Another Dolphin S200 on its last legs

[TCardenas]

Hi everyone,

I think I know the answer but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. We have a Dolphin S200 robot that has been working well for almost 5 years now. Our pool doesn't get much leaves/large debris. Robot is flushed with fresh water and put away after use.

Today when cleaning the pool, the robot starts up and moves for about 2-3 seconds then stops with no other activity. I've taken it apart and noted the following:

- impeller is clear
- drive motor turns the wheels forward only for 2-3 seconds
- LED does flash normally for a few seconds then no more
- servo arm for impeller motor over back and forth once then no more
- none of the cog wheels appear stripped or visually damaged

I disassembled the entire robot and confirmed no blockages around drive train, wheels, or internals.

I removed the entire motor housing and even popped off the 2 latches holding the drive motor in place. O-ring appeared intact and as far as I could tell, no water inside the main housing area. The drive motor appeared visually normal with no rust or discoloration on the exterior. The desiccant pack inside seemed intact.

• Printed label indicates date of manufacture 4/2018.
• Motor housing has indicated "P2L" and "P64195."

From what I've read, I have 2 options: either buy a new robot (what I'm leaning to), or try replacing the motor/motor assembly unit. From some general searching, replacing the entire motor housing is listed between $400-$500 although I guess I could try to just replace the drive motor only. With the number of o-rings in the housing and general wear/tear, it seems the better choice might be to replace the entire robot.

I'm not sure if I can upload a video to the forum, I have one that shows the drive moving and what appears to be a faint high-pitched whine in the background. Not sure if the whine is normal or consistent with the problem I'm having.

Happy New Years to everyone and many thanks for any feedback and advice.
Tony C.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

That's a tough call. IF you do buy another, consider hanging on to the old one to cannibalize for parts.
(I personally would buy another myself)

Maddie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Tony,

After five years, I'd be looking for a new one...

My gut says once you open the motor box, it will not seal back up well..

I've switched to the EVO from Marina Pool and Spa.

See this review...

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...

www.google.com

The S200 style robots run a self test before they start to clean. Yours is not passing the tests. Most likely the drive motors are using too much current to move the robot.. Could be the drive motor's brushes, or worn out wheel 'bearing' surfaces.. You could try new wheel kits, but after 5 years the chances of success is pretty low, and not really worth the effort, in my opinion.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[igneous]

Did you check the power supply? That’s my problem. It must have 29v going to the cleaner and mine has minimal.
The light comes on on the robot and it moves about 5 feet then it stops. I’ll be buying a new one but I’d like to find an electronics tech on the forum that could troubleshoot the circuit board. Pics are the main board (left) and the touch pad board. Probably a capacitor bad so may try replacing them.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My guess is the impeller motor most likely needs a complete rebuild. They are mechanically commutated DC motors with carbon brushes in them. They are sealed and so the carbon dust builds up inside the motor case and destroys the rear bearing. Water leakage through the rotational shaft typically destroys the front bearing. This causes the motor to draw more and more amps over its lifetime and eventually trips the fault detection circuit.

But if I were you, I wouldn’t bother trying to rebuild it. Just buy a new robot. Less grief and hassle.

 

[needsajet]

We had this exact problem and it was a tiny pebble caught in a gear that perhaps caused the unit to sense a momentary slight resistance and shut down. It would travel around 5 or 6 feet, stop and require resetting, just to do the same thing again. Pool shop said "It's the computer. Wanna look at new ones?" Got the pebble out and all was well for about a year, and then it died completely. Got about 4 years out of that one. It was a dolphin.

 

[TCardenas]

Sorry for the very late reply to this thread - was traveling for work and haven't had a chance to get to the computer in a few weeks. I ultimately went with a new motor unit (comes with new impeller assembly). Long and short once I did the swap and screwed everything back together, it has been working like a champ. I priced a comparable unit for about $800 with shipping. I went back and forth and went with the motor unit for $449. The robot itself, cable, and controller unit are basically in either like new or in very good condition. I'll keep the old unit for parts.

I truly appreciate the feedback and advice as always. Love this forum and appreciate everyones expertise and time.

Tony

 

[coastie]

I'm bringing a few of these threads back from the dead. New guy here and I've been having similiar issues across multiple threads here. The bot powers on, attempts a self test (goes in reverse), then powers off. I did have hairs tangled on the fan impeller, cleaned those off, flipped upside down to run a self test, self test worked. It cleaned properly for about a week, then same issue came back. I disassembled the fan motor and found the bearing slightly seized. I bought replacement bearings for under $3, replaced, reassembled and voila, works perfect. Check the fan motor bearings!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I'm bringing a few of these threads back from the dead. New guy here and I've been having similiar issues across multiple threads here. The bot powers on, attempts a self test (goes in reverse), then powers off. I did have hairs tangled on the fan impeller, cleaned those off, flipped upside down to run a self test, self test worked. It cleaned properly for about a week, then same issue came back. I disassembled the fan motor and found the bearing slightly seized. I bought replacement bearings for under $3, replaced, reassembled and voila, works perfect. Check the fan motor bearings!

Chances are the bearing seized because water leaked through the shaft seal. The shaft seals on the impeller and drive motors fail and they are not rebuildable.

Glad you got it up and running but you’re working on borrowed time now. Good time to start saving up cash for a new robot.