This is my first post. I have a Dolphin Cayman (same as Active 20 or S200) and it has around 18 months of use. When I try to start it, it will move forward for about 2 feet, move backwards for about 1 foot and then it will stop completely. When I remove it from the pool and run it upside down, I can hear some clicking coming from the brushes. Anyone ever experienced the same behavior and can perhaps shine some light on the problem here?
Dophin moves forward, backward and stops
- Thread starter camcima
- Start date
C,
Welcome to TFP... a great place to find the answers to all your pool equipment questions...
Dolphins go through a self test routine every time they start up.. if the little computer inside detects a fault, it will stop after the self test is over..
On the older ones the suction fan can get jammed and needs to be cleared.
The older power supplies can go bad and when they don't regulate well, they cause the motors to draw too much current, which causes the self test to fail.
Sorry, I have no direct experience with the newer ones..
Let's hope one of our new Dolphin owners can chime in..
Jim R.
Welcome to TFP... a great place to find the answers to all your pool equipment questions...
Dolphins go through a self test routine every time they start up.. if the little computer inside detects a fault, it will stop after the self test is over..
On the older ones the suction fan can get jammed and needs to be cleared.
The older power supplies can go bad and when they don't regulate well, they cause the motors to draw too much current, which causes the self test to fail.
Sorry, I have no direct experience with the newer ones..
Let's hope one of our new Dolphin owners can chime in..
Jim R.
My Dolphin Discovery did this once...turned out the basket was full of leaves. Jam packed.
Check that.
Maddie
Check that.
Maddie
Yup, it's failing the startup test cycle. Obviously check that the basket is empty and that it sinks all the way to the bottom and if free of air pockets inside the machine first. Some initial troubleshooting you can do is make sure the impeller is cycling on and is intact. If the impeller has no fins, or is missing a few, it thinks it's out of water and will shut down. I've also seen debris in the impeller cause similar issues.
Beyond, that Dolphins are a bit hard to troubleshoot, especially over the internet. It may be worth bringing or shipping it to an authorized repair shop to have it scanned and diagnosed properly.
Beyond, that Dolphins are a bit hard to troubleshoot, especially over the internet. It may be worth bringing or shipping it to an authorized repair shop to have it scanned and diagnosed properly.
I have a Dolphin Premier that just started this. I've cleaned out the filter screens and removed the white plastic screen covering the locked-up innards. No leaves can be seen. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Thanks!
They have very few moving parts. Always check the impeller first.
2015 line (mass) - Impeller cleaning - YouTube
I have a dolphin s300, and my impeller motor was seized up. If you can’t spin your impeller by hand, or it's really difficult, andit’s all clear in there... you have the same problem.
I ended up needing a $450 Motor Assembly, sometimes called a motor controller. The only bad part was the impeller motor inside. I ended up opening the impeller motor, which was pretty easy, and replacing the bad internal ball bearing. Was able to buy that on amazon cheap!
Here’s a link to my troubleshooting and my fix:
Good Luck!
