Trouble with P825

[JPMorgan]

Having trouble with my P825 pool cleaner this year. It is about 4 years old and I have not had many problems with it. It was running fine when I first opened my pool, but the other day it stopped running and I was getting the 1-flash error code on the unit. I did all the troubleshooting recommended in the manual for that error code, took the vacuum out of the pool and looked everything over, tried it again and it will only run for a few seconds before it shuts off and I get the same error code. Took it to Leslie's 2 days ago and today they told me they couldn't find any problem using their diagnostics. Said they are waiting for a call back from Polaris, but that a new cable will cost about $200 and a new motor will cost $500! Then, they informed me they have pool cleaners on sale this weekend and I might want to consider a new cleaner. Are you kidding me... 4 years and I need to buy a new cleaner??? Is that all the life I can expect to get out of an auotomatic cleaner?

Any suggestions or ideas on what to try? I have been fairly happy with the machine until this year (except for the constantly tangled cord) and would like to try to fix the issue if possible, but....... I'm certainly not going to invest $700 into fixing a $1,000 machine. Anyone run into this same issue with the P825?

 

[JPMorgan]

I am posting a reply to my own question and hope it may help other fellow pool owners who may be using the Polaris P825 cleaner.

So.... I ran my 4 year old P825 cleaner several times this season, then started getting the one flash error indicator and the cleaner would stop functioning. Called Tech Support and they said take it to Leslie's for diagnostics. Took it to Leslie's and they said they could not find anything wrong with the cleaner. Took it back home (with fingers crossed) that it would just start working again. Plugged it in and it ran for about 15-20 seconds, then stopped. Tried re-setting the unit several times without success. Called Tech Support back again and they suggested a couple of things: 1) try a different extension cord; 2) plug unit directly into the power source with no extension cord; 3) try a different power outlet. The outlet I had been using is not a GFCI. However, I have been using that outlet with the cleaner for the past 4 years and never had a problem. So my last ditch effort (I had already begrudgingly started shopping for a new cleaner ) was to try plugging into another outlet, which happens to be a GFCI. Low and behold the cleaner started working again. It ran for about 10-15 minutes and I let it run while I ran some errands. When I returned the cleaner had stopped and I saw the blinking error light again. Pool was mostly clean, though. So.... I reset the unit per Troubleshooting Instructions and it started working again.... running through a cleaning cycle now. Even though it will start and run for a while (better than it was before) it does seem to eventually stop and flash the error light and has to be reset.


So..... I'm not out of the woods yet. It has been extremely wet here in Chicago for the past week and I'm wondering if this may be causing the problem with the cleaner. However, when the cleaner stops it is not because the GFCI outlet has tripped. I'm still scratching my head a little on this issue, but I have been able to get the cleaner running for short periods of time..... which is better than before.

Any thoughts on what may be going on or what to try next? I'm trying to avoid having to buy a new cleaner.

If no suggestions on a fix for this issue on the P825, how about a recommendation on a good quality RELIABLE cleaner that won't Crud out after 4 years. Thanks.