Dolphin S200 (is it the blue cable?)

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velona

New member
Dec 29, 2024
3
Melbourne, Australia
Hi,

I had a similar issue to the following thread (Dolphin S200 runs only a few seconds at a time, then shuts down) before you all flame me, the forum told me I'd be better off starting a new thread than replying on that one.

In any case, I have the the Maytronics Dolphin s200, The robot has started playing up, where it doesn't seem to make it past the self-test, and seems to be performing wheelies like in the previous thread.

I took the cover off and cleaned out the impeller as suggested, but this didn't fix the issue.

I opened the unit, and it all looks pretty good (see photo), nothing seems water damaged, and both motors seems to move, neither is seized. I tested both with an external battery (albeit 12v) and they both powered on successfully.

The only thing that looks degraded is the blue cable which seems to be losing its outside coating now and shedding whenever I handle it.

Wondering whether it could be the blue cable, seems unlikely, but any advice would be welcomed.

Cheers
P
 

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velona said:
before you all flame me, the forum told me I'd be better off starting a new thread than replying on that one.
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Thanks for reading that note and actually adhering to it!
Usually always better to have your own thread and certainly not reply to an old one with that note at the bottom.
 
P,

It could be the cable, but that is not one of the main robot problem areas..

Just because the motors work, in free air, does not mean they are good.

When the robot run its self test, it measures the amount of current the motor uses. When too high, the robot will fail the self test. It takes a lot more effort to move things underwater than sitting on the deck. The 'bearings' for the lack of a better word, wear out and the drive becomes pretty sloppy, making the effort to move the robot even worse.

How old is your S200?

The brushes in the motors tend to go bad (used up) after about 3 or 4 years.

Cable wise, the first suspect would be the swivel.. Have you opened it to see what it looks like?

The fact that the outside of the cable is 'degrading' by itself, would have zero effect on the robots operation.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
P,

It could be the cable, but that is not one of the main robot problem areas..

Just because the motors work, in free air, does not mean they are good.

When the robot run its self test, it measures the amount of current the motor uses. When too high, the robot will fail the self test. It takes a lot more effort to move things underwater than sitting on the deck. The 'bearings' for the lack of a better word, wear out and the drive becomes pretty sloppy, making the effort to move the robot even worse.

How old is your S200?

The brushes in the motors tend to go bad (used up) after about 3 or 4 years.

Cable wise, the first suspect would be the swivel.. Have you opened it to see what it looks like?

The fact that the outside of the cable is 'degrading' by itself, would have zero effect on the robots operation.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this Jim, I was wondering about that. My robot is 4 years old.

I took the wife’s advice and re-assembled the robot and put it back in and it seems to be working again. Very very strange.

So you recommend buying a rebuild kit for the impeller motor along with the new cable to get things back in order? That would cost me about 1/3 of buying a new motor and would be well worth it if I get another 4 years from it.
 
P,

As far as I know there is no 'rebuild' kits for the motors from Maytronics..

Both motors have about the same issues.

I have seen several threads from members here that have rebuilt their motors, by modifying parts from other types of motors.

It can't hurt to try, but it is not something that I have done..

I have switched from a Dolphin cleaner to the EVO at my house. Only time will tell if it is any better...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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If you open up the impeller motor (take off the rear cap), I bet it is full of carbon dust from the brushes and one or both bearings are not running smooth. When the bearings are good, the impeller shaft should be able to freely spin like a top for a long time when spun by hand. If it’s hard to turn, or rough felling, or gives any resistance, the bearings are bad. Be careful when removing the rear cap and note the position of the wire connections relative to the mark inside the cap as the wiring is not interchangeable - if you reverse the wires, the motor spins the wrong way.
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
If you open up the impeller motor (take off the rear cap), I bet it is full of carbon dust from the brushes and one or both bearings are not running smooth. When the bearings are good, the impeller shaft should be able to freely spin like a top for a long time when spun by hand. If it’s hard to turn, or rough felling, or gives any resistance, the bearings are bad. Be careful when removing the rear cap and note the position of the wire connections relative to the mark inside the cap as the wiring is not interchangeable - if you reverse the wires, the motor spins the wrong way.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this, yes my motor doesn’t spin as freely as you describe, I tried to open it but one of the screws just couldn’t be opened. They used the cheapest screws with the softest aluminium, I threaded it even though I was being so careful not to.

I’ll source a new motor and find that a go, I found one online that seems reasonable value.
 
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