At wits end with my Dolphin E30

[Ritaelyn]

I have a Dolphin E30 that's died on me under warranty.

What's going on is it turns on, goes backwards for five seconds, then turns off.

I bought it from Margaret at Marina Pool and supply. She sent some YouTube videos that haven't been helpful. She told me I had to deal with my local pool store for ongoing troubleshooting.

The local pool store said they replaced the motor, tracks, and wheels under warranty.

It's still not working. I notice it's still doing the exact same thing. I also notice that none of the buttons to the right of the big power button works on the power supply anymore. I can't put it in automation mode, the 1-2-3 cleaning button does nothing, neither does the quick vs full clean button does aanything. Only the power button works.

Should I try replacing the power supply? Will that be covered under warranty? Should I buy a new robot instead? I'm beyond frustrated with this robot and the complete lack of support I've received from both Marina and my local pool store.

 

[1poolman1]

I have a Dolphin E30 that's died on me under warranty.

What's going on is it turns on, goes backwards for five seconds, then turns off.

I bought it from Margaret at Marina Pool and supply. She sent some YouTube videos that haven't been helpful. She told me I had to deal with my local pool store for ongoing troubleshooting.

The local pool store said they replaced the motor, tracks, and wheels under warranty.

It's still not working. I notice it's still doing the exact same thing. I also notice that none of the buttons to the right of the big power button works on the power supply anymore. I can't put it in automation mode, the 1-2-3 cleaning button does nothing, neither does the quick vs full clean button does aanything. Only the power button works.

Should I try replacing the power supply? Will that be covered under warranty? Should I buy a new robot instead? I'm beyond frustrated with this robot and the complete lack of support I've received from both Marina and my local pool store.

Do you have a dedicated suction port in the side of your pool? If so, you may want to get a suction cleaner. Less frustration will follow.

 

[Ritaelyn]

Do you have a dedicated suction port in the side of your pool? If so, you may want to get a suction cleaner. Less frustration will follow.

Yes but it's not accessible unless I'm in the pool as it's placed under the waterfall feature. I replaced a broken Hayward cleaner with the E30. I was really happy with the E30 until it broke.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

How old is the cleaner?

If you are handy with a screwdriver, one test you can do is ti take the cleaner out of the water and set it up on blocks so the tracks and brushes are off the floor. Remover the filter basket and take the top black cover off the impeller assembly and then turn on the robot. The self test should be that the tracks move forwards and backwards and the impeller should spin at three different speeds (they sound audibly different). The directional flow actuator should move too. There’s no damage in doing this out of water and the unit will stop anyway after the startup test when it senses it is not in water.

If it fails any of those test sequences, then it’s likely the motor assembly is bad. It also sounds like your power supply may have been damaged in some way so that’s another thing to test but there’s really no fixing them, you just buy a new one.

Alternatively, you should probably take it all back to the pool shop that did the warranty work and ask them to look at it. They can test the motor assembly, the cable and the power supply. They will have a much easier time getting Maytronics to cover stuff under warranty than you will.

 

[Ritaelyn]

How old is the cleaner?

If you are handy with a screwdriver, one test you can do is ti take the cleaner out of the water and set it up on blocks so the tracks and brushes are off the floor. Remover the filter basket and take the top black cover off the impeller assembly and then turn on the robot. The self test should be that the tracks move forwards and backwards and the impeller should spin at three different speeds (they sound audibly different). The directional flow actuator should move too. There’s no damage in doing this out of water and the unit will stop anyway after the startup test when it senses it is not in water.

If it fails any of those test sequences, then it’s likely the motor assembly is bad. It also sounds like your power supply may have been damaged in some way so that’s another thing to test but there’s really no fixing them, you just buy a new one.

Alternatively, you should probably take it all back to the pool shop that did the warranty work and ask them to look at it. They can test the motor assembly, the cable and the power supply. They will have a much easier time getting Maytronics to cover stuff under warranty than you will.

It's less than 2 years old. I just did this test and heard the three different speeds. I hear a grinding ticking noise in addition. The tracks don't move at all, they don't go forward or backwards.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It's less than 2 years old. I just did this test and heard the three different speeds. I hear a grinding ticking noise in addition. The tracks don't move at all, they don't go forward or backwards.

It sounds like the drive motor is either not engaging with the wheel gear teeth or the sprocket on the drive motor is work out. Another possibility would be a damaged or broken motor assembly but they replaced that. There’s only two screws holding the motor assembly in place. You can remove the motor and try to reseat it. Take off the side panels to the tracks and look at the wheel hub to see if it is worn out. The side panels just snap-lock into place from the inside the cleaner body.

If you don’t want to do all that then bring it back to the shop and tell them what you are seeing. They should be able to easily recreate the problem.

I would also put in a phone call to Maytronics and describe the situation. That robot is not at all old and they should either completely fix it at their cost (including shipping it) OR replace it.

 

[cssnms]

These things cost too much to be having to try and self diagnose and DIY repair, it's why we pay so Dang much for these things, the WARRANTY.

I'd be on the phone with the manufacturer asking they take the robot in foe repair or replacement. Enough is enough.

 

[Ritaelyn]

The shop replaced the gears today and it's now fully working.

The only issue I have left is I'm not able to get the power supply to go back into automation mode. The two buttons to the right of the big power button don't function or change settings. I've tried holding down various buttons for 15-30+ seconds.

I've previously was able to use automation mode with no problem.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get the robot back into automation mode?