Troubleshooting your Polaris 380 Automatic Pool Cleaner

The Polaris 380 Automatic Pool Cleaner is an excellent product and can make your swimming pool maintenance routines much easier and less time consuming. But you can't just throw the pool sweep in your pool and forget about it. In order to take full advantage of your Polaris 380 pool sweep you will need to keep an eye on its operations and keep up on maintaining it properly. Simply put, when it stops doing a good job cleaning your pool, it needs attention. Following is a summary of the most common problems with the Polaris 380 pool cleaner.

The first step in troubleshooting your Polaris 380 pool cleaner is to determine if you are getting good water pressure at the head of the pool cleaner. Depending on the water pressure that is reaching the pool sweep head, review the following steps to determine the possible solution to the problem.

Polaris 380 is not moving and there is insufficient water pressure at the pool cleaner.

• Booster Pump - check to make sure your polaris booster pump is functioning properly
• Filter Clean - check to make sure your main filter is clean. If the main filter is not clean you may not be getting enough water flow for the booster pump to work properly and provide enough water pressure to operate the pool cleaner. Clean the main filter and see if fixes the problem.
• Clean Baskets - make sure your skimmer basket and pump basket are clean.
• Filter Screen - check to make sure your polaris in line filter screen is clean and not clogged. If your filter screen is missing or damaged, it is possible that debris has clogged the tubing inside the pool sweep. If this is the case you will have to take the cleaner apart and clear the lines OR take it in to a qualified Polaris authorized Service Center.
• Hose and Swivel connections - check to make you don't have any water pressure leaks in all of the hose and swivel connections.

Polaris 380 is not moving with good water pressure at the pool cleaner.

• Belts - often when there is good water pressure at the pool cleaner and the cleaner is not moving, it means the internal belts need to be replaced. The belts on the Polaris 380 will wear down over time and stop causing the cleaner to stop. With the system off, remove the pool cleaner from the pool and if when you turn one of the wheels, the other two do not turn, or if the belts don't turn smoothly, the belts may need to be replaced. Purchase a polaris belt kit and replace both belts.
• Back-up Valve - the pool cleaner could be getting stuck in a corner if the polaris back-up valve is not functioning properly. Sometimes the back-up valves develop a crack in them and stop working and occasionally the internal gears wear down or break. If you find a crack in the valve that is leaking enough to not allow enough water pressure to reach the cleaner, it may just be the polaris back-up valve case that needs to be replaced instead of replacing the entire valve.
• Object Caught in the Pool Cleaner - toys and other objects can easily get stuck in the pool cleaner opening or in the wheels causing the cleaner to stop moving.

If you didn't find the solution to your problem by following the steps above, below are some additional common problems and solutions.

The Polaris 380 moves so fast it doesn't touch the bottom of the swimming pool.

Check the wheel RPM (see the Polaris website to find a service center). You can reduce the RPM by adjusting the pressure relief valve. You can also install restrictor disks in the Universal Wall Fitting in order to reduce the water flow.

The Feed Hose gets tangled

Make sure the feed hose is the proper length. It should reach within 6 inches of the farthest point of the swimming pool. If it is not the correct length, shorten the hose or get a new hose.

Check the swivels to make sure they turn freely.

Check the wheels and make sure they all turn together. If not, the internal belts may need to be replaced.

Make sure the feed hose is floating.

The Polaris runs tilted to the side

The cleaner bag may be too full.

The head float could be damaged and filled with water. Remove it and shake it. If it is heavy and filled with water, it needs to be replaced.

If the cleaner is not salvageable and needs to be replaced, call the local pool store to get a quote on a new Polaris 380, but more often than not, the best prices on new and used Polaris 380 Pool Cleaners are found on eBay.

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