Dolphin Pool Cleaner - BROKEN is FIXED!!! SOLVED with 1$ Bearing | HOW TO REPAIR for MOST Models!
Vložit
- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
- Read the comments! So many people fixing theirs! My $450 Motor Assembly had a seized impeller motor! I took it all apart and FOUND 1 BAD BEARING and FIXED it with a $1 part!
Links:
AMAZON Terminal Puller Tool: amzn.to/3onlIAP
AMAZON 626-2RS Bearings: amzn.to/3ohTeII (6mmx19mmx6mm)
My picks for the best pool robot, I'll buy #1 if my s300 ever dies:
$840 Dolphin Nautilus CC plus: amzn.to/3unxqfO
$1500 Dolphin Nautilus CC supreme: amzn.to/3m8OZMP
$500 Dolphin E10 (pools up to 30ft only): amzn.to/3ikMN3P
Link to cheapest s300 Motor Assembly I could find: www.azpoolsupplies.com/s200-s...
Dolphins have different part numbers for their motors, and MOST can EASILY disassembled to reveal magnets, windings, and usually 3 ball bearings. THIS IS THE FAILURE MODE OF MOST DOLPHINS THAT GO BAD!!!! My Dolphin Model: s300 - same exact motor assembly as s200, s300i. THIS FIX WILL WORK ON MOST OTHER MODELS TOO!!!
This fix may work if your dolphin:
Works for short periods of time - or just seconds
Doesn't stick to the walls anymore
Keeps doing wheelies or flipping on it's back while cleaning
You have checked the cable, it's okay
You have checked the impeller, it's not clogged with debris
YOUR IMPELLER DOESNT SPIN EASILY BY HAND!!!!!
Good Luck! It's easy to take apart your dolphin and you can easily tell if you you have the same problem I did!
This will not be the fix if you have water in your motor assembly. That indicates your entire motor assembly will need be replaced. (at which point I'd consider a new dolphin robot entirely)
0:00 Intro
0:58 Diagnosis
2:45 The Fix
5:23 The Test - Zábava
Hi Luke, thanks a lot. This was exactly my problem. I've spent only 1 dollar, 40 minutes and could fix it. you are the BEST. best regards from Switzerland Angelo
NICE WORK!! That's no small job :) money and hassle saved! Party Accordingly 🥳
Hi Luke, I have a dolphin, E-10, it seems lately the unit will go on the bottom as it goes through the debris. The debris just blows around. It does not seem like it has any suction yet I do see water coming out of the top. Any ideas why this would not have any suction? I checked the impeller, and there was no debris.
Mike
@@michaelbennett3202 If water is blowing out the top, then you have suction coming in the bottom. If it's able to cling to and climb walls, your suction is good enough. I'd double check your filter basket for small tears, any small tear means that filter basket will pretty much not work at all. Also make sure it's assembled correctly and sitting right in the unit. If you're climbing walls, and your filter basket is clean, then it should be sucking up and cleaning something! Hope that helps.
3 years later after this video was posted and yet here it is helping me fix mine. Thank you very much! 🙏🙏
I spent $180 to replace the blue cable on my DOLPHIN Nautilus CC. It would only run for about 30 seconds and just stop. No indication on what was happening. Local pool shop suggested to replace the blue cable and I let them. Got it home a week later and of course it didn't fix my issue. They then suggested to replace the motor.. Adding up the cost of the potential repair, and I could have gotten a new unit for the cost of the motor and cable! :) I will for sure be taking my motor apart this afternoon to see if the bearing is the issue! Thanks for making this video!
Good luck! While you are in there you can check both motors. Some people have actually done the same fix on the other motor too! I’d use your old cable and save the new one :) someday you’ll probably need it! Might as well squeeze out the life of the old one!
@@LeisureLuke so taking the motor out in of itself showed me the issue. The propeller had hair and twine underneath it in a way I wasn’t able to see it from the top down view. Took the prop off the spindle and removed it and it’s working perfectly!!
My Maytronics Dolphin Active 20 just started having this problem where the impeller is not spinning. I bought brand new in 2020. We use it everyday in the summer. This is the 3rd season. With your instructions, I was able to take it a part. There was all this black carbon flakes. I used electrical contact cleaner to clean the inside of the 24V impeller motor, and both bearings. I couldn't take out the 3rd bearing off, put it all together and everything is working - back to normal! Without changing any parts! This took me 2 hours to do at a easy comfortable pace. Thank you for making this video. You saved me $1500. I was almost going to buy a new one.
Nice!!!! Congrats on the fix! It’s not a job for the faint of heart, and sounds like you did a thorough job and cleaned it like new! The black dust is normal - it’s from the wearing of the motor brushes, which I’m guessing will be our next failure and next fix-it video :). Well done! Party accordingly!!!
This is a great video...my bearings where fine ...my motor was packed with carbon dust...cleaned it out and it runs fine now....this video is great showing all the steps...the engineering on this machine is fantastic...taking it apart and reassembling it is pretty easy...all the parts are indexed to only go together properly...even the power cord. thanks so much....saved a LOT of money. I recommend cleaning all the gaskets as you reassemble...just to keep water from creeping in. I sure wish they would sell the individual motors inside the $450 assembly....why engineer it so well to for repair and then not sell the interior motors?
Thanks for the comment! That carbon dust is a build up from the brushes wearing away on the motors. These are "brush motors" vs "brushless motors". Some people eventually have to replace the motor brushes when they become too short over time. Glad you fixed it! I agree about cleaning the gaskets, but I'm worried about getting the wrong silicon grease to coat them in before reassembly. Do you know what the right stuff is? Nice fix - one less thing in the dump and $1k saved a little longer! Great Job, party accordingly :)
@@LeisureLuke Mine weren't that dirty that I needed to wash them...just got the sand off and then cleaned the grooves really well...the gaskets were still pretty slippery with lube when I put then back on....there are quite a few on the old interne that seem appropriate - I did see some refurbished motors on EBAY...appears to be a guy who refurbishes them full time...good gig
DUDEEEE credit where credit is due!!!! Dolphin moved backwards a few inches then forward a few inches then nothing. Checked impeller and stuck solid. Followed ur video and believe it or not a local skate shop had my bearing in stock and I fixed it in less than an hour. Saved me my hard earned cash man! Thank you!
Nicely Done!!!! Happy to have helped!
So glad I found this video! Saved me $600 dollars!
Nice work on the fix!
You are THE most multi-faceted human! I love the way you have diagnosis/fix/test broken out to navigate the video and the music you chose!
Thank you so much! Happy to post fixes like this that'll save people hundreds of dollars AND TIME!!!!!
Got the bearing replaced and motor put back together. The seal must not have lined up right, Dolphin worked for about half hour then stopped. I took it apart and the housing for the motor is filled with water. Looks like I'll have to purchase a new one. Thanks for video, was super helpful!
AH! Shoot! That's a tough one to stomach, but you did all you could to save it in the first place. Enjoy the new pool cleaner, and let me know which you end up getting!
Thank You Luke. Fixed my pool robot. The impeller motors are impossible to find now. Great video and easy to follow. Helped a lot of people on here!
Thanks Ricky! Happy to help & NICE WORK doing the FIX! Ahhh, yeah the motors were available over the winter and have seem to gone out of stock again pretty quickly... Good thing bearings are always in stock & cheap! :D
Literally, you saved me $450 AND the fix was free !! Took apart as you did, took the motor apart and the inside was caked in fine carbon powder. A bit of compressed air later, the motor cleaned, everything back together and good as new. Thank you.
Awesome! Nice work :D Party Accordingly :D
Great video. Informative and easy to watch. I appreciate you making this repair information available to those of us with the same problem.
I can't believe how many hundreds or maybe thousands of people have been able to do the same fix! That's amazing! Think of the money (and waste) we're saving!
Thanks for the video. Mine started stopping after a few seconds this morning. Searched youtube for Dolphin Nautilus repair and your video popped up. Watched it and promptly pulled it apart, found one of the bearings to be seized and drove to Ace Hardware, and I'm now back in business! Nice feeling repairing it yourself and saving a boat load of cash on repairs/replacement.
WELL DONE! Repairing an electric motor is no small feat! Less trash in the dump, more cash in the pockets! 🥳👍🏼
I'm 2 minutes away from ordering a whole new Dolphin but your video was so well done that, even though I've tried everything else, short of opening the motor, - which makes me nervous - you've given me the confidence to try this. Sounds like it is just the bearing and that will save hundreds!
I hope that's the case and you're back on your way to a clean pool!!! Yeah, it's worth trying anything if the alternative is a new $1k unit! :D Good Luck!
Hi Luke, that's my first ever youtube comment, and you really earned it. You saved me app.400 € and a lot of time - additionally the repair was really fun and easy. My Dolphin is the Bio S model, which has 2 ball bearings, but looks similar. I could remove the bearing with end cutting pliers. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Happy to hear! I’m honored to be the recipient of your first CZcams comment :) Great work! It’s a fun job when it all goes well :) you’ve earned some pool relaxation 👍🏼 mine is still working great 2 seasons later!
Awesome video. Thank you for helping the algorithm find this repair and saving big $$$
A few notes as I'm mid-repair:
1) The sealed unit itself can be really hard to open. I used the shaft of a screwdriver (not the pointy end) to pry it apart using the clip brackets as leverage. I slipped a credit card into the gap to help work around. When it finally opened there was a large pop - I think the unit was REALLY well sealed and the temperature swing at night when I tried to open it caused a pressure / vacuum making it extra hard.
2) The long screws on the motor itself have SUPER SOFT heads. Immediately stripped one of them using a regular screwdriver. And that's the point I'm finding myself stuck at right now. Ugh. Be careful everyone with these! Might end up having to buy a new motor just because I've stripped some darn screws 😵
There is an eBay seller out there who will repair/refurb your motor for ~$110, or sell a kit of all the necessary parts for ~$30. Might be worth it if there's a lot of parts that need fixing, or if you're happy to outsource part of the fix without shelling out the full $450!!
Thanks for the tip of using the shaft to pry open the black motor box. I was stuck.
@@bristolj.buckets8968 I was curious about how well it was sealed. Thanks for this!
Nice fix! Its always nice to be able to fix things rather than having to throw them out.
For sure! I’m keeping an eye on eBay all winter, then fixing and selling them in the spring all refurbished!
Hey Luke, big shout out form Canada. After procrastinating for the summer I finally found your vid and did the same. The bearing cost me $7 here but still cheaper and quicker than sending it in to a shop. Thanks for the great vid.
Awesome video, I'm going to try to take mine apart see if it is the same problem. What I noticed with mine is that it goes back and forth, then stop. If I put it upside down, it does not stop ! Drives me crazy, I love my dolphin pool cleaner and want to bring it back to life !!! I'll update this comment if I can fix it. Thanks again for the video.
Ok awesome ! I thought I saw one in there ! Thanks so much for responding ! I have them on the way so fingers crossed 😊 thank you so much for posting this - you’re the man 🎉
Hey mate, thanks for the great video, saved me $600 AUD for a new motor. Ended up being the brushes not the bearings, cost me a grand total of $10 to change them out. Although not the same problem as yours, your video gave me an insight on how to pull it apart & put back together again, working a treat now. Cheers from OZ
Fixed!!! Thank you!!!Dolphin Nautilius CC Plus. 4 years old and I always leave in the pool. Robot would run for about 1-2 minutes and then stop and the blower fan on the top would continue to run without moving the robot. Fixed: opened up the motor assembly and found the motor that drives the wheels to be completely full of electric motor dust. Picked up a can of contact cleaner for electronics ( and safe for plastics) and cleaned the hell out of the motor. The bearings after cleaning rolled smoothly so I didn't need to replace. Put everything back together - be mindful of the little odd looking washer that sits ontop of the bearing- kind hard to put back but you'll figure it out with time. Only thing I noticed while it was opening the the brushes on the motor were running a little low. If it acts up again I'll plan to buy some extra brushes to keep the motor running. To make sure you have good seals you need some pure silicone grease.
Total cost to fix: 1 can of contact cleaner: $12 since I already had the silicone grease.
Man! I wish I saw your video before I spent $400 to fix my little robot…but now I know. Thank you for the video.
Been working on these for 6 years, seen a lot of seized motors and this actually makes a lot of sense. Normally do repairs by replacing, but lately been trying to rebuild. Kudos for this info~
Yeah, and my repair of just 1 bearing has kept it in service for like 1.5 seasons with no signs of slowing down. Any chance you have a good link to buying just the motors? Or do you usually replace the whole black box motor assembly?
@@LeisureLuke I usually order through second hand to replace the black box. I've had around 50 machines before here, so sadly I won't have time to break things down. Covid made getting new parts a challenge, so I've been adopting motor repairs specifically since summer. I have a stack of older parts too incase one of the boards went bad.
@@Liatriss I had opened my motor box for a repair. The gaskets look fine but there's also grease there too. My cleaner is old and there's a bit of crust mixed with the grease and I want it to seal well. I have some Dow Corning high vacuum grease, which is similar in consistency. Since you have some experience with repairing them would you have a suggestion on a grease to replace it with?
My friend don't forget to replace new rubber gasket when Dismantling impeller motor and drive motor or else you will buy the whole MU after a month or after a year. Sorry my english is not good. hahaha but believe me my friend. Im the service tech of that robotic pool cleaner.
So should the ball bearing just spring and spin? I give it a good spin and it goes about 3-4 revolutions and stops.
Luke the snow scene was great ! Pool cleaning in the cold is best with a working robot . Thanks for the video.
Hahaha. Thanks! I’ll try to start filming more before snowstorms 🤣🤣
Awesome video, just replaced my bearing with guidance from your video. It’s back running like a champ after finding my rear bearing seized up!
My Nautilus CC Plus was spinning the impeller for a few seconds but the motor for the tracks wouldn’t start. Followed your advice and checked the bearings. Replaced one of the impeller motor bearings since it was noisy and failing. Back in business! Thanks for this video!
Nice work!!! And good to know the same issue can appear on the drive motor!!!
your video was excellent and repaired my S300 exactly as your video called out. thanks a bunch!!
NICE WORK! Party accordingly 🥳
Thank you for making this so simple. You've been a great help.
Thank you Luke. I had the same problem on my Dolphin Deluxe 4. It has 2 bearings 626rs and 608rs. Truthfully, I only really needed to replace the 608rs, but since I was already in there and its like 10 years old, I replaced both. Additionally my circuit board had some corrosion and a burnt up resistor. I got some 90% rubbing alcohol and cleaned the circuit board. Determined the burnt resistor was an 18 ohm 1/2 watt, soldered a new one of those in and let'r rip. It runs like new. I would not have done any of this without your video. So here's the breakdown.
Multi pack of resistors $13. 10 pack of 626rs $9. 10 pack of 608rs $8. Rubbing alcohol from Wal-Mart $1.50 and a tube of silicone lube from HD $5. So, less $40 for enough parts to maybe keep this thing going for another 10 years. A ton of simple knowledge that I got to learn with my 15 year old son. It's a joy to watch a once dead Dolphin that I paid a $1000 for still going. One more tip. I've always had the habit of keeping those little silica packets that come with all the Chinese junk we buy. So I stuffed like 8 of those in the box to hopefully stop or limit future corrosion. I realize this this is now old and not as water tight as it used to be, I will probably open this thing up a couple times a year just to make sure. Thanks again Luke, you're AWESOME!!!!
Well done Russ!!! You really went the extra mile there, sounds like thorough and excellent work! You should be proud to have revived something, saved money, and probably learned a lot! Happy to be the inspiration to crack everything open. That’s some seriously good work 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hi would these bearings be the same on dophins200
Vince
Great job by you and all the other people that have had success. I can include myself thanks to you! I believe you are correct about having to replace the brushes. If you have any idea on the size or a source I would, everyone would, appreciate it. Had I been thinking straight I would have measured them when it was apart, but I was so excited to see the thing work with the new bearing, it blinded me lol.
Great video. The same problem happened to my pool cleaner, your video inspired me what to do and it turned out that the bearing next to the brushes was blocking. I lubricated it with oil and the problem was solved, but I bought new bearings and will change them later.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Greetings from Spain.
My favorite result! Glad to hear you were able to find the issue! I'd still replace that bearing, but it sounds like you've bought yourself some time. EXCELLENT JOB!!! Party Accordingly 🥳
Great video. Got the motor pulled without a problem but unfortunately the 2 motor screws would not budge and are now stripped. I sprayed with Liquid Wrench and will let sit overnight.
Thanks for the solution! I was able to do exactly what you did on my Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus.
NICELY DONE!!!!!!!! It's no small feat, and you saved mega cash! Bravo!~!!!! :D
Thank you for the description and link to the bearings- that saved me a lot of research! I pulled my Dolphin apart last summer when it refused to run for more than a minute or two and found that same bearing you changed was not turning smoothly in my motor. I lubed it with some oil put it back together and the robot worked for the rest of the year. Fast forward to this Spring and that bearing was rough again so it is time to replace it. Oil has it working for now, but the bearing really needs replacing.
One note for your viewers- when I reassembled the motor the first time it was running backwards and I needed to swap the red and black wires / brushes to the opposite positions from where they were originally to get the motor to spin in the proper direction. I'm not sure how I managed to get something backwards as it seems like all the parts were keyed for one orientation. I think it might have been the brass cap at the end of the motor. It isn't keyed to the motor housing but is keyed to the plastic enclosure. I think that going on opposite to original resulted in the terminals lining up opposite to where they were previously. I recommend putting an alignment mark on the brass cap and motor housing. It will help with aligning the screws to the holes, too.
Does anyone have a source for replacement brushes or the brush springs? I don't know how long these will last, but it would be great to be able to replace them when they wear out.
GREAT feedback Ryan. Nice work on oiling up the bearings! Bummer that's only temporary, but at least it reassures you that you've identified the problem!
I've seen a few people ask about the brushes and brush springs. From what I can tell these aren't parts that wear out in the life of a dolphin, yes, these wear out in electric motors (usually before the bearings), but you would probably have to run a 2+ hours a day for 10+ years to actually wear those out. That being said, they're generic, and brushes are sold by size, so if you remove the brush, measure the width & height with a caliper, you should be able to find that brush size on ebay, and you'll have to guess at the length. Springs too. I search a bit and found springs that looked the same. I didn't buy them to verify.
Again, good work, and good luck when the replacement time comes!
@@LeisureLuke Since my first post, I replaced the bearing and everything is running smoothly again. I used the terminal puller you recommended to pull the bearing. I used a small bolt between the puller head and the axle to reduce the diameter down to the appropriate size to not interfere with the bearing race as it was being pulled off. It worked great!
This is pretty embarrassing, but somehow I managed to get my terminals backwards AGAIN even with being aware of the issue and had to take it apart another time to fix that.
@@ryanmcdaniel7030 BAHAHA AGAIN!? Funny, well, well done!!!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I am hoping that this will be my fix. I have the motor out and my same bearing is locked up. Waiting on the new ones to complete the fix and give it a try. Thanks again.
Sounds like you're on the right track, and have found a problem! That's basically steps 1-4 of 5 done! NICE! GOOD LUCK!
Amazing explanation. Thank you very much!! My dolphin is working again.
Great! Nice work! I’m excited to fire mine back up in a few more months!
Your fix worked great. Thanks for the information...
Nice work! Congrats on the successful fix!!! Happy swimming :)
Thanks Luke! I’m going to give it a try! Wish me luck!
Good luck! 😃
This is pretty awesome, Luke! Thank you for taking the time to share your fix that worked on my Triton Maytronics, which also has the 626-RS ball bearing. At least, the one that was defective. The other one is 608 if I recall correctly. Both shields were collapsed, it was pretty impressive. There was also a lot of dirt/metallic dust inside, and fortunately no water. I took pictures that I am happy to share. I just don't know how to post them here.
Thank you for allowing to save additional frustration and expenses! Triton is now back in service (although I had to restart it twice times, possibly until the fault cleared by itself. I wasn't able to reset it via the app, which seriously needs improvements.
A cool project would be to be able to start the robot from Wifi or set more than 3 repeats (useful when on vacay). And how about a feature that would allow Triton to not be tangled in my tikki table and stools in the pool? That would be nice!
I'm working on a tiki bar too - checkout a video I made about the Tiki Bar Top! I'm mounting that on a Glastron PT84... which is cooler than it sounds #1Pun. Now that I gotta see! You can post pics and tag me @Leisure_Luke on instagram or @LeisureLuke on twitter. I'd love to have stools in the pool! Hahaha #2 Pun! :D Just no way to do it with my vinyl liner... that I know of. Or throw it on reddit or facebook and send me a link!
Nice job with the fix btw. Not an easy job, WELL DONE !
I took my dolphin apart and found the same seized bearing. just ordered the puller tool and the bearings from amazon. I'm feeling optimistic that i'll have a working robot in a few days. thanks for posting the vid!
Nice work Braydon! You've already done most of the work just identifying the problem!!! Good Luck with the Fix, keep us posted!!!!
@@LeisureLuke The new bearing did the trick! Robot is cleaning the pool right now and seems to be fully functional. Now we see how well I resealed everything and hope water doesn't get into motor compartment. thanks again for posting this video!
@@braydon9493 Congrats on the fix!!!! That's good money and plenty of landfill saved... good things! That helps us afford chlorine this year!!! Haha. Seriously though, well done!
Thank you, Luke, for the video. My Dolphin Triton PS stopped working after two years, right after the warranty expired. The lady at the pool store said that the model was an "internet special" that broke early (I purchased it online). I was not happy, I'm used to such large purchases lasting many, many more years. Anyway, I went through your tutorial--first, I could move the fan but it did have some resistance, so I moved forward. When I got the motor out, a bunch of rust-colored water spilled out: the gasket had failed. The circuit board had some pieces that fell off after soaking in water. I didn't go past that so now am going to purchase a new robot. I thought about replacing the motor unit, but I also would need a cord, since that would all cost $600 plus I'm leaning towards a new one around $850. However, the reviews tout the Dolphin Nautilus CC, but I'm so hesitant to get a Dolphin. Perhaps I will, and after 2 years, pull everything out and replace gasket and parts. I'm not sure :(
Sorry to hear that rob. I would get a new one vs fixing yours. Once you have water damage you're looking at replacing everything internal and it's work without a warranty. You'll be happier finding the store with the best, longest warranty possible and getting that! Seems like purchasing through a local pool store that clearly states their warranty is the best thing. If it were me, I'd start reading through Amazon adds and get the highest-reviewed product that has a warranty (you will have to pay to ship it in). These things just aren't made to last, but a new one will undoubtedly be better than an old one. Hope that helps.
I agree
My 5 year old Dolphin Triton PS Plus was throwing the "Error 1: DC in voltage" shortly after start up. Strangely I could still clean in manual mode and the impeller seemed to turn easily enough. I'm decided to try and replace both bearings of the impeller motor anyways, and the error cleared and is working again. Thank you for your video!
Oh man, nice work!!! Maybe the motor was drawing too much power, or maybe you fixed a bad connection in the process. Either way, we’ll done!!!
Thanks Luke, I had the same problem and your video gave me the confidence to try the repair. Replacing the bearing was a piece of cake. Reassembly of the motor was a little cumbersome because of the brushes. Next time I think I will retract the brush springs and let the motor housing keep them off the brushes. Getting the housing for the motors and circuit boards back together with the o-ring properly in place was a bear. After 30-45 minutes of swearing I decided to try my woodworking bar clamps (2) to draw the housings together while using a piece of wood to tuck the o-ring between the two housings. In two minutes the housing was back together and after 3 days the cleaner still works. I’m fairly confident I just saved a thousand bucks. Thanks.
So happy it worked! Sounds like you got a little more work than you bargained for, but glad you’re done! Mine still works on year 2 of doing this fix! I run it constantly this time of year in the spring of Minnesota. NICE WORK, CONGrats, PARTYACCORDINGLY!!!!! :)
@@LeisureLuke Luke, thanks for the great video on the impeller motor fix. My question: I took my motor box apart and all motors seem to work but only briefly. Is there some sort of sensor that shuts the motors down when the unit is not in the water? If not, I'm wondering whether I have a bad board in the motor box. I have an M400 with three motors, two drive and the impeller.
Thanks!
Tim
That last lid latch worked me over trying to get the last it on. The uneven surface was a challenge with the woodworking clamp but a lot of MaGyvering solved the issue.
Thank you. My Pentair Prowler 920 (Dolphin Active 20) stopped working. It would move a couple feet and shut off. I pulled it apart and noticed a ton of black soot everywhere inside the motor unit housing. Upon further inspection it was dust from the impeller motor brushes. I pulled apart the impeller motor and it looked terrible, I wiped it down really good to remove the dust and it cleaned up nicely. The bearing was okay. I re-assembled and now it is working. It's a bummer you can't find the impeller motor (5500024 in my case) anywhere as I'm concerned the brushes are worn and may eventually need replacing. Thanks again as I was able to repair this for $0 and a couple hours of time.
We’ll done! Yeah, those solid brushes create lots of dust… they are generic brushes that can be replaced just by measuring the height & width and ordering the right size brush on eBay. Sounds like a few other commenters here are considering the same thing when the time comes. Nice work on your repair !!!
Mine is the nautilus cc plus my impeller seems to be fine but the drive motor shaft is barely moving and noisy. I’m going to give it a try. Thanks, didn’t expect it to be that easily repaired these things are usually impossible to get apart without breaking something is the reason I didn’t give it a try. Now I’ll take back apart tomorrow. Thanks so much! Phillip Hurst
I’m impressed with how well these come apart and go together. I know other nautilus cc owners have fixed their drive motors the same way, and I’m 99% sure those call for the same bearings! Good luck & keep us posted!
This is super super impressive!!! Awesome video!!!!!!!
Awesome comment!!!!!! Thanks for watching Saklain :)
I used to work on typewriters and when I tore apart the motors for cleaning, I always made a mark on the case and end caps. When you reassemble the motor, align the marks and the bolts will line up perfect.
Great tips! Your video inspired me to open mine up and take a look. Bad news is mine had water in it and everything was rusted. I went ahead and purchased the whole unit from AZ Pool Supplies. I appreciate your link to that lower price.
Nice. Good luck with the repair, yeah water damage is pretty much unfixable. Happy to gave it a close look though!
@@LeisureLuke In the computer world, we say it costs too much to have the smoke put back in... :)
Thank you! We had this exact problem and your video just saved us big $$$$$$$$$$
THESE ARE MY FAVORITE COMMENTS! Nice job, it's a big task! You are a legend my friend, Well Done!!!! Party Accordingly 🥳🥳
I'm going to try it this weekend; mine was stopping just as described, but I opened it up and the propeller was completely broken off, so while your propeller wasn't broken off I'm still hoping this is my fix! Fingers crossed!
Gracias Luke! Tengo el mismo problema! Ya sé como solucionarlo!😊
Excellent video, I just got mine the S200
Nice! Hopefully you don’t have this repair anytime soon, but you’ll be ready when the day comes. I’ve got 2 now, and this is the only failure I’ve had. I’ve replaced the filters when they get a cut, and the cables will need replacing soon. Other than that these are great!
Well done. For all the maytronics owners out there, it would be phenomenal to be able to source those two motors somewhere @ the source. A fix for probably 99% of the failures for a few bucks, and not $400 for the entire drive unit.
Thanks! Yeah, there are hundreds of places to get the motor assembly and NO ONE sells the individual motors anymore. Glad you appreciate the fix! Let’s save some people some money!
A@
I found the impeller motor on ebay for my Dolphin Deluxe 4 for $300. Fortunately Luke's video determined I only needed the besrings.
I found the same motors on ebay
Thank-you you're a ROCKSTAR!!!
Great video Luke and really appreciate showing the impeller repair. Currently I'm trying to stop the Dolphin 20 from climbing the walls. Do you know if that's an option on the circuit board like dip switches or something? Ours scrubs in one place when it climbs and has gotten stuck behind the ladder so just cleaning the bottom would keep it useful. Thanks.
Thank you so much. Excellent information.
Happily! Good Luck if you need this fix!
Hi Luke, thank you for the video, the break down and assembly was easy. I was hoping to find that my bearings were bad, but what I found was that the rotor has 2 spots that were worn. I also found black powder, what seemed to be a graphite lubrication; your thoughts? The bearing were fine. Thanks Again. Andrien
Thank you Luke. Great easy to understand video! Unfortunately I have managed to damage the motor screw heads, while trying to remove them. Do you / anyone know/ have a link to the size of the two motor machine bolts? Thanks!
Hey! Thank you so much for the video. I have been recently trying to open up the motor assembly, but I have hit a dead end. No matter how hard I try, the lid of the box won't let go. Are these white plastic clamps on the perimeter of the motor assembly the only thing holding it together, or is there something else? I would really appreciate if you had some trick up your sleeve! Cheers!
As a side note. The extreme wear that has been noticed on the armature by some people is from the manufacturing process. It is how they balance the motor.
Thank u so much !
I will try fix mine !!!
You're welcome! Did it work!?
thanks Luke - my bearing cost $3 but totally worth the effort
Darn inflation 😂 I guess you'll have $2 less to spend on the party you should throw yourself! Job well done!
I have a Dolphin S200 as well and it will start up, move forward and then stop. I can barely turn the impeller so I will be attempting this in a few days. Can't wait to see if this fixes it!
I hope you are one of the lucky ones! LOTTA SUCCESS STORIES in the comments :D Let us know if you have any hiccups! Good Luck!
Great video! Ever seen an issue where the motor drive and the impeller drive work fine in manual mode, forward and reverse only, but the unit won’t turn? Servo Overload message. The water flow piece that controls left and right does not move freely, in fact it clicks. No debris present, but at the point where I am going to pull the unit apart and attempt to fix myself. 30i active and issue started with a few months of purchase. I moved and it went to storage and I lost track of the warranty period, which has since expired, hence self repair.
Thanks for the video, my S200 stopped running and checked power supply and cable both have proper voltage. Impeller spins freely but the robot has no power. I’ll take apart the black box since you showed me the steps and see what I can find.
Great video!!!! My Dolphin s200 died on me last season and I paid $450 plus tax and labor to have it fixed. I think I will follow your video and try to fix the broken motor. What do I have to loose? I wish I had seen your video sooner. Thanks again, Luke.
Thanks to you, I had the confidence to take a shot at fixing my Dolphin M500. My unit would attempt to move, lurge and stop... usually sideways . Suggesting the motor bearing you discuss. I pulled off the top and side covers off. One track seemed to be able to work freely, but the other was binding up. Then I flipped the unit upside down and pulled off the four screws holding the center drive roller. At this point, the ball bearings in the gear drive assembly for the drive roller fell out on the table ! This bearing had failed. The specific part name is “Active Brush Holder Kit”. So it was not the motor bearing, but still a bearing... and an easy fix! I located the part from the parts diagram from a supplier and it’s on order. $9 part to fix my $1000 robot! Thanks for your tips. Got R Done!!
Also, with the motor out I powered it up and test started the unit. Impeller and both drive shafts rotated freely. So I’m confident the motor unit is still good! Thank you Luke!!
Hey Hey - that's great info about the "Active Brush Holder Kit". Well done on the fix!!! You should be proud have found, solved, and fixed the M500! Keep up the good work!!!!
@@LeisureLuke got the parts today. I ordered 2 of the “Active Brush Roller Kit” to replace both sides. Glad I did. The other one was a little sloppy compared to the new one and may have gone out next. Put it all together and back in business cleaning the pool!! Thanks Luke!!!! 😎
@@gordonroat5364 Thanks for all the information, and nice job with the fix! When you were describing the original problem you said it would stop sideways. Do you mean it would sort of turn a little bit then stop? That's a good thing for people here to look out for. If your robot tries to do the twist before giving up it may be a track problem! Much appreciated and again, be proud, that some good work you've done there! Enjoy the clean POOOOL!!!!!!
@@LeisureLuke Yes, it would attempt to move and only move sideways and not much at that. I think it was the bad ball bearings lodging as it started to move. The “good” bearing was somewhat sloppy compared to the new one when I got it, so glad I ordered two and replaced both sides Dolphin had been back to work about a week now and pool looks GREAT! Thanks for your help! 😁
Very good video. I have a nautilus cc plus. Mine stopped working so I took it apart.
Opened the motor enclosure and found that the control board is not any good. I checked all the motors and they ran good. So I have correct voltages from the contol box to the motor control board . I have come to the conclusion the motor control board inside the unit is bad. Do you have any leads for replacement control board inside the motor housing.
Thanks much
Looks awesome! My Dolphin stopped working and it may be the same issue. I will check it out and see. I will let you know.
Thanks.
Good Luck! If the impeller is clear of debris and still doesn't turn easily it's probably this. Worth checking out!
Follow up-
The motor was seized. Mine had different size bearings inside. I had to replace the 626RS bearing AND one of the motor brushes. It was difficult finding both parts. I had to order the bearing online. I found a motor brush locally but had to file it down to the proper size. I got everything back together easily and it works as it should. Thank you for your helpful video!
@@zadina59 OOooo that's a lot of work! Excellent job on the repair!!! Congratulations, now you'll be able to afford that chlorine! Seriously, well done. That's FAR from an easy task. You kept the landfill empty and saved some serious cash. WELL DONE!
Thanks brother. Great, understandable video. Mine is doing the same thing. Starts up and stops but my impeller spins freely. The one track is acting "Notchy" in one spot. Going to start taking it apart more. This video gave great insight before digging in. Thanks again
Good Luck! These really seem like they were made to be taken apart. I hope you find the problem, keep us posted!!!!
Hey Erich, my scenario similar to your own. The impeller was clogged, but turns freely now once hair removed. One track also ‘notchy’. You get yours going?
I’m having same issue as you guys? What was the fix?
Thanks for the video, I had the exact same issue!
Nice! Get it fixed? Happy to make the video - had to fix it myself anyway, didn’t know how it’d turn out, but years later it still works great!
@@LeisureLuke All fixed, i just hope it's sealed properly. I've had a few robotic cleaners over the years, however I love my Dolphin!
Great video - thanks for sharing. Is there any video of replacing the brushes? when I replace the brush should the spring be forcing the brush against the commutator ?
czcams.com/video/rLGDHF8ZywI/video.html
I really like your tips. Unfortunately the screws on my impeller motor shredded and we cannot open up the motor to get to the bearing 😢. They are shot. Have you found a good replacement impeller motor?
I have the s300i (which looks like yours) and it’s not turning left or right. What do you think the problem is?
Great video by the way thank you!
Sweet as. I have a different brand evidencing EXACTLY the same issue. Starts moving then stops and shuts off all the lights on the console too. Has become worse over time till now its a few seconds then lights out. Removing the filter and running it only runs a bit longer. Trying to drive the tracks is really hard to do but the impeller is free as a bird. SO for me its likely to be the movement motor has a seized bearing. Here's hoping that my Polaris p825/Zodiac CX20 motor unit is as serviceable as yours was. cheers
Very likely, I've read comments of several other brands/models with the same issue on drive/impeller motors. Fortunately, most come apart easy, and you've got nothing to lose! Good luck & keep us posted!
Nice work. Thanks for posting the video. Does anyone know what the bearings are on other Dolphin Pool Cleaners?
The bearing numbers will usually be written right on the bearing. If you have a calipers to measure the width, height, and hole size we can figure out exactly which bearings you need. Of course, you'll have to dig in and remove one first.
There's no master list of which bearings are in which dolphins. I actually think they may have used different motors over time in different models. So far the x40 and 300i and more have use the 626-2rs bearings. Hope that helps! Good Luck!
I have just had my robot for 2 weeks. It is running but leaf sometimes got into the impeller. I can took most leaf out by squeeze my fingers onto the impeller. I am already tempted to taking it apart after watching your video.
Yeah, it's just a few screws. Keeping the impeller clean is crucial. I clogged impeller won't let your suction properly, so climbing walls and clinging to corners can become problematic. Good Luck! You Got This!
Thanks for this video. The bearings in the brass fitting were plastic. I did not see ball bearings in it. The measurements are 8x22x6. Can not find replacement and not sure if it is a bearing or casing. Would appreciate any advice
Great video. Can you help me?
My unit is a Dolphin CC plus and had a manufacture date of 06/17. It has spent a couple years in chlorinated water and the other 5 in a "salt water" pool. We are in Tampa FL and it gets run about every 2 to 3 weeks, usually for about 1 cycle or sometimes 2 and when the pool pump is off. Our pool is screened in so normal debris is just dirt blown into the area.
A few weeks ago I noticed what looked like the remains of foam ring about 3" in diameter in the pickup basket, A couple weeks later i found another almost whole ring and it was shape was like a doughnut. I now believe that those are the rings that fit on the main shaft to assist in wall climbing. However even then the machine ran fine and I disn’t even know the rigs might have come from the cleaner.
However yesterday I put the machine in the water and started it and it ran about 2 feet forward, then two feet in reverse and the shut off.
Using your video I started taking it apart. After simply taking it apart, I plugged it in and it would now run about 3 feet forward and three feet back and then stop.
When I took the sides off I noticed that the foam block on one side appeared as if the tread had been forced against it and ground a portion of it off. I believe that some foreign object may have made it into that area and caused the foam block damage. After cleaning that I ran it again with the same results. I checked all 3 bearings on each side and they all seemed very free.
So I opened the motors case and saw nothing unusual. It was dry and the desiccant bag was dry and the impeller ran during this and sounded free but shut off when the main drives did. So I ran the motors again and they did the same forward and reverse for about 6 seconds then quit. The impeller did the same.
Since the motor shafts did still rotate I did not open up the motor yet. But based on what I have seen, I believe that something is causing some type of a safety switch to shut off or a fuse to "blow." And then after10 seconds it resets and I can start it up again but it repeats the same cycle and shuts off.
Do you think it is a problem on the circuit board or something in the motors even though they do run. The motor make mechanical nose but I don’t hear any grinding or rough running.
If it is the board, is it available and is it worth fixing? All the treads do have wear so I suppose a rebuild kit (about $170) would take care of that but I don't think that is THE fix.
I didn't see any corroded wire or burn marks on the board and as I said it did run for short periods.
Other than taking apart the motors I can’t think of anything else to try.
Your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Nice job!
Thanks!!
Hi, followed this to repair a seized motor. Thank you. When runing what voltage should be measured across the impeller motor bushes? I am getting 28 volts, which I think is much too high and I may also have a pcb issue.
Thanks for this!
No Prob! GL with the fix!
Thanks for the great video. My impeller has no debris and will turn, but will stop immediatley if I stop pushing it. Should it continue to spin on its own after I give it a nudge?
Nah, there's some normal motor resistance as you pass the magnets. If it's seized it'll be hard or impossible to rotate at all. Sounds like your problem isn't the impellor motor bearings. Good luck!
Hi man, GREAT video! I got to the point where you separate the motor (2:20 in your video) but I could get the brass piece (the plastic side with wires) and I found black dust and it looks like eventually burnt out. Any idea how to find out what's wrong from that point?
Check 2 things - the bearings and the brushes. The shaft has 2 bearings and the case has 1. Try to spin them all by hand or with tools. They should spin pretty easily. The dust is normal - it’s from the motor contacts, called brushes. That’s what the wires are connected to. You can get replacement brushes, but I don’t have a link for them.
Thanks for the video. When you say the impeller is supposed to freely spin, do you mean like a ceiling fan? Like when I attempt to spin it, I'd be able to flick my finger and it freely spins? Or do you mean by applying constant pressure and it will spin? My does spin with the constant force of my finger but there is some resistance to that spin. Thanks again.
Sounds like you have a normal and good amount of resistance. It won't spin like a top, but by adding constantly pushing 1 finger should be able to rotate it. They're rarely "caught" in the middle. It's almost always spinning normally or 100% locked and you'd struggle to turn it with a long pliers. I'm guessing you're in the clear :) Good Luck!
Hey I followed the process but I think in the excitement of replacing the bearings I left out two pieces that caused the motor control console to fill with water dripping in through the bearings along the shaft into the motor. When I looked on the workbench there were two extra pieces a black thin rubber sleeve with a cap and a white conical rubber cylindrical piece. Can you please tell me where those pieces go and how you keep water from leaking back in through the shaft in the bearings into the compartment? You didn't cover that part when you were putting the motor back together so I skipped it
Brah cool video, Kudos to you.
Thanks!!!!
Good man well done umm IV got an x20 dolphin what bearings would it take in the pump be really helpful to know as mine one is not running atm
Not sure which bearing is in the x20. Fortunately, all bearings have the part # stamped on them! :) So once you take it apart and find the bad bearing it'll be easy to know which bearing to order. If you get that far and can't find the number, let me know and I'll have you take a few measurements - the bearing part # directly correlates to the inner diameter, outer diameter, thickness, and seal type. So even if there's no number, with a decent calipers are good measuring stick we'll get it sorted out quickly! Either way, you'll have to crack that baby open. Is your impeller motor hard to spin by hand? It should spin freely. If it doesn't it's almost certainly the bad bearing problem. Good Luck, Cheers!
Hello and thank you so much for your help,actually I've got dolphin E30 ,it's working just few minutes and than it's stop,I don't know if it's same issue like you show as this video.
Thanks
Any luck on the repair? It’s amazing how many different models have this same problem.
My Dolphin Premier motor is doing the same thing. What bearing should I buy? Thank you in advance!!
Hi Luke, thanks for the video, my impeller spins, was your not spinning at all or just tough to spin?
It's always a little tough to spin, that's normal magnetic resistance in the motor. IMPOSSIBLE to spin means you have a bearing problem. I couldn't spin mine at all by hand.
Awesome video, i have the same dolphin and is not climbing to the waterline do you know why? And how to fix that? Thanks
Most common problem is that your impeller is clogged. They also don’t clump well until the pool temp is around 70F
Water in motor! Great video. I had the exact same symptoms though the impellor was not seized, just a little firm.
Unfortunately when I split the motor housing open I found WATER INSIDE. The unit had never been repaired before and no cracks were evident. The motor bearings all seem free enough and spin OK. I will test the motor. Do you have any tips for re-waterproofing the motor housing.
The housing should have 2 rubber ring gaskets and lots of marine grease. It’s probably worth understanding where the water leaked from - there’s 2 motors, the cover, and maybe some wiring that all goes through that black box.
Hey Luke great video I just got a dolphin and I have a question I am noticing on the bottom there are no foam rings that they talk about on the manual when I bought this item it was brought to me by a pool company that fixed my pool I’m gonna check the serial number tomorrow with the company to make sure this is a new model but I’m wondering do you know if those phone rings or something if they put on all the models perhaps maybe I was looking at an old him manual but I just want to make sure that this dolphin that I have is a new model
High Martha. I haven't seen any foam in the Dolphins I've worked on, but it's very possible that the new ones have foam inserts somewhere. Sorry I'm not sure I can help - good luck!
How does the motor case come apart? Do you just force it with your hands or do you need to pry it open? Thanks
Wish this came up in my many, many youtube searches over the last month.
Unfortunately this was a recommended vid AFTER I ordered a whole new unit.
Shoot! Haha. Must be nice to have a new unit. Just spent $100 on new basket filters… these things add up! What did you end up buying?
@LeisureLuke the exact same model I had, the Triton PS. I just bought new tracks, filters, and a drive gear this spring so I can keep those as back ups\spares.
Hi, how free should the motor be? Free as in Zero resistance or slightly resistant? Thanks buddy
How do you best remove the lid on the motor casing. I’m not that strong, but u also didn’t show it. Ty so much for the video.
Nice and concise, I took mine apart thinking your diagnosis was causing mine to stop.....but all bearings were
running freely.
then I separated the main body away from all electrics and diagnosed the tracking system.....there seemed to be an
irregularity to it. Forensically examined inside the tracks and squashed piece of tree was inhibiting the smooth running..
These pool cleaners have a memory system to them......when once stopped for what ever reason ...they continue to stop
which make diagnosis deceptive...................Currently cleaner and dad are now happy chaps......all the best from Australia
Nice work! That debris can be tricky to find! At least now you're prepared to identify a bearing should you ever have that problem. Well done! Cheers!