Dolphin Trinitron trouble

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beatle

Well-known member
Dec 22, 2021
45
tucson
This cleaner stopped working. I have checked the impeller and tracks and there is no obstruction. I tried to post a video here but it looks like I need third party hosting. Anyway, when I turn it on the motor spins the track a little, it clunks along but stops after a few seconds and then just sits there. I originally found it on the pools steps as it was supposed to be cleaning but it was just pushing water through the device, no track movement.

Any help? Thanks.
 
Take it out of the water and let it drain. Put it up on 2x4 blocks so the treads are off the ground. Open the cover and remove the filter basket. Leave the cover open. Plug the robot in and let it run through its start sequence. You should see/hear the following -

The impeller should spin up to three different speeds (there’s a high pitch noise the motor makes). If there is a directional thrust actuator, it should turn the thrust control back and forth. The treads should then run forwards and then backwards. After the treads run, you can unplug it to shut it off.

If the it fails at any point during the startup test, you likely have a bad motor assembly. Replacing that is often not worth it and you’re better off just buying a new robot.
 
Sounds like the motor assembly is not engaging the tracks. There’s a YouTube video for how to reseat the motor assembly. It’s just two screws to remove and then you reseat the motor so the drive gear engages the track wheel.
 
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Reseating the motor seems like something silly but it’s been a problem with Dolphin robots so much so that their tech support even suggests customers check that first before going to service. They clearly suffered from some pretty bad manufacturing problems during the pandemic as the quality of their robots seems to have gone down. A Dolphin made ten years ago seems to last longer than one made more recently. But then again, that is true for a lot of stuff manufactured these days …
 
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I pulled the motor assembly and then put it back in and still the same problem. I will watch a few more youtube videos to see if there is anything else to check. I hope this robot didnt die after just over a year. The time saving of a robot makes it a necessity at this point.
 

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I have more time today to look at this today. I watched a bunch of youtube videos. I think that the power supply isnt an issue but I can run a quick voltage test when I get home. The motor runs but the out of pool self test has the motor sound like it is struggling to turn the tracks. I will pull the impeller to see if there is an obstruction that I missed but the impeller moved freely when I tested it yesterday. Possibly something in the tracks/cogs as well.
 
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Try removing the treads and simply pulling the motor assembly out and bench testing it. If the motor assembly runs smoothly when not inside the robot, then you can look at the treads, cogs, and brushes to see if there is anything amiss.

The cogs (wheels) sit on a nylon bushing. Take apart the wheel assembly and look at those nylon bushing and the receiving hole in the cog. They may be prematurely worn.
 
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Looked at things again today. Here are two videos. The motor that runs the tracks is pretty tough to rotate by hand. The impeller motor is relatively easy to rotate. When I first pulled the motor assembly, I ran a self test and the track gears were spinning and then the impeller axle spinned. Then, putting the motor back in the impeller did not spin. weird

 
Yeah, as mentioned it is acting weird as the first time pulled out, the motor seemed to pass the test, impeller axle did spin. Putting the motor back in and even with the tracks off, the impeller did not spin. hmmm
 
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Ok. So you can’t turn the drive motor by hand because there’s actually a small transmission assembly on it that reduces the RPMs of the internal motor and increases torque. It’s like a 3:1 reduction or so. So turning the drive motor gear even a little bit makes the electric motor spin a lot. But the drive motor sounds fine.

If the impeller is not spinning at all and there’s no external obstruction, then that’s a bad sign. It means that the internal electric motor that drives the impeller is bad. It could be as simple as the carbon brushes are worn out or the bearings have gone bad. The proximate cause of all these motor issues is typically water infiltrating the motor assembly and damaging it.

If this is still under warranty then I suggest you get Dolphin to replace the motor assembly.
 
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beatle said:
edit: there is a dessicant bag inside the assembly and it looked as if it had never seen water: just a note.

I will contact Dolphin tomorrow. Thanks.
Click to expand...

That's a good sign. Look at the impeller motor too. See if there is any noticeable water incursions. Also look at the control board as water can affect that too. If it's all dry looking, then it could be internal to the impeller motor. It's a brushed DC motor that has carbon brushes inside the rear cap. If you were to open the motor up, you would spill out a ton of carbon dust. Also, the brushes are spring loaded to force them to touch the rotor shaft. If either one loses contact with the shaft, the motor can fail to turn. It's really an absolutely terrible choice of motor given the circumstances it's used in ...

Definitely let Dolphin deal with it. It's under warranty.
 
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