A couple years ago a gear motor went out on our P945 and it was going to cost almost as much to repair as a new machine.
Now a gear motor went out on the replacement 9550 sport with same story of repair vs replace cost.
I chose option 3. Took apart the 2 machines and the remaining good motor in the P945 was a direct replacement for the bad gear motor in the 9550 and plugged right into the circuit board inside the motor block. Cleaned up the big O ring/O ring housing that seals the motor block as there seemed to be a build up of minerals from the pool water that possibly caused a leak. Gooped the heck out of the O ring/O ring channel with silicone goop (NOT GLUE). Put everything back together and it’s been working perfectly since.
Cost $9 for silicone gloop from Leslies.
If I can source more motors I can likely get the old P945 back in service.
If not, look around for as-is broken Polaris machine. If the wheels on at least one side of it can be turned manualy then it likely still has a good gear motor. Swap that sucker in and save yourselves a bundle.
I have the same problem. I had one motor corroded and binding, not sure if the gearbox is bad too. The good motor had a desiccant pack next to it which was damp. The bad motor had NO DESSICANT. Crappy quality control. The robot was five years old. I used to leave it in the water for extended periods. DONT DO THAT.
Henceforth I will take it out every time I use it. I have found out that it is not necessary to clean the pool so frequently.Except in summer, hardly at all (NW FL)
I have a Polaris 955 cleaner and one side of the robot wouldn’t spin the wheels.
Since it was the middle of summer, I bit the bullet and paid for an entire new motor block D. Killed me to do this since it was 1/2 the price of a new one.
Anyway, I just got around to taking the old motor block D apart to salvage parts and decided to look into why the old motor assembly failed. After disassembly, it was obvious. The bearing in the 5th picture down is seized. This bearing goes around the output shaft (see 4th picture down). Even though the motor looks a little rusty, I hooked it to 12VDC (I know it’s a 24VDC motor) and it spun freely in both directions. The output shaft protrudes through the plastic housing in picture 4 and the bearing goes between the housing and the white gear on the shaft. The bearing measurements are 8mm ID, 16mm OD and 5mm width. I just bought 10 of them on Amazon for about $11. I plan to repair this motor assembly, along with keeping all the other good parts from my previous motor block D.
There is a seal that is integral part of the plastic housing that the output shaft fits through. This is most likely the leaky area. Not sure if I can seal it up better, but worth a shot.
I tried originally to just buy the 41JFS3146 but did not have any luck locating one and the manufacturer never replied to my inquiry.
The wheels on one side of mine quit. It made a sound like skipping gears. Upon disassembly I found the two flathead machine screws inside the gearbox were loose. Re assembled everything and it worked. Wore a bit off the first plastic gear but it works. Is the motor listed above come with the gear box?
Thanks Randy
We are having the same issue upon taking it apart we have found that one tooth has broken off our gear does anyone know where I can find a replacement?
I talked my local Leslies pool store out of a bad motor unit for free. Took it apart and used one gear to fix my unit.
The Polaris exploded parts view does not show the 17 tooth gear and its bushing. It only shows the gear kit for way too much money. The gears are part# R063900 two for about $10. The bushings are part #R0639100 at two for $9. I needed 3 packages of each. I also bought 4 wheel bushings #R0518500 and a set of side gears #R0518800.
Wheel are tight again. Unit works great.
Use dielectric grease on the big “O” ring and the power plug.
great discussion. My issue on the 9650iQ seems to be the pcb and not the motors that got wet. Visual inspection of motors looks good. Head unit gives error:10 I’m able to source parts for a block motor A but not D … anyone know the difference?
If I get this fixed, I’ll definitely inspect that big o-ring and re-lube every season.
Hi everyone. Glad to find this forum discussion. I got the P9550 for over three years. First time got the ER-10. Leslie wanted $950 to replace the motor block. That is a hiway robberies. I was able to find a m-block for $400 and replace it myself. After a 1-1/2 year the same thing happen. This time I am starting to make an deep dive into it. Polaris is building an underwater robot but using all cheap parts, connectors are not even IP65 rating. Only rated for splash proofs. The motor block is made of cheap hard plastic not hard composite material so after a while the chassis bend and cause leakage. The thruster motor is only protected with one oring on the outside under the brass nut, no support nor seal from inside. So stupid design. And some stupid people on YouTube shows loosing the nuts during disassemble, which can cause leakage if not careful. Polaris does not want theirs tech to deal with the electronics replacement. They created the tester to test the unit so the techs only know what parts to replace according to the results from the diagnostic tester.
I opened the motor block to see what is going on and found one motor has some corrosion built up on it. Using the DVM to test the motors. The good one shows 60ohm and the corrosion one shows 30ohm. This can cause over current on the cpb. Looking for the replacement motor now. If anyone knows or has them please let me know. Thanks.
How did you remove the big gear the one that has the bearing (the one that is connected to the output shaft). I think the bearing is bad I don’t want to damage the assembly trying to remove it. Also do you have the Amazon p/n for the bearing, if not I will search for it.
We 3d printed one, not sure how long it will last, there are online companies that will 3d print one for you and they use materials that probably will be ok for this function. The company I saw is igus and they charge about $10 for the gear plus shipping if you give them the 3d file.
Anyone have any luck on finding that gear? I’ve ran into the same issue and cannot seem to find it anywhere. The one with the smaller teeth on the left is the one I’m needing - replacing that would be the fix! Much appreciated
I couldn’t find it anywhere, all places I found that specialize in gears, the exact match could not be found. Even from the manufacturers of the Robot itself, it was the full motor or nothing. What I ended up doing is buying a replacement of the part of the motor itself that the gear is in and luckily it worked like a charm. There is always a chance the same part might be broken on the used part, but worth a shot and worked for me - good luck: Zodiac V3 4wd V4 VX40, VX50 VX55 Gearbox Motor Drive Polaris 9300 9450 9550 Pool | eBay
HI
I have Polaris 8050 sport robotic cleaner and recently noticed it stop moving, I ha checked the obvious and did not see any issue, however, when i try to move wheels, even though it moves in both direction i found it has some resistance and its making screechy grinding noise. When i put it back in the water it works for some time 10-30 minutes and then it stops. I pull it out of the water , spin/move wheels manually a bit , put it back in the water and it is working again for some time and stops again.
I suspect it has something to do with drive motor or the shaft.
Has anyone experience similar issue? and if i were to replace drive motor, is it something someone already have done it, and any idea where i can get a replacement part (other then Polaris, which they want be to buy entire motor block).
Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
I know that some of these posts are quite old, but for those just joining (in late 2023)…
Regarding the 41JFS3146 motors referenced throughout this thread, I reached out to the Canadian company, Fluidra, recommended by Ebram in this comment, above, via email on 26 November, 2023. Fludra’s very quick reply on 27 November, 2023, was as follows:
“If the Motor is bad, there is not part for it or for any of the individual component, the whole Motor Block has to be replaced, please. Technical Support Kind Regards”
Follow-up from my post, two messages up: I successfully ordered replacement motors from Depanne Robot (who ironically, posted immediately above). The motors currently sell new for $36 each.
I confirmed that the motors work, but I’m currently in search of a replacement motor block control board, so if anyone knows of a reliable source, please share it.
I actually found your shop but am unable to order from it, it always states the shopping card is empty. I’ve tried different browsers as well. I need the same motor and would like to order!
