looked the same. I didn't buy them to verify. Again, good work, and good luck when the replacement time comes!
@@LeisureLuke Since my first post, I replaced the bearing and everything is running smoothly again. I used the terminal puller you recommended to pull the bearing. I used a small bolt between the puller head and the axle to reduce the diameter down to the appropriate size to not interfere with the bearing race as it was being pulled off. It worked great! This is pretty embarrassing, but somehow I managed to get my terminals backwards AGAIN even with being aware of the issue and had to take it apart another time to fix that.
This is awsesome work. About to purchase a Dolphin, so I'm sure I'll be back here just after 2 years when the warranty is up and the bearing stops running !
Great video. The same problem happened to my pool cleaner, your video inspired me what to do and it turned out that the bearing next to the brushes was blocking. I lubricated it with oil and the problem was solved, but I bought new bearings and will change them later. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Greetings from Spain.
My favorite result! Glad to hear you were able to find the issue! I'd still replace that bearing, but it sounds like you've bought yourself some time. EXCELLENT JOB!!! Party Accordingly 🥳
Thanks Luke, I had the same problem and your video gave me the confidence to try the repair. Replacing the bearing was a piece of cake. Reassembly of the motor was a little cumbersome because of the brushes. Next time I think I will retract the brush springs and let the motor housing keep them off the brushes. Getting the housing for the motors and circuit boards back together with the o-ring properly in place was a bear. After 30-45 minutes of swearing I decided to try my woodworking bar clamps (2) to draw the housings together while using a piece of wood to tuck the o-ring between the two housings. In two minutes the housing was back together and after 3 days the cleaner still works. I’m fairly confident I just saved a thousand bucks. Thanks.
So happy it worked! Sounds like you got a little more work than you bargained for, but glad you’re done! Mine still works on year 2 of doing this fix! I run it constantly this time of year in the spring of Minnesota. NICE WORK, CONGrats, PARTYACCORDINGLY!!!!! :)
@@LeisureLuke Luke, thanks for the great video on the impeller motor fix. My question: I took my motor box apart and all motors seem to work but only briefly. Is there some sort of sensor that shuts the motors down when the unit is not in the water? If not, I'm wondering whether I have a bad board in the motor box. I have an M400 with three motors, two drive and the impeller. Thanks! Tim
That last lid latch worked me over trying to get the last it on. The uneven surface was a challenge with the woodworking clamp but a lot of MaGyvering solved the issue.
Thank you, Luke, for the video. My Dolphin Triton PS stopped working after two years, right after the warranty expired. The lady at the pool store said that the model was an "internet special" that broke early (I purchased it online). I was not happy, I'm used to such large purchases lasting many, many more years. Anyway, I went through your tutorial--first, I could move the fan but it did have some resistance, so I moved forward. When I got the motor out, a bunch of rust-colored water spilled out: the gasket had failed. The circuit board had some pieces that fell off after soaking in water. I didn't go past that so now am going to purchase a new robot. I thought about replacing the motor unit, but I also would need a cord, since that would all cost $600 plus I'm leaning towards a new one around $850. However, the reviews tout the Dolphin Nautilus CC, but I'm so hesitant to get a Dolphin. Perhaps I will, and after 2 years, pull everything out and replace gasket and parts. I'm not sure :(
Sorry to hear that rob. I would get a new one vs fixing yours. Once you have water damage you're looking at replacing everything internal and it's work without a warranty. You'll be happier finding the store with the best, longest warranty possible and getting that! Seems like purchasing through a local pool store that clearly states their warranty is the best thing. If it were me, I'd start reading through Amazon adds and get the highest-reviewed product that has a warranty (you will have to pay to ship it in). These things just aren't made to last, but a new one will undoubtedly be better than an old one. Hope that helps.
Hi Luke, that's my first ever youtube comment, and you really earned it. You saved me app.400 € and a lot of time - additionally the repair was really fun and easy. My Dolphin is the Bio S model, which has 2 ball bearings, but looks similar. I could remove the bearing with end cutting pliers. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Happy to hear! I’m honored to be the recipient of your first TH-cam comment :) Great work! It’s a fun job when it all goes well :) you’ve earned some pool relaxation 👍🏼 mine is still working great 2 seasons later!
Thank you. My Pentair Prowler 920 (Dolphin Active 20) stopped working. It would move a couple feet and shut off. I pulled it apart and noticed a ton of black soot everywhere inside the motor unit housing. Upon further inspection it was dust from the impeller motor brushes. I pulled apart the impeller motor and it looked terrible, I wiped it down really good to remove the dust and it cleaned up nicely. The bearing was okay. I re-assembled and now it is working. It's a bummer you can't find the impeller motor (5500024 in my case) anywhere as I'm concerned the brushes are worn and may eventually need replacing. Thanks again as I was able to repair this for $0 and a couple hours of time.
We’ll done! Yeah, those solid brushes create lots of dust… they are generic brushes that can be replaced just by measuring the height & width and ordering the right size brush on eBay. Sounds like a few other commenters here are considering the same thing when the time comes. Nice work on your repair !!!
Ok awesome ! I thought I saw one in there ! Thanks so much for responding ! I have them on the way so fingers crossed 😊 thank you so much for posting this - you’re the man 🎉
My 5 year old Dolphin Triton PS Plus was throwing the "Error 1: DC in voltage" shortly after start up. Strangely I could still clean in manual mode and the impeller seemed to turn easily enough. I'm decided to try and replace both bearings of the impeller motor anyways, and the error cleared and is working again. Thank you for your video!
I took my dolphin apart and found the same seized bearing. just ordered the puller tool and the bearings from amazon. I'm feeling optimistic that i'll have a working robot in a few days. thanks for posting the vid!
@@LeisureLuke The new bearing did the trick! Robot is cleaning the pool right now and seems to be fully functional. Now we see how well I resealed everything and hope water doesn't get into motor compartment. thanks again for posting this video!
@@braydon9493 Congrats on the fix!!!! That's good money and plenty of landfill saved... good things! That helps us afford chlorine this year!!! Haha. Seriously though, well done!
As a side note. The extreme wear that has been noticed on the armature by some people is from the manufacturing process. It is how they balance the motor.
Thanks to you, I had the confidence to take a shot at fixing my Dolphin M500. My unit would attempt to move, lurge and stop... usually sideways . Suggesting the motor bearing you discuss. I pulled off the top and side covers off. One track seemed to be able to work freely, but the other was binding up. Then I flipped the unit upside down and pulled off the four screws holding the center drive roller. At this point, the ball bearings in the gear drive assembly for the drive roller fell out on the table ! This bearing had failed. The specific part name is “Active Brush Holder Kit”. So it was not the motor bearing, but still a bearing... and an easy fix! I located the part from the parts diagram from a supplier and it’s on order. $9 part to fix my $1000 robot! Thanks for your tips. Got R Done!!
Also, with the motor out I powered it up and test started the unit. Impeller and both drive shafts rotated freely. So I’m confident the motor unit is still good! Thank you Luke!!
Hey Hey - that's great info about the "Active Brush Holder Kit". Well done on the fix!!! You should be proud have found, solved, and fixed the M500! Keep up the good work!!!!
@@LeisureLuke got the parts today. I ordered 2 of the “Active Brush Roller Kit” to replace both sides. Glad I did. The other one was a little sloppy compared to the new one and may have gone out next. Put it all together and back in business cleaning the pool!! Thanks Luke!!!! 😎
@@gordonroat5364 Thanks for all the information, and nice job with the fix! When you were describing the original problem you said it would stop sideways. Do you mean it would sort of turn a little bit then stop? That's a good thing for people here to look out for. If your robot tries to do the twist before giving up it may be a track problem! Much appreciated and again, be proud, that some good work you've done there! Enjoy the clean POOOOL!!!!!!
@@LeisureLuke Yes, it would attempt to move and only move sideways and not much at that. I think it was the bad ball bearings lodging as it started to move. The “good” bearing was somewhat sloppy compared to the new one when I got it, so glad I ordered two and replaced both sides Dolphin had been back to work about a week now and pool looks GREAT! Thanks for your help! 😁
I'm going to try it this weekend; mine was stopping just as described, but I opened it up and the propeller was completely broken off, so while your propeller wasn't broken off I'm still hoping this is my fix! Fingers crossed!
Great tips! Your video inspired me to open mine up and take a look. Bad news is mine had water in it and everything was rusted. I went ahead and purchased the whole unit from AZ Pool Supplies. I appreciate your link to that lower price.
Great video. Got the motor pulled without a problem but unfortunately the 2 motor screws would not budge and are now stripped. I sprayed with Liquid Wrench and will let sit overnight.
Mine is the nautilus cc plus my impeller seems to be fine but the drive motor shaft is barely moving and noisy. I’m going to give it a try. Thanks, didn’t expect it to be that easily repaired these things are usually impossible to get apart without breaking something is the reason I didn’t give it a try. Now I’ll take back apart tomorrow. Thanks so much! Phillip Hurst
I’m impressed with how well these come apart and go together. I know other nautilus cc owners have fixed their drive motors the same way, and I’m 99% sure those call for the same bearings! Good luck & keep us posted!
Great job by you and all the other people that have had success. I can include myself thanks to you! I believe you are correct about having to replace the brushes. If you have any idea on the size or a source I would, everyone would, appreciate it. Had I been thinking straight I would have measured them when it was apart, but I was so excited to see the thing work with the new bearing, it blinded me lol.
Awesome video, I'm going to try to take mine apart see if it is the same problem. What I noticed with mine is that it goes back and forth, then stop. If I put it upside down, it does not stop ! Drives me crazy, I love my dolphin pool cleaner and want to bring it back to life !!! I'll update this comment if I can fix it. Thanks again for the video.
I can't believe how many hundreds or maybe thousands of people have been able to do the same fix! That's amazing! Think of the money (and waste) we're saving!
Sweet as. I have a different brand evidencing EXACTLY the same issue. Starts moving then stops and shuts off all the lights on the console too. Has become worse over time till now its a few seconds then lights out. Removing the filter and running it only runs a bit longer. Trying to drive the tracks is really hard to do but the impeller is free as a bird. SO for me its likely to be the movement motor has a seized bearing. Here's hoping that my Polaris p825/Zodiac CX20 motor unit is as serviceable as yours was. cheers
Very likely, I've read comments of several other brands/models with the same issue on drive/impeller motors. Fortunately, most come apart easy, and you've got nothing to lose! Good luck & keep us posted!
Nice and concise, I took mine apart thinking your diagnosis was causing mine to stop.....but all bearings were running freely. then I separated the main body away from all electrics and diagnosed the tracking system.....there seemed to be an irregularity to it. Forensically examined inside the tracks and squashed piece of tree was inhibiting the smooth running.. These pool cleaners have a memory system to them......when once stopped for what ever reason ...they continue to stop which make diagnosis deceptive...................Currently cleaner and dad are now happy chaps......all the best from Australia
This is pretty awesome, Luke! Thank you for taking the time to share your fix that worked on my Triton Maytronics, which also has the 626-RS ball bearing. At least, the one that was defective. The other one is 608 if I recall correctly. Both shields were collapsed, it was pretty impressive. There was also a lot of dirt/metallic dust inside, and fortunately no water. I took pictures that I am happy to share. I just don't know how to post them here. Thank you for allowing to save additional frustration and expenses! Triton is now back in service (although I had to restart it twice times, possibly until the fault cleared by itself. I wasn't able to reset it via the app, which seriously needs improvements. A cool project would be to be able to start the robot from Wifi or set more than 3 repeats (useful when on vacay). And how about a feature that would allow Triton to not be tangled in my tikki table and stools in the pool? That would be nice!
I'm working on a tiki bar too - checkout a video I made about the Tiki Bar Top! I'm mounting that on a Glastron PT84... which is cooler than it sounds #1Pun. Now that I gotta see! You can post pics and tag me @Leisure_Luke on instagram or @LeisureLuke on twitter. I'd love to have stools in the pool! Hahaha #2 Pun! :D Just no way to do it with my vinyl liner... that I know of. Or throw it on reddit or facebook and send me a link!
@LeisureLuke the exact same model I had, the Triton PS. I just bought new tracks, filters, and a drive gear this spring so I can keep those as back ups\spares.
I have just had my robot for 2 weeks. It is running but leaf sometimes got into the impeller. I can took most leaf out by squeeze my fingers onto the impeller. I am already tempted to taking it apart after watching your video.
Yeah, it's just a few screws. Keeping the impeller clean is crucial. I clogged impeller won't let your suction properly, so climbing walls and clinging to corners can become problematic. Good Luck! You Got This!
I have a Dolphin S200 as well and it will start up, move forward and then stop. I can barely turn the impeller so I will be attempting this in a few days. Can't wait to see if this fixes it!
Thanks for this video! Easy to understand and follow. I got mine down to the impeller, before opening the box, and the impeller was easy to turn but had a lot of hair around the shaft. I cleaned that off and thought I'd gotten off easily, but it still does the 10-15 second run and stop. Should the impeller twirl, or just be able to turn.?
Nice, the problem is usually just a stuck impellor clogged with hair, sticks, etc. The impeller turns hard, but can be turned. I would say it does not "spin". You can't flick it and watch it twirl, but if you grab it you can rotate it.
Thank you so much for this video. I am hoping that this will be my fix. I have the motor out and my same bearing is locked up. Waiting on the new ones to complete the fix and give it a try. Thanks again.
Follow up- The motor was seized. Mine had different size bearings inside. I had to replace the 626RS bearing AND one of the motor brushes. It was difficult finding both parts. I had to order the bearing online. I found a motor brush locally but had to file it down to the proper size. I got everything back together easily and it works as it should. Thank you for your helpful video!
@@zadina59 OOooo that's a lot of work! Excellent job on the repair!!! Congratulations, now you'll be able to afford that chlorine! Seriously, well done. That's FAR from an easy task. You kept the landfill empty and saved some serious cash. WELL DONE!
Great video!!!! My Dolphin s200 died on me last season and I paid $450 plus tax and labor to have it fixed. I think I will follow your video and try to fix the broken motor. What do I have to loose? I wish I had seen your video sooner. Thanks again, Luke.
Thanks brother. Great, understandable video. Mine is doing the same thing. Starts up and stops but my impeller spins freely. The one track is acting "Notchy" in one spot. Going to start taking it apart more. This video gave great insight before digging in. Thanks again
Hey Erich, my scenario similar to your own. The impeller was clogged, but turns freely now once hair removed. One track also ‘notchy’. You get yours going?
This winter i replaced the cable, rats chewed it into 3 pieces. 3 weeks ago when I opened my pool the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus would not run, it was running last year. The power supply is putting out 29+ VDC all the way thru the new cable, the cable continuity is good. I opened the motor box. It was dry and like new inside. Both motors rotate with what I feel is the correct amount of resistance. I tested approx 3 ohms on each motor terminal. My new cable is a 2 wire. The old cable was a 2 wire, the output of the power supply is 2 pins. Inside the motor box I notice that the motor leads are red and black. The connector inside the motor box has 3 wires, red, black, and white. The cable connector is clocked to the connector in the motor box, it can only be inserted 1 way. The 2 leads from my cable connect to the white and black wires inside the box. Could this be the problem? Should the input power connect to the red and black instead of black and white? I have read somewhere that some Dolphins are 3 wire if they have remote control. Maybe that is what the white wire is for. I wonder if I could modify the wires inside the box to correct the problem. Maytronics has not been able to help, the only time I was able to finally talk to a service rep he did not know the answer, put me on hold to check with someone else and then we got cut off and he did not call back. Please help.
I’d keep trying their customer support. Sometimes you can call your local pool store and they will impart some knowledge for free. I don’t know if red/black or red/white is the correct hookup. I tend to wonder if it’s a control signal or perhaps some EU spec for their 220v systems. I’ve got no knowledge here, hopefully someone else responds :). Good Luck.
Nice! Hopefully you don’t have this repair anytime soon, but you’ll be ready when the day comes. I’ve got 2 now, and this is the only failure I’ve had. I’ve replaced the filters when they get a cut, and the cables will need replacing soon. Other than that these are great!
Thanks for the great video. My impeller has no debris and will turn, but will stop immediatley if I stop pushing it. Should it continue to spin on its own after I give it a nudge?
Nah, there's some normal motor resistance as you pass the magnets. If it's seized it'll be hard or impossible to rotate at all. Sounds like your problem isn't the impellor motor bearings. Good luck!
Interestingly, I had this same problem. When I took it apart everything seemed to spin nicely. However, there was lots of black build up. I knocked what I could loose and threw it back together. And somehow the thing is running again. Holy shit.
Nice work!!!! Party Accordingly! Yeah, I wish I would've thought to film the force needed to spin the impeller. In most cases if it "Can Spin" it's fine. For me, there was no chance I was going to spin it without hurting myself :D Anyway, job well done!
Started my Dolphin cleaner this spring and the power supply popped. I was afraid to buy a new power supply. I came across your video and found some debree around the impeller. The impeller turned hard. So I followed your video. My cleaner has 2 bearing one in the brass cap which did not come apart. You were right. Getting the motor back into where the brushes make contact was a chore. My question is, How freely should the impeller turn assembled.? Thanks
Great video. My impeller definitely spins fine, but my unit shuts off after a minute or two. Maybe it's the drive motor? Can you comment on how freely the treads should be able to move by hand? Although it performs the out of water test, my treads will move, but it is definitely not easy to move them.
I have the same issue. Out of water test it worked but put back in the water, it goes forward then back and stops within 10 sec. Visually I didn't see any dirt in impeller and it turned around but I don't know how freely it should move. If someone can comment would be perfect. thanks
Great video! Ever seen an issue where the motor drive and the impeller drive work fine in manual mode, forward and reverse only, but the unit won’t turn? Servo Overload message. The water flow piece that controls left and right does not move freely, in fact it clicks. No debris present, but at the point where I am going to pull the unit apart and attempt to fix myself. 30i active and issue started with a few months of purchase. I moved and it went to storage and I lost track of the warranty period, which has since expired, hence self repair.
Thanks for the video, my S200 stopped running and checked power supply and cable both have proper voltage. Impeller spins freely but the robot has no power. I’ll take apart the black box since you showed me the steps and see what I can find.
Hey Luke, Fellow Fipper owners. So, this week out of the blue.. my flipper started the dreaded move forward a foot, back a foot and stop.. I took the impeller top off and the bottom basket and its cover area.. nothing noticeable.. I CAN turn my impeller by hand, but it will not just spin it is tighter than that, seeing I never tried to mess with it new, I don't know the resistance level of it. but does this sound like I need to tear the impeller motor down also? I left the cover off of it and watched and it never does engage.
Hello! There is usually resistance in the impeller motor, such that you could never spin it like a top, it's motor with magnets, and they tend to want to hold the impeller in place. That being said, I'd still take the impeller motor apart and look inside your black box for any signs of water damage. Sometimes cleaning out the carbon dust helps, you'll be able to check the bearings by hand, and you can check the length of those motor brushes, some people replace them and say it helps. Remember to mark which color wire goes to which side of the motor - it matters :D Good luck!
Alas, what you might find is that the motor screws are cheap junk and very tight. I have every high quality screwdriver known to man (almost :) but one of the screws was completely immovable. Before you order any of the other supplies, make sure you can actually remove the impeller motor housing screws first. Otherwise it is junk. My impeller motor was "stiff" and not completely seized, but it would not start turning when powered on without a nudge. Unable to expose the bearings I tried some thin lube down the shaft on either side of the motor, put some silicone grease on the shaft where it exits the motor housing by the impeller (an area moisture must be able to seep) and it has been running fine. The planned obsolescence of this motor hampers an otherwise great pool robot.
Water in motor! Great video. I had the exact same symptoms though the impellor was not seized, just a little firm. Unfortunately when I split the motor housing open I found WATER INSIDE. The unit had never been repaired before and no cracks were evident. The motor bearings all seem free enough and spin OK. I will test the motor. Do you have any tips for re-waterproofing the motor housing.
The housing should have 2 rubber ring gaskets and lots of marine grease. It’s probably worth understanding where the water leaked from - there’s 2 motors, the cover, and maybe some wiring that all goes through that black box.
I think I overran the load? Sticks for where they shouldn’t have. Cleaned it out and the impeller top works great and the wheels move during the test but not in the water. No error code. It’s likely a bearing?
Do you have a video on how to get the main housing (where the two motors are located inside) apart? I started to do so yesterday and it felt like I was going to break something. If no video, a description and tools used would be great. Thanks Luke!
Sounds like you're referring to opening the black box? That just has clips that only need a little force to become unclipped. If yours is like mine, it has never been opened. It just took some muscle and I sort of "worked my way around" prying to the two halves apart. I wouldn't use any tools other than your hands, as you don't want to damage the 2 gasket rings that keep the box sealed. The will pry apart, and the gaskets should be pretty greasy, which is good (help keeps the water out). Working my way around I could slide the two halves apart maybe 1/8 inch, then move to the next side. Hope that helps! No magic tricks here, unfortunately. GL!
@@LeisureLuke Thanks! I had the clips unclipped but wasn't sure how to pry the two halves apart. Will use more elbow grease and see if I can get it apart. Very much appreciate the video and quick reply. Cheers!
Great video! My Dolphin Triton PS was not moving, but still blowing water. I was able to dismantle the impeller motor and it was full of the black dust. Cleaned with the electronic cleaner and then air compressor. reassembled it and placed back in the water. Now, it is having difficulty climbing the pool walls and falls backwards with bottom up and does not seem to move as fast. Not sure what else to do to fix it. Should I just buy a new one?
It's always a little tough to spin, that's normal magnetic resistance in the motor. IMPOSSIBLE to spin means you have a bearing problem. I couldn't spin mine at all by hand.
Thanks for the video. When you say the impeller is supposed to freely spin, do you mean like a ceiling fan? Like when I attempt to spin it, I'd be able to flick my finger and it freely spins? Or do you mean by applying constant pressure and it will spin? My does spin with the constant force of my finger but there is some resistance to that spin. Thanks again.
Sounds like you have a normal and good amount of resistance. It won't spin like a top, but by adding constantly pushing 1 finger should be able to rotate it. They're rarely "caught" in the middle. It's almost always spinning normally or 100% locked and you'd struggle to turn it with a long pliers. I'm guessing you're in the clear :) Good Luck!
Hey! Thank you so much for the video. I have been recently trying to open up the motor assembly, but I have hit a dead end. No matter how hard I try, the lid of the box won't let go. Are these white plastic clamps on the perimeter of the motor assembly the only thing holding it together, or is there something else? I would really appreciate if you had some trick up your sleeve! Cheers!
Great video! My Dolphin Triton PS was not moving, but still had water moving through it. I disassembled the impeller motor and cleaned out the black powder with electronic cleaner and air compressor. It is now working, but not going up the wall and falling backwards (pop wheelies as other described). I am not sure what you mean that the red and white wires were reversed. Do you mean on the mother board (green plate)? I don't know how to solder, so what is an alternative solution? Did I put the magnetic cover over the impeller upside down? Thanks for your assistance!
4:45 It looks like Motor was glued down to the chassis at the factory (we can see glue residue on the bottom and on the far end wall) I suspect this helps drive motor to stay in place and not moving away from the drive wheel to enforce weak chassis plastic eventually could become too flexible and drive wheel will start to slip with some clicking noise.
Good observation. That shiny circle is actually just from rubbing. There’s no glue or oil or anything there, just 2 plastic pieces that touch and rub together ever so slightly. I double checked :)
This video is very helpful. In taking apart my impeller motor a ton of black dust and sut fell out. I'd love to send you a video of what I have discovered if you don't mind.
Leisurelukeyt@gmail.com send it over! Dust inside the motor or just around the impeller? These are brushed motors, so they will accumulate dust inside from the wearing of the brushes.
@@LeisureLuke Thank you for the very quick response. Sorry I am just getting back to this project. I was able to clear the dust, as you've responded to this 100's x's now and I was too lazy to read through all your comments. Now I am having the same problem that @Robert Hawke is having with sucking water in from the top and not blowing out.
You'll probably only replace the one that failed, but each motor has 3 bearings if you wanted to replace them all. The s200 probably uses the same 626rs bearing as the 300s. The good news is most bearings have the size printed right on it, so you'll know what you need once you take it apart and find the problem bearing. If you have any questions, let me know! Worst case, you can measure the bearing with a calipers, and use that to lookup what you need. 626rs = 6mm Inner Diameter (ID) x 19mm OD x 6mm thickness and RS = Rubber Sealed. The seal doesn't matter, just the size.
@@vincepinneri1703 Don't stock up on these parts :) they are literally $1 or $10 for a 10 pack on amazon with same day shipping. Local rollerblade or hobby stores may have them in stock as well. Not hard to find or expensive. Also, yours may not break for 5+ years!
Great video Luke and really appreciate showing the impeller repair. Currently I'm trying to stop the Dolphin 20 from climbing the walls. Do you know if that's an option on the circuit board like dip switches or something? Ours scrubs in one place when it climbs and has gotten stuck behind the ladder so just cleaning the bottom would keep it useful. Thanks.
Are there 3 bearings or 2? I have one on either side that spin but I suspect there’s one more that’s wedged in to the main part - I’ve watched the videos a few times to try and figure it out- excited to see where I land!
@LeisureLuke It appears my issue is the bearing in the brass cap, but I can't figure out how to get it out. I pulled the snap wring, but I don't know how to get access to the bearing from there. Any guidance you can provide?
Hi Luke, GREAT video!! I f I were mechancially inclined I'd give it a try, but I'm not. Any idea would be able to replace the bearings in the Syracuse area? If I sent it to you, would you be able to do the job for me?
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Hi Luke, thanks a lot. This was exactly my problem. I've spent only 1 dollar, 40 minutes and could fix it. you are the BEST. best regards from Switzerland Angelo
NICE WORK!! That's no small job :) money and hassle saved! Party Accordingly 🥳
Hi Luke, I have a dolphin, E-10, it seems lately the unit will go on the bottom as it goes through the debris. The debris just blows around. It does not seem like it has any suction yet I do see water coming out of the top. Any ideas why this would not have any suction? I checked the impeller, and there was no debris.
Mike
@@michaelbennett3202 If water is blowing out the top, then you have suction coming in the bottom. If it's able to cling to and climb walls, your suction is good enough. I'd double check your filter basket for small tears, any small tear means that filter basket will pretty much not work at all. Also make sure it's assembled correctly and sitting right in the unit. If you're climbing walls, and your filter basket is clean, then it should be sucking up and cleaning something! Hope that helps.
3 years later after this video was posted and yet here it is helping me fix mine. Thank you very much! 🙏🙏
Been working on these for 6 years, seen a lot of seized motors and this actually makes a lot of sense. Normally do repairs by replacing, but lately been trying to rebuild. Kudos for this info~
Yeah, and my repair of just 1 bearing has kept it in service for like 1.5 seasons with no signs of slowing down. Any chance you have a good link to buying just the motors? Or do you usually replace the whole black box motor assembly?
@@LeisureLuke I usually order through second hand to replace the black box. I've had around 50 machines before here, so sadly I won't have time to break things down. Covid made getting new parts a challenge, so I've been adopting motor repairs specifically since summer. I have a stack of older parts too incase one of the boards went bad.
My friend don't forget to replace new rubber gasket when Dismantling impeller motor and drive motor or else you will buy the whole MU after a month or after a year. Sorry my english is not good. hahaha but believe me my friend. Im the service tech of that robotic pool cleaner.
So should the ball bearing just spring and spin? I give it a good spin and it goes about 3-4 revolutions and stops.
@Liatriss Would you happen to know if the 63ZYW-A2 can be replaced with an A3? Specs appear to be the same, but I’m not an electrical engineer so I’m being extra cautious.
I spent $180 to replace the blue cable on my DOLPHIN Nautilus CC. It would only run for about 30 seconds and just stop. No indication on what was happening. Local pool shop suggested to replace the blue cable and I let them. Got it home a week later and of course it didn't fix my issue. They then suggested to replace the motor.. Adding up the cost of the potential repair, and I could have gotten a new unit for the cost of the motor and cable! :) I will for sure be taking my motor apart this afternoon to see if the bearing is the issue! Thanks for making this video!
Good luck! While you are in there you can check both motors. Some people have actually done the same fix on the other motor too! I’d use your old cable and save the new one :) someday you’ll probably need it! Might as well squeeze out the life of the old one!
@@LeisureLuke so taking the motor out in of itself showed me the issue. The propeller had hair and twine underneath it in a way I wasn’t able to see it from the top down view. Took the prop off the spindle and removed it and it’s working perfectly!!
My Maytronics Dolphin Active 20 just started having this problem where the impeller is not spinning. I bought brand new in 2020. We use it everyday in the summer. This is the 3rd season. With your instructions, I was able to take it a part. There was all this black carbon flakes. I used electrical contact cleaner to clean the inside of the 24V impeller motor, and both bearings. I couldn't take out the 3rd bearing off, put it all together and everything is working - back to normal! Without changing any parts! This took me 2 hours to do at a easy comfortable pace. Thank you for making this video. You saved me $1500. I was almost going to buy a new one.
Nice!!!! Congrats on the fix! It’s not a job for the faint of heart, and sounds like you did a thorough job and cleaned it like new! The black dust is normal - it’s from the wearing of the motor brushes, which I’m guessing will be our next failure and next fix-it video :). Well done! Party accordingly!!!
DUDEEEE credit where credit is due!!!! Dolphin moved backwards a few inches then forward a few inches then nothing. Checked impeller and stuck solid. Followed ur video and believe it or not a local skate shop had my bearing in stock and I fixed it in less than an hour. Saved me my hard earned cash man! Thank you!
Nicely Done!!!! Happy to have helped!
Awesome video. Thank you for helping the algorithm find this repair and saving big $$$
A few notes as I'm mid-repair:
1) The sealed unit itself can be really hard to open. I used the shaft of a screwdriver (not the pointy end) to pry it apart using the clip brackets as leverage. I slipped a credit card into the gap to help work around. When it finally opened there was a large pop - I think the unit was REALLY well sealed and the temperature swing at night when I tried to open it caused a pressure / vacuum making it extra hard.
2) The long screws on the motor itself have SUPER SOFT heads. Immediately stripped one of them using a regular screwdriver. And that's the point I'm finding myself stuck at right now. Ugh. Be careful everyone with these! Might end up having to buy a new motor just because I've stripped some darn screws 😵
There is an eBay seller out there who will repair/refurb your motor for ~$110, or sell a kit of all the necessary parts for ~$30. Might be worth it if there's a lot of parts that need fixing, or if you're happy to outsource part of the fix without shelling out the full $450!!
Thanks for the tip of using the shaft to pry open the black motor box. I was stuck.
@@bristolj.buckets8968 I was curious about how well it was sealed. Thanks for this!
Hey mate, thanks for the great video, saved me $600 AUD for a new motor. Ended up being the brushes not the bearings, cost me a grand total of $10 to change them out. Although not the same problem as yours, your video gave me an insight on how to pull it apart & put back together again, working a treat now. Cheers from OZ
Literally, you saved me $450 AND the fix was free !! Took apart as you did, took the motor apart and the inside was caked in fine carbon powder. A bit of compressed air later, the motor cleaned, everything back together and good as new. Thank you.
Awesome! Nice work :D Party Accordingly :D
I'm 2 minutes away from ordering a whole new Dolphin but your video was so well done that, even though I've tried everything else, short of opening the motor, - which makes me nervous - you've given me the confidence to try this. Sounds like it is just the bearing and that will save hundreds!
I hope that's the case and you're back on your way to a clean pool!!! Yeah, it's worth trying anything if the alternative is a new $1k unit! :D Good Luck!
Got the bearing replaced and motor put back together. The seal must not have lined up right, Dolphin worked for about half hour then stopped. I took it apart and the housing for the motor is filled with water. Looks like I'll have to purchase a new one. Thanks for video, was super helpful!
AH! Shoot! That's a tough one to stomach, but you did all you could to save it in the first place. Enjoy the new pool cleaner, and let me know which you end up getting!
Thank you Luke. I had the same problem on my Dolphin Deluxe 4. It has 2 bearings 626rs and 608rs. Truthfully, I only really needed to replace the 608rs, but since I was already in there and its like 10 years old, I replaced both. Additionally my circuit board had some corrosion and a burnt up resistor. I got some 90% rubbing alcohol and cleaned the circuit board. Determined the burnt resistor was an 18 ohm 1/2 watt, soldered a new one of those in and let'r rip. It runs like new. I would not have done any of this without your video. So here's the breakdown.
Multi pack of resistors $13. 10 pack of 626rs $9. 10 pack of 608rs $8. Rubbing alcohol from Wal-Mart $1.50 and a tube of silicone lube from HD $5. So, less $40 for enough parts to maybe keep this thing going for another 10 years. A ton of simple knowledge that I got to learn with my 15 year old son. It's a joy to watch a once dead Dolphin that I paid a $1000 for still going. One more tip. I've always had the habit of keeping those little silica packets that come with all the Chinese junk we buy. So I stuffed like 8 of those in the box to hopefully stop or limit future corrosion. I realize this this is now old and not as water tight as it used to be, I will probably open this thing up a couple times a year just to make sure. Thanks again Luke, you're AWESOME!!!!
Well done Russ!!! You really went the extra mile there, sounds like thorough and excellent work! You should be proud to have revived something, saved money, and probably learned a lot! Happy to be the inspiration to crack everything open. That’s some seriously good work 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hi would these bearings be the same on dophins200
Vince
Man! I wish I saw your video before I spent $400 to fix my little robot…but now I know. Thank you for the video.
Mine has been acting the same way, extended warranty is replacing the unit.. but now I'm going to give this a try, nothing to lose! Then I'll have a backup unit 😊
Thank you.
Nice fix! Its always nice to be able to fix things rather than having to throw them out.
For sure! I’m keeping an eye on eBay all winter, then fixing and selling them in the spring all refurbished!
Well done. For all the maytronics owners out there, it would be phenomenal to be able to source those two motors somewhere @ the source. A fix for probably 99% of the failures for a few bucks, and not $400 for the entire drive unit.
Thanks! Yeah, there are hundreds of places to get the motor assembly and NO ONE sells the individual motors anymore. Glad you appreciate the fix! Let’s save some people some money!
A@
I found the impeller motor on ebay for my Dolphin Deluxe 4 for $300. Fortunately Luke's video determined I only needed the besrings.
I found the same motors on ebay
This is a great video...my bearings where fine ...my motor was packed with carbon dust...cleaned it out and it runs fine now....this video is great showing all the steps...the engineering on this machine is fantastic...taking it apart and reassembling it is pretty easy...all the parts are indexed to only go together properly...even the power cord. thanks so much....saved a LOT of money. I recommend cleaning all the gaskets as you reassemble...just to keep water from creeping in. I sure wish they would sell the individual motors inside the $450 assembly....why engineer it so well to for repair and then not sell the interior motors?
Thanks for the comment! That carbon dust is a build up from the brushes wearing away on the motors. These are "brush motors" vs "brushless motors". Some people eventually have to replace the motor brushes when they become too short over time. Glad you fixed it! I agree about cleaning the gaskets, but I'm worried about getting the wrong silicon grease to coat them in before reassembly. Do you know what the right stuff is? Nice fix - one less thing in the dump and $1k saved a little longer! Great Job, party accordingly :)
@@LeisureLuke Mine weren't that dirty that I needed to wash them...just got the sand off and then cleaned the grooves really well...the gaskets were still pretty slippery with lube when I put then back on....there are quite a few on the old interne that seem appropriate - I did see some refurbished motors on EBAY...appears to be a guy who refurbishes them full time...good gig
Fixed!!! Thank you!!!Dolphin Nautilius CC Plus. 4 years old and I always leave in the pool. Robot would run for about 1-2 minutes and then stop and the blower fan on the top would continue to run without moving the robot. Fixed: opened up the motor assembly and found the motor that drives the wheels to be completely full of electric motor dust. Picked up a can of contact cleaner for electronics ( and safe for plastics) and cleaned the hell out of the motor. The bearings after cleaning rolled smoothly so I didn't need to replace. Put everything back together - be mindful of the little odd looking washer that sits ontop of the bearing- kind hard to put back but you'll figure it out with time. Only thing I noticed while it was opening the the brushes on the motor were running a little low. If it acts up again I'll plan to buy some extra brushes to keep the motor running. To make sure you have good seals you need some pure silicone grease.
Total cost to fix: 1 can of contact cleaner: $12 since I already had the silicone grease.
Great how-to video! Thanks for saving me significant replacement $$. I almost ordered a new robot right away, but figured I'd try this first. It fixed my Dolphin model with the exact same bearing, threw it in the pool and it started working again. I used toothpicks to move the motor brush springs off and then used them to hold the brushes back while inserting the electric motor back into its housing. With the extra bearings, I'm ready for 4 more repairs if necessary.
Hey Luke, big shout out form Canada. After procrastinating for the summer I finally found your vid and did the same. The bearing cost me $7 here but still cheaper and quicker than sending it in to a shop. Thanks for the great vid.
I used to work on typewriters and when I tore apart the motors for cleaning, I always made a mark on the case and end caps. When you reassemble the motor, align the marks and the bolts will line up perfect.
You are THE most multi-faceted human! I love the way you have diagnosis/fix/test broken out to navigate the video and the music you chose!
Thank you so much! Happy to post fixes like this that'll save people hundreds of dollars AND TIME!!!!!
thanks Luke - my bearing cost $3 but totally worth the effort
Darn inflation 😂 I guess you'll have $2 less to spend on the party you should throw yourself! Job well done!
My Nautilus CC Plus was spinning the impeller for a few seconds but the motor for the tracks wouldn’t start. Followed your advice and checked the bearings. Replaced one of the impeller motor bearings since it was noisy and failing. Back in business! Thanks for this video!
Nice work!!! And good to know the same issue can appear on the drive motor!!!
Thanks for the video. Mine started stopping after a few seconds this morning. Searched youtube for Dolphin Nautilus repair and your video popped up. Watched it and promptly pulled it apart, found one of the bearings to be seized and drove to Ace Hardware, and I'm now back in business! Nice feeling repairing it yourself and saving a boat load of cash on repairs/replacement.
WELL DONE! Repairing an electric motor is no small feat! Less trash in the dump, more cash in the pockets! 🥳👍🏼
Thank You Luke. Fixed my pool robot. The impeller motors are impossible to find now. Great video and easy to follow. Helped a lot of people on here!
Thanks Ricky! Happy to help & NICE WORK doing the FIX! Ahhh, yeah the motors were available over the winter and have seem to gone out of stock again pretty quickly... Good thing bearings are always in stock & cheap! :D
Thank you for the description and link to the bearings- that saved me a lot of research! I pulled my Dolphin apart last summer when it refused to run for more than a minute or two and found that same bearing you changed was not turning smoothly in my motor. I lubed it with some oil put it back together and the robot worked for the rest of the year. Fast forward to this Spring and that bearing was rough again so it is time to replace it. Oil has it working for now, but the bearing really needs replacing.
One note for your viewers- when I reassembled the motor the first time it was running backwards and I needed to swap the red and black wires / brushes to the opposite positions from where they were originally to get the motor to spin in the proper direction. I'm not sure how I managed to get something backwards as it seems like all the parts were keyed for one orientation. I think it might have been the brass cap at the end of the motor. It isn't keyed to the motor housing but is keyed to the plastic enclosure. I think that going on opposite to original resulted in the terminals lining up opposite to where they were previously. I recommend putting an alignment mark on the brass cap and motor housing. It will help with aligning the screws to the holes, too.
Does anyone have a source for replacement brushes or the brush springs? I don't know how long these will last, but it would be great to be able to replace them when they wear out.
GREAT feedback Ryan. Nice work on oiling up the bearings! Bummer that's only temporary, but at least it reassures you that you've identified the problem!
I've seen a few people ask about the brushes and brush springs. From what I can tell these aren't parts that wear out in the life of a dolphin, yes, these wear out in electric motors (usually before the bearings), but you would probably have to run a 2+ hours a day for 10+ years to actually wear those out. That being said, they're generic, and brushes are sold by size, so if you remove the brush, measure the width & height with a caliper, you should be able to find that brush size on ebay, and you'll have to guess at the length. Springs too. I search a bit and found springs that looked the same. I didn't buy them to verify.
Again, good work, and good luck when the replacement time comes!
@@LeisureLuke Since my first post, I replaced the bearing and everything is running smoothly again. I used the terminal puller you recommended to pull the bearing. I used a small bolt between the puller head and the axle to reduce the diameter down to the appropriate size to not interfere with the bearing race as it was being pulled off. It worked great!
This is pretty embarrassing, but somehow I managed to get my terminals backwards AGAIN even with being aware of the issue and had to take it apart another time to fix that.
@@ryanmcdaniel7030 BAHAHA AGAIN!? Funny, well, well done!!!!!
This is awsesome work. About to purchase a Dolphin, so I'm sure I'll be back here just after 2 years when the warranty is up and the bearing stops running !
Great video. The same problem happened to my pool cleaner, your video inspired me what to do and it turned out that the bearing next to the brushes was blocking. I lubricated it with oil and the problem was solved, but I bought new bearings and will change them later.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Greetings from Spain.
My favorite result! Glad to hear you were able to find the issue! I'd still replace that bearing, but it sounds like you've bought yourself some time. EXCELLENT JOB!!! Party Accordingly 🥳
Thanks Luke, I had the same problem and your video gave me the confidence to try the repair. Replacing the bearing was a piece of cake. Reassembly of the motor was a little cumbersome because of the brushes. Next time I think I will retract the brush springs and let the motor housing keep them off the brushes. Getting the housing for the motors and circuit boards back together with the o-ring properly in place was a bear. After 30-45 minutes of swearing I decided to try my woodworking bar clamps (2) to draw the housings together while using a piece of wood to tuck the o-ring between the two housings. In two minutes the housing was back together and after 3 days the cleaner still works. I’m fairly confident I just saved a thousand bucks. Thanks.
So happy it worked! Sounds like you got a little more work than you bargained for, but glad you’re done! Mine still works on year 2 of doing this fix! I run it constantly this time of year in the spring of Minnesota. NICE WORK, CONGrats, PARTYACCORDINGLY!!!!! :)
@@LeisureLuke Luke, thanks for the great video on the impeller motor fix. My question: I took my motor box apart and all motors seem to work but only briefly. Is there some sort of sensor that shuts the motors down when the unit is not in the water? If not, I'm wondering whether I have a bad board in the motor box. I have an M400 with three motors, two drive and the impeller.
Thanks!
Tim
That last lid latch worked me over trying to get the last it on. The uneven surface was a challenge with the woodworking clamp but a lot of MaGyvering solved the issue.
Thank you, Luke, for the video. My Dolphin Triton PS stopped working after two years, right after the warranty expired. The lady at the pool store said that the model was an "internet special" that broke early (I purchased it online). I was not happy, I'm used to such large purchases lasting many, many more years. Anyway, I went through your tutorial--first, I could move the fan but it did have some resistance, so I moved forward. When I got the motor out, a bunch of rust-colored water spilled out: the gasket had failed. The circuit board had some pieces that fell off after soaking in water. I didn't go past that so now am going to purchase a new robot. I thought about replacing the motor unit, but I also would need a cord, since that would all cost $600 plus I'm leaning towards a new one around $850. However, the reviews tout the Dolphin Nautilus CC, but I'm so hesitant to get a Dolphin. Perhaps I will, and after 2 years, pull everything out and replace gasket and parts. I'm not sure :(
Sorry to hear that rob. I would get a new one vs fixing yours. Once you have water damage you're looking at replacing everything internal and it's work without a warranty. You'll be happier finding the store with the best, longest warranty possible and getting that! Seems like purchasing through a local pool store that clearly states their warranty is the best thing. If it were me, I'd start reading through Amazon adds and get the highest-reviewed product that has a warranty (you will have to pay to ship it in). These things just aren't made to last, but a new one will undoubtedly be better than an old one. Hope that helps.
I agree
Hi Luke, that's my first ever youtube comment, and you really earned it. You saved me app.400 € and a lot of time - additionally the repair was really fun and easy. My Dolphin is the Bio S model, which has 2 ball bearings, but looks similar. I could remove the bearing with end cutting pliers. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Happy to hear! I’m honored to be the recipient of your first TH-cam comment :) Great work! It’s a fun job when it all goes well :) you’ve earned some pool relaxation 👍🏼 mine is still working great 2 seasons later!
Thank you. My Pentair Prowler 920 (Dolphin Active 20) stopped working. It would move a couple feet and shut off. I pulled it apart and noticed a ton of black soot everywhere inside the motor unit housing. Upon further inspection it was dust from the impeller motor brushes. I pulled apart the impeller motor and it looked terrible, I wiped it down really good to remove the dust and it cleaned up nicely. The bearing was okay. I re-assembled and now it is working. It's a bummer you can't find the impeller motor (5500024 in my case) anywhere as I'm concerned the brushes are worn and may eventually need replacing. Thanks again as I was able to repair this for $0 and a couple hours of time.
We’ll done! Yeah, those solid brushes create lots of dust… they are generic brushes that can be replaced just by measuring the height & width and ordering the right size brush on eBay. Sounds like a few other commenters here are considering the same thing when the time comes. Nice work on your repair !!!
Ok awesome ! I thought I saw one in there ! Thanks so much for responding ! I have them on the way so fingers crossed 😊 thank you so much for posting this - you’re the man 🎉
My 5 year old Dolphin Triton PS Plus was throwing the "Error 1: DC in voltage" shortly after start up. Strangely I could still clean in manual mode and the impeller seemed to turn easily enough. I'm decided to try and replace both bearings of the impeller motor anyways, and the error cleared and is working again. Thank you for your video!
Oh man, nice work!!! Maybe the motor was drawing too much power, or maybe you fixed a bad connection in the process. Either way, we’ll done!!!
Awesome video, just replaced my bearing with guidance from your video. It’s back running like a champ after finding my rear bearing seized up!
Luke the snow scene was great ! Pool cleaning in the cold is best with a working robot . Thanks for the video.
Hahaha. Thanks! I’ll try to start filming more before snowstorms 🤣🤣
I took my dolphin apart and found the same seized bearing. just ordered the puller tool and the bearings from amazon. I'm feeling optimistic that i'll have a working robot in a few days. thanks for posting the vid!
Nice work Braydon! You've already done most of the work just identifying the problem!!! Good Luck with the Fix, keep us posted!!!!
@@LeisureLuke The new bearing did the trick! Robot is cleaning the pool right now and seems to be fully functional. Now we see how well I resealed everything and hope water doesn't get into motor compartment. thanks again for posting this video!
@@braydon9493 Congrats on the fix!!!! That's good money and plenty of landfill saved... good things! That helps us afford chlorine this year!!! Haha. Seriously though, well done!
So glad I found this video! Saved me $600 dollars!
Nice work on the fix!
As a side note. The extreme wear that has been noticed on the armature by some people is from the manufacturing process. It is how they balance the motor.
Thanks to you, I had the confidence to take a shot at fixing my Dolphin M500. My unit would attempt to move, lurge and stop... usually sideways . Suggesting the motor bearing you discuss. I pulled off the top and side covers off. One track seemed to be able to work freely, but the other was binding up. Then I flipped the unit upside down and pulled off the four screws holding the center drive roller. At this point, the ball bearings in the gear drive assembly for the drive roller fell out on the table ! This bearing had failed. The specific part name is “Active Brush Holder Kit”. So it was not the motor bearing, but still a bearing... and an easy fix! I located the part from the parts diagram from a supplier and it’s on order. $9 part to fix my $1000 robot! Thanks for your tips. Got R Done!!
Also, with the motor out I powered it up and test started the unit. Impeller and both drive shafts rotated freely. So I’m confident the motor unit is still good! Thank you Luke!!
Hey Hey - that's great info about the "Active Brush Holder Kit". Well done on the fix!!! You should be proud have found, solved, and fixed the M500! Keep up the good work!!!!
@@LeisureLuke got the parts today. I ordered 2 of the “Active Brush Roller Kit” to replace both sides. Glad I did. The other one was a little sloppy compared to the new one and may have gone out next. Put it all together and back in business cleaning the pool!! Thanks Luke!!!! 😎
@@gordonroat5364 Thanks for all the information, and nice job with the fix! When you were describing the original problem you said it would stop sideways. Do you mean it would sort of turn a little bit then stop? That's a good thing for people here to look out for. If your robot tries to do the twist before giving up it may be a track problem! Much appreciated and again, be proud, that some good work you've done there! Enjoy the clean POOOOL!!!!!!
@@LeisureLuke Yes, it would attempt to move and only move sideways and not much at that. I think it was the bad ball bearings lodging as it started to move. The “good” bearing was somewhat sloppy compared to the new one when I got it, so glad I ordered two and replaced both sides Dolphin had been back to work about a week now and pool looks GREAT! Thanks for your help! 😁
I'm going to try it this weekend; mine was stopping just as described, but I opened it up and the propeller was completely broken off, so while your propeller wasn't broken off I'm still hoping this is my fix! Fingers crossed!
I'm going to try! Mine is broken in the same way! Thank you so much.
Great tips! Your video inspired me to open mine up and take a look. Bad news is mine had water in it and everything was rusted. I went ahead and purchased the whole unit from AZ Pool Supplies. I appreciate your link to that lower price.
Nice. Good luck with the repair, yeah water damage is pretty much unfixable. Happy to gave it a close look though!
@@LeisureLuke In the computer world, we say it costs too much to have the smoke put back in... :)
Great video. Got the motor pulled without a problem but unfortunately the 2 motor screws would not budge and are now stripped. I sprayed with Liquid Wrench and will let sit overnight.
Mine is the nautilus cc plus my impeller seems to be fine but the drive motor shaft is barely moving and noisy. I’m going to give it a try. Thanks, didn’t expect it to be that easily repaired these things are usually impossible to get apart without breaking something is the reason I didn’t give it a try. Now I’ll take back apart tomorrow. Thanks so much! Phillip Hurst
I’m impressed with how well these come apart and go together. I know other nautilus cc owners have fixed their drive motors the same way, and I’m 99% sure those call for the same bearings! Good luck & keep us posted!
Great job by you and all the other people that have had success. I can include myself thanks to you! I believe you are correct about having to replace the brushes. If you have any idea on the size or a source I would, everyone would, appreciate it. Had I been thinking straight I would have measured them when it was apart, but I was so excited to see the thing work with the new bearing, it blinded me lol.
Thanks for the solution! I was able to do exactly what you did on my Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus.
NICELY DONE!!!!!!!! It's no small feat, and you saved mega cash! Bravo!~!!!! :D
Awesome video, I'm going to try to take mine apart see if it is the same problem. What I noticed with mine is that it goes back and forth, then stop. If I put it upside down, it does not stop ! Drives me crazy, I love my dolphin pool cleaner and want to bring it back to life !!! I'll update this comment if I can fix it. Thanks again for the video.
Great video. Informative and easy to watch. I appreciate you making this repair information available to those of us with the same problem.
I can't believe how many hundreds or maybe thousands of people have been able to do the same fix! That's amazing! Think of the money (and waste) we're saving!
Thank you for making this so simple. You've been a great help.
Sweet as. I have a different brand evidencing EXACTLY the same issue. Starts moving then stops and shuts off all the lights on the console too. Has become worse over time till now its a few seconds then lights out. Removing the filter and running it only runs a bit longer. Trying to drive the tracks is really hard to do but the impeller is free as a bird. SO for me its likely to be the movement motor has a seized bearing. Here's hoping that my Polaris p825/Zodiac CX20 motor unit is as serviceable as yours was. cheers
Very likely, I've read comments of several other brands/models with the same issue on drive/impeller motors. Fortunately, most come apart easy, and you've got nothing to lose! Good luck & keep us posted!
Nice and concise, I took mine apart thinking your diagnosis was causing mine to stop.....but all bearings were
running freely.
then I separated the main body away from all electrics and diagnosed the tracking system.....there seemed to be an
irregularity to it. Forensically examined inside the tracks and squashed piece of tree was inhibiting the smooth running..
These pool cleaners have a memory system to them......when once stopped for what ever reason ...they continue to stop
which make diagnosis deceptive...................Currently cleaner and dad are now happy chaps......all the best from Australia
Nice work! That debris can be tricky to find! At least now you're prepared to identify a bearing should you ever have that problem. Well done! Cheers!
This is pretty awesome, Luke! Thank you for taking the time to share your fix that worked on my Triton Maytronics, which also has the 626-RS ball bearing. At least, the one that was defective. The other one is 608 if I recall correctly. Both shields were collapsed, it was pretty impressive. There was also a lot of dirt/metallic dust inside, and fortunately no water. I took pictures that I am happy to share. I just don't know how to post them here.
Thank you for allowing to save additional frustration and expenses! Triton is now back in service (although I had to restart it twice times, possibly until the fault cleared by itself. I wasn't able to reset it via the app, which seriously needs improvements.
A cool project would be to be able to start the robot from Wifi or set more than 3 repeats (useful when on vacay). And how about a feature that would allow Triton to not be tangled in my tikki table and stools in the pool? That would be nice!
I'm working on a tiki bar too - checkout a video I made about the Tiki Bar Top! I'm mounting that on a Glastron PT84... which is cooler than it sounds #1Pun. Now that I gotta see! You can post pics and tag me @Leisure_Luke on instagram or @LeisureLuke on twitter. I'd love to have stools in the pool! Hahaha #2 Pun! :D Just no way to do it with my vinyl liner... that I know of. Or throw it on reddit or facebook and send me a link!
Nice job with the fix btw. Not an easy job, WELL DONE !
your video was excellent and repaired my S300 exactly as your video called out. thanks a bunch!!
NICE WORK! Party accordingly 🥳
Wish this came up in my many, many youtube searches over the last month.
Unfortunately this was a recommended vid AFTER I ordered a whole new unit.
Shoot! Haha. Must be nice to have a new unit. Just spent $100 on new basket filters… these things add up! What did you end up buying?
@LeisureLuke the exact same model I had, the Triton PS. I just bought new tracks, filters, and a drive gear this spring so I can keep those as back ups\spares.
I have just had my robot for 2 weeks. It is running but leaf sometimes got into the impeller. I can took most leaf out by squeeze my fingers onto the impeller. I am already tempted to taking it apart after watching your video.
Yeah, it's just a few screws. Keeping the impeller clean is crucial. I clogged impeller won't let your suction properly, so climbing walls and clinging to corners can become problematic. Good Luck! You Got This!
I have a Dolphin S200 as well and it will start up, move forward and then stop. I can barely turn the impeller so I will be attempting this in a few days. Can't wait to see if this fixes it!
I hope you are one of the lucky ones! LOTTA SUCCESS STORIES in the comments :D Let us know if you have any hiccups! Good Luck!
Thanks for this video! Easy to understand and follow. I got mine down to the impeller, before opening the box, and the impeller was easy to turn but had a lot of hair around the shaft. I cleaned that off and thought I'd gotten off easily, but it still does the 10-15 second run and stop. Should the impeller twirl, or just be able to turn.?
Nice, the problem is usually just a stuck impellor clogged with hair, sticks, etc. The impeller turns hard, but can be turned. I would say it does not "spin". You can't flick it and watch it twirl, but if you grab it you can rotate it.
Thank you so much for this video. I am hoping that this will be my fix. I have the motor out and my same bearing is locked up. Waiting on the new ones to complete the fix and give it a try. Thanks again.
Sounds like you're on the right track, and have found a problem! That's basically steps 1-4 of 5 done! NICE! GOOD LUCK!
Looks awesome! My Dolphin stopped working and it may be the same issue. I will check it out and see. I will let you know.
Thanks.
Good Luck! If the impeller is clear of debris and still doesn't turn easily it's probably this. Worth checking out!
Follow up-
The motor was seized. Mine had different size bearings inside. I had to replace the 626RS bearing AND one of the motor brushes. It was difficult finding both parts. I had to order the bearing online. I found a motor brush locally but had to file it down to the proper size. I got everything back together easily and it works as it should. Thank you for your helpful video!
@@zadina59 OOooo that's a lot of work! Excellent job on the repair!!! Congratulations, now you'll be able to afford that chlorine! Seriously, well done. That's FAR from an easy task. You kept the landfill empty and saved some serious cash. WELL DONE!
Thank-you you're a ROCKSTAR!!!
Great video!!!! My Dolphin s200 died on me last season and I paid $450 plus tax and labor to have it fixed. I think I will follow your video and try to fix the broken motor. What do I have to loose? I wish I had seen your video sooner. Thanks again, Luke.
How do you best remove the lid on the motor casing. I’m not that strong, but u also didn’t show it. Ty so much for the video.
Thank you! We had this exact problem and your video just saved us big $$$$$$$$$$
THESE ARE MY FAVORITE COMMENTS! Nice job, it's a big task! You are a legend my friend, Well Done!!!! Party Accordingly 🥳🥳
rarely the case, most often water penetration will fry the circuit boards and the motor box is spare parts
That can happen, but literally hundreds of people have fixed this issue, with success and longevity! Ready the comments 😁
Thanks brother. Great, understandable video. Mine is doing the same thing. Starts up and stops but my impeller spins freely. The one track is acting "Notchy" in one spot. Going to start taking it apart more. This video gave great insight before digging in. Thanks again
Good Luck! These really seem like they were made to be taken apart. I hope you find the problem, keep us posted!!!!
Hey Erich, my scenario similar to your own. The impeller was clogged, but turns freely now once hair removed. One track also ‘notchy’. You get yours going?
I’m having same issue as you guys? What was the fix?
Thanks Luke! I’m going to give it a try! Wish me luck!
Good luck! 😃
This winter i replaced the cable, rats chewed it into 3 pieces. 3 weeks ago when I opened my pool the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus would not run, it was running last year. The power supply is putting out 29+ VDC all the way thru the new cable, the cable continuity is good. I opened the motor box. It was dry and like new inside. Both motors rotate with what I feel is the correct amount of resistance. I tested approx 3 ohms on each motor terminal.
My new cable is a 2 wire. The old cable was a 2 wire, the output of the power supply is 2 pins. Inside the motor box I notice that the motor leads are red and black. The connector inside the motor box has 3 wires, red, black, and white. The cable connector is clocked to the connector in the motor box, it can only be inserted 1 way. The 2 leads from my cable connect to the white and black wires inside the box. Could this be the problem? Should the input power connect to the red and black instead of black and white? I have read somewhere that some Dolphins are 3 wire if they have remote control. Maybe that is what the white wire is for. I wonder if I could modify the wires inside the box to correct the problem. Maytronics has not been able to help, the only time I was able to finally talk to a service rep he did not know the answer, put me on hold to check with someone else and then we got cut off and he did not call back.
Please help.
I’d keep trying their customer support. Sometimes you can call your local pool store and they will impart some knowledge for free.
I don’t know if red/black or red/white is the correct hookup. I tend to wonder if it’s a control signal or perhaps some EU spec for their 220v systems. I’ve got no knowledge here, hopefully someone else responds :). Good Luck.
After reassembling the unit it works. Might have been a bad connection on one of the connectors.
Excellent video, I just got mine the S200
Nice! Hopefully you don’t have this repair anytime soon, but you’ll be ready when the day comes. I’ve got 2 now, and this is the only failure I’ve had. I’ve replaced the filters when they get a cut, and the cables will need replacing soon. Other than that these are great!
Your fix worked great. Thanks for the information...
Nice work! Congrats on the successful fix!!! Happy swimming :)
Thanks for the great video. My impeller has no debris and will turn, but will stop immediatley if I stop pushing it. Should it continue to spin on its own after I give it a nudge?
Nah, there's some normal motor resistance as you pass the magnets. If it's seized it'll be hard or impossible to rotate at all. Sounds like your problem isn't the impellor motor bearings. Good luck!
Interestingly, I had this same problem. When I took it apart everything seemed to spin nicely. However, there was lots of black build up. I knocked what I could loose and threw it back together. And somehow the thing is running again. Holy shit.
Nice work!!!! Party Accordingly! Yeah, I wish I would've thought to film the force needed to spin the impeller. In most cases if it "Can Spin" it's fine. For me, there was no chance I was going to spin it without hurting myself :D Anyway, job well done!
Amazing explanation. Thank you very much!! My dolphin is working again.
Great! Nice work! I’m excited to fire mine back up in a few more months!
Started my Dolphin cleaner this spring and the power supply popped. I was afraid to buy a new power supply. I came across your video and found some debree around the impeller. The impeller turned hard. So I followed your video. My cleaner has 2 bearing one in the brass cap which did not come apart. You were right. Getting the motor back into where the brushes make contact was a chore. My question is, How freely should the impeller turn assembled.? Thanks
I'm having the same issue. The impeller should turn freely with 1 finger rotating it
Great video. My impeller definitely spins fine, but my unit shuts off after a minute or two. Maybe it's the drive motor? Can you comment on how freely the treads should be able to move by hand? Although it performs the out of water test, my treads will move, but it is definitely not easy to move them.
I have the same issue. Out of water test it worked but put back in the water, it goes forward then back and stops within 10 sec. Visually I didn't see any dirt in impeller and it turned around but I don't know how freely it should move. If someone can comment would be perfect. thanks
This is super super impressive!!! Awesome video!!!!!!!
Awesome comment!!!!!! Thanks for watching Saklain :)
Great video! Ever seen an issue where the motor drive and the impeller drive work fine in manual mode, forward and reverse only, but the unit won’t turn? Servo Overload message. The water flow piece that controls left and right does not move freely, in fact it clicks. No debris present, but at the point where I am going to pull the unit apart and attempt to fix myself. 30i active and issue started with a few months of purchase. I moved and it went to storage and I lost track of the warranty period, which has since expired, hence self repair.
Thanks for the video, my S200 stopped running and checked power supply and cable both have proper voltage. Impeller spins freely but the robot has no power. I’ll take apart the black box since you showed me the steps and see what I can find.
fingers crossed.....tearing into mine tomorrow
Hey Luke, Fellow Fipper owners. So, this week out of the blue.. my flipper started the dreaded move forward a foot, back a foot and stop.. I took the impeller top off and the bottom basket and its cover area.. nothing noticeable.. I CAN turn my impeller by hand, but it will not just spin it is tighter than that, seeing I never tried to mess with it new, I don't know the resistance level of it. but does this sound like I need to tear the impeller motor down also? I left the cover off of it and watched and it never does engage.
Hello! There is usually resistance in the impeller motor, such that you could never spin it like a top, it's motor with magnets, and they tend to want to hold the impeller in place. That being said, I'd still take the impeller motor apart and look inside your black box for any signs of water damage. Sometimes cleaning out the carbon dust helps, you'll be able to check the bearings by hand, and you can check the length of those motor brushes, some people replace them and say it helps. Remember to mark which color wire goes to which side of the motor - it matters :D Good luck!
Alas, what you might find is that the motor screws are cheap junk and very tight. I have every high quality screwdriver known to man (almost :) but one of the screws was completely immovable. Before you order any of the other supplies, make sure you can actually remove the impeller motor housing screws first. Otherwise it is junk.
My impeller motor was "stiff" and not completely seized, but it would not start turning when powered on without a nudge. Unable to expose the bearings I tried some thin lube down the shaft on either side of the motor, put some silicone grease on the shaft where it exits the motor housing by the impeller (an area moisture must be able to seep) and it has been running fine. The planned obsolescence of this motor hampers an otherwise great pool robot.
That’s a good point. They are long thing bolts, would be easy to snap. Shoot - can you get the old one out still and order a new bolt?
Water in motor! Great video. I had the exact same symptoms though the impellor was not seized, just a little firm.
Unfortunately when I split the motor housing open I found WATER INSIDE. The unit had never been repaired before and no cracks were evident. The motor bearings all seem free enough and spin OK. I will test the motor. Do you have any tips for re-waterproofing the motor housing.
The housing should have 2 rubber ring gaskets and lots of marine grease. It’s probably worth understanding where the water leaked from - there’s 2 motors, the cover, and maybe some wiring that all goes through that black box.
I think I overran the load? Sticks for where they shouldn’t have. Cleaned it out and the impeller top works great and the wheels move during the test but not in the water. No error code. It’s likely a bearing?
Do you have a video on how to get the main housing (where the two motors are located inside) apart? I started to do so yesterday and it felt like I was going to break something. If no video, a description and tools used would be great. Thanks Luke!
Sounds like you're referring to opening the black box? That just has clips that only need a little force to become unclipped. If yours is like mine, it has never been opened. It just took some muscle and I sort of "worked my way around" prying to the two halves apart. I wouldn't use any tools other than your hands, as you don't want to damage the 2 gasket rings that keep the box sealed. The will pry apart, and the gaskets should be pretty greasy, which is good (help keeps the water out). Working my way around I could slide the two halves apart maybe 1/8 inch, then move to the next side. Hope that helps! No magic tricks here, unfortunately. GL!
@@LeisureLuke Thanks! I had the clips unclipped but wasn't sure how to pry the two halves apart. Will use more elbow grease and see if I can get it apart. Very much appreciate the video and quick reply. Cheers!
Where you able to get yours apart? I have not been able to get mine apart yet and I'm wondering what's the trick
Great video! My Dolphin Triton PS was not moving, but still blowing water. I was able to dismantle the impeller motor and it was full of the black dust. Cleaned with the electronic cleaner and then air compressor. reassembled it and placed back in the water. Now, it is having difficulty climbing the pool walls and falls backwards with bottom up and does not seem to move as fast. Not sure what else to do to fix it. Should I just buy a new one?
Hi Luke, thanks for the video, my impeller spins, was your not spinning at all or just tough to spin?
It's always a little tough to spin, that's normal magnetic resistance in the motor. IMPOSSIBLE to spin means you have a bearing problem. I couldn't spin mine at all by hand.
Gracias Luke! Tengo el mismo problema! Ya sé como solucionarlo!😊
What a great video thank you very much
Thanks for the video. When you say the impeller is supposed to freely spin, do you mean like a ceiling fan? Like when I attempt to spin it, I'd be able to flick my finger and it freely spins? Or do you mean by applying constant pressure and it will spin? My does spin with the constant force of my finger but there is some resistance to that spin. Thanks again.
Sounds like you have a normal and good amount of resistance. It won't spin like a top, but by adding constantly pushing 1 finger should be able to rotate it. They're rarely "caught" in the middle. It's almost always spinning normally or 100% locked and you'd struggle to turn it with a long pliers. I'm guessing you're in the clear :) Good Luck!
Hey! Thank you so much for the video. I have been recently trying to open up the motor assembly, but I have hit a dead end. No matter how hard I try, the lid of the box won't let go. Are these white plastic clamps on the perimeter of the motor assembly the only thing holding it together, or is there something else? I would really appreciate if you had some trick up your sleeve! Cheers!
Great video! My Dolphin Triton PS was not moving, but still had water moving through it. I disassembled the impeller motor and cleaned out the black powder with electronic cleaner and air compressor. It is now working, but not going up the wall and falling backwards (pop wheelies as other described). I am not sure what you mean that the red and white wires were reversed. Do you mean on the mother board (green plate)? I don't know how to solder, so what is an alternative solution? Did I put the magnetic cover over the impeller upside down? Thanks for your assistance!
Thank you so much. Excellent information.
Happily! Good Luck if you need this fix!
4:45 It looks like Motor was glued down to the chassis at the factory (we can see glue residue on the bottom and on the far end wall)
I suspect this helps drive motor to stay in place and not moving away from the drive wheel to enforce weak chassis plastic eventually could become too flexible and drive wheel will start to slip with some clicking noise.
Good observation. That shiny circle is actually just from rubbing. There’s no glue or oil or anything there, just 2 plastic pieces that touch and rub together ever so slightly. I double checked :)
I cannot get mine up heart either. I've used a flathead screwdriver but it seems like it's going to break if I put much more pressure
This video is very helpful. In taking apart my impeller motor a ton of black dust and sut fell out. I'd love to send you a video of what I have discovered if you don't mind.
Leisurelukeyt@gmail.com send it over! Dust inside the motor or just around the impeller? These are brushed motors, so they will accumulate dust inside from the wearing of the brushes.
@@LeisureLuke Thank you for the very quick response. Sorry I am just getting back to this project. I was able to clear the dust, as you've responded to this 100's x's now and I was too lazy to read through all your comments.
Now I am having the same problem that @Robert Hawke is having with sucking water in from the top and not blowing out.
@@robertbonse2262 Sounds like you mixed the red and black wires internally on the motor :( not difficult to fix, but time consuming. GL!
Hi
Saw you video looks very easy to understand how to go about changing the bearings
What bearing size and how many do I need for dolphin S200
Vince
You'll probably only replace the one that failed, but each motor has 3 bearings if you wanted to replace them all. The s200 probably uses the same 626rs bearing as the 300s. The good news is most bearings have the size printed right on it, so you'll know what you need once you take it apart and find the problem bearing. If you have any questions, let me know! Worst case, you can measure the bearing with a calipers, and use that to lookup what you need. 626rs = 6mm Inner Diameter (ID) x 19mm OD x 6mm thickness and RS = Rubber Sealed. The seal doesn't matter, just the size.
Thanks
mine isn't broken down yet but wanted to know what size bearings I need for S200 so I have the parts ready
Where can I purchase from Thanks
@@vincepinneri1703 Don't stock up on these parts :) they are literally $1 or $10 for a 10 pack on amazon with same day shipping. Local rollerblade or hobby stores may have them in stock as well. Not hard to find or expensive. Also, yours may not break for 5+ years!
@LeisureLuke
ok thankyou for your reply
Great video Luke and really appreciate showing the impeller repair. Currently I'm trying to stop the Dolphin 20 from climbing the walls. Do you know if that's an option on the circuit board like dip switches or something? Ours scrubs in one place when it climbs and has gotten stuck behind the ladder so just cleaning the bottom would keep it useful. Thanks.
Are there 3 bearings or 2? I have one on either side that spin but I suspect there’s one more that’s wedged in to the main part - I’ve watched the videos a few times to try and figure it out- excited to see where I land!
3! The 3rd one is in brass cap, and doesn't come out with the center shaft.
@LeisureLuke It appears my issue is the bearing in the brass cap, but I can't figure out how to get it out. I pulled the snap wring, but I don't know how to get access to the bearing from there. Any guidance you can provide?
Hi Luke, GREAT video!! I f I were mechancially inclined I'd give it a try, but I'm not. Any idea would be able to replace the bearings in the Syracuse area? If I sent it to you, would you be able to do the job for me?
So I broke two of the copper pieces loose while using a screwdriver to get the bearing off. Any suggestions on what I could use to glue them back on….