A&A in ground pool cleaner rebuild question

[bananapeal]

Hello,

I've recently taken apart the manifold and gear assembly on an A&A pool cleaner system, however upon reassembly, only two heads are ever up at once and they do not move.

I opened it up to replace the t-valves and clips http://www.infloorpoolparts.com/aa-t-va ... 49141.html

As I put it back together, I can spin the turbine and make the gears and the cam spin, however once I close it up and water's going through it, there seems to be no spinning action in the cam as it's stuck on a zone. Usually each time it comes apart and goes back together it switches to a different zone but no motion after that. It is set to run normally (there seems to be a switch upstream of the turbine that can be used to stop it and lock it to a zone. this is most certainly in the normal run position)'

Has anyone ever encountered such a behavior before? Why would I be able to satisfactorily turn the gear assembly and cam by hand but once I put the lid on, apparently no motion?

Thanks for your insights. I can provide pictures but it all looks pretty standard to me.

Take care,

 

[Bama Rambler]

It sounds like something is not put back together exactly right.

 

[Melt In The Sun]

How long have you had the system? It sounds like the gears might be worn out...that's what happened with mine. They should fit tightly on the posts without rattling around. Here's what mine looked like when I changed them...

I got my new set at star-pool.com, good price and no issues.

 

[bananapeal]

Thank you very much for your pictures. It's interesting to see the buildup. My gears are yellow colored and I thought that was original color for them! But my turbine thing looks more like your clean one.

I was able to diagnose my problem. As I put the gear assembly back together, I paid no mind to the fact that some gears were missing their little metal clips (washer things on top of gears) that would keep them from moving up and down the shaft. They looked so insignificant... but I think that when it's turned on, if the gears aren't fixed on their axes the water will make them float a little so that they no longer touch. I replaced all the gear clips with new ones from ace hardware and now my system is running flawlessly!

Lesson learned: don't ignore the little washer pieces when you put something together!

system is over 5 years old (only had house 5 years) and this is the first year it's worked correctly!

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Glad you got it figured out!