Troubleshooting help with active 30i

[Cephrael]

Need some help diagnosing my robot. It’s not working properly. Turns on, moves for a bit, then dies. Had “servo overload” error pop up in the app. Reset the robot and it ran for a bit but didn’t appear to climb the walls or move as fast it used to. It stopped so I turned it back on and it moves a bit backward and then dies. Had it completely apart to replace the cord. Old cord was in rough shape but when I put it away for the winter, the robot was running great. Any suggestions? Is it a motor or an electrical issue with the board or something else? cant find new motor units anywhere. So I’d have to find parts on eBay.

 

[Mdragger88]

So it was working ok before you replaced the cord?

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

Not much you can really do, but the first thing to try is to inspect the suction motor shaft. You have to take the impeller off and make sure there is nothing wrapped around the bottom of the shaft making the motor hard to turn.

When these thing start they go through a little self test routine. They move forward a few feet, then backwards a few feet, then they ramp up the suction motor and you should see a little water volcano on the surface. They measure motor currents and if any are too high the robot just shuts off.

Seems like they are only lasting 3 to 5 years.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Cephrael]

C,

Not much you can really do, but the first thing to try is to inspect the suction motor shaft. You have to take the impeller off and make sure there is nothing wrapped around the bottom of the shaft making the motor hard to turn.

When these thing start they go through a little self test routine. They move forward a few feet, then backwards a few feet, then they ramp up the suction motor and you should see a little water volcano on the surface. They measure motor currents and if any are too high the robot just shuts off.

Seems like they are only lasting 3 to 5 years.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I’m right in that 3-5 yrs. It did the test and I could see the water move on the surface but then it just shuts down. Guess that means there is an electrical issue somewhere.

 

[Cephrael]

So it was working ok before you replaced the cord?

When I put it away for the winter, yes it was working. Put it in the water this spring for a clean up, and it didn’t even turn on to do the test. So I started with the cord first as it was looking very rough. After replacing the cord, it turns on, runs its test and then it started cleaning. However, it only turned left and didn’t climb the walls. So I took it apart, replaced the servo for the impeller. Now it runs its test and shuts down. I’m probably gonna try to find a local repair place, but if it’s gonna cost me $500 for a new motor unit, I might as well just put that towards a new one.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

I got a new EVO robot. Check out this thread.. New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

I like it, but have no clue if it will last 10 more days or 10 more years...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Cephrael]

So I spent the afternoon tinkering with the robot, because why not. It will run in manual mode but appears to have trouble going right. Climbs the wall, and goes to the left while at the surface fine, right not so much. Played around with the app and I get a “servo overload” message no matter what cleaning cycle I put it on. The impeller motor is spotless, and I can see it disturbing the surface during use/self-test. Servo seems to move freely and easily. So I’m guessing it’s an electrical issue somewhere. Has anyone found a fix for this or maybe I should search for a new board?

 

[Cephrael]

So today oddly enough, I was moving it around in manual mode. It still struggles to turn right. When I got bored I let it go back to floor only mode and it completed the whole 2 hours. Not well but it was better than nothing. Still researching a replacement.

 

[teecee2021]

I have a Dolphin Triton PS robot that started exhibiting the same symptoms. Turned out to be the impeller motor bearing had began to seize. There's a youtube video that shows you how to replace them...but. That fix only lasted about a month and it was necessary to replace the motor entirely.
I was just reading a thread that stated "if I had to do it again...." I'd just but a new robot, and not a $400 motor.