My Automatic Pool Cover Isn’t Working. Do I Need a Service Call?
You love your automatic pool cover for the safety and convenience it provides as well as the time and money it saves you on pool maintenance. It’s been working like a dream, but all of a sudden, you have a problem. You need it working again. ASAP. Do you need a service call from an automatic pool cover repair professional, or can you troubleshoot the issue and correct it yourself? Let’s take a look at some issues other pool owners have encountered that will help you diagnose the problem at hand so you’ll know what action to take to get your cover back up and running.
Issue: Your cover won’t open or close and the motor is NOT running.
Troubleshooting tip: Check the power.
Sure, it sounds obvious, but you certainly don’t want to make a service call only to find out that your unit has no power. Follow these steps to ensure your issue is not a power interruption:
- Check the breaker or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Make sure the breaker is not tripped or the reset button doesn’t need to be pushed on the GFCI.
- Follow the path of power. If the touchpad is illuminating and the breaker is on, check the junction box near the motor for any possible disconnections. If you find damaged or exposed wiring, do not attempt to fix it yourself! Disconnect the power source immediately if possible, and call your pool cover specialist right away.
- Check the motor and its connections. Your motor may have a reset button on it, and it may be as simple as pushing it.
Do you need a service call?
If you restore power, and your cover goes back to normal operation, you’re all set. But if you can’t find a power failure anywhere on your own, or you find damaged or disconnected wires, it’s time 
to call in the automatic pool cover repair professionals.
Issue: Your cover won’t open or close and the motor IS running.
Troubleshooting tip: Check the tracks, touchpad and cover.
If your unit does, in fact, have power, but the cover won’t open or close, don’t try to force it, and don’t try repeatedly to get it to move. You can do a lot of damage by trying to force your cover to operate. Instead:
- Check your tracks for any obvious obstacles. A pool toy, pine needles, sand or other types of debris may be activating damage prevention sensors that tells your pool cover motor to turn off.
- Check your touchpad. If your touchpad has backlighting feature, does it illuminate? If it’s lighting up but failing to operate your cover, it’s possible that your touchpad is faulty.
- Check your cover for water. If your cover is weighed down by an excessive amount of water, it will strain to open and close properly. Drain the water off with your pump.
Do you need a service call?
If you don’t find any obstacles on your track or issues with your touchpad, and removing water from the cover fails, it’s time to call in the automatic pool cover repair professionals.
Issue: Your cover doesn’t move smoothly or is crooked.
Troubleshooting tip: Check the tracks and ropes.
You should start troubleshooting as soon as you notice your cover fail to operate smoothly. It can be an indication of a larger problem, and forcing it to operate with impediments can damage your mechanism and create bigger problems.
- Check and clean your tracks. The most common culprit to uneven (jerky) movement in operation is dirty tracks. Take your hose with a low pressure nozzle and spray the debris out of them. Open the pool cover completely and then direct the stream of water into the slot of the cover track. Spray along the full length of the cover track. At the end of the track, keep spraying until the water exits clean.
- Check your ropes and pulleys. Look at and listen for malfunctioning pulleys or frayed or cut ropes.
Do you need a service call?
If you’ve cleaned your tracks and the cover still won’t open or close smoothly, your ropes are frayed or cut or your pulleys are loud, it’s time to call in the automatic pool cover repair professionals.
What’s the takeaway?
Proper automatic pool cover maintenance, such as keeping your tracks clear and clean, can alleviate a lot of problems. It’s easy enough to check your power source, and it’s great if that’s your only problem. However, for mechanical or wiring problems, you’ll need to contact an automatic pool safety cover repair professional near you.
About Cover Care
Cover Care has been an industry leader in the automatic pool cover repair and replacement business for more than four decades. This experience and expertise allows us to provide the most efficient service in the industry. Our field technicians will be the first to respond to your call, and the fastest to re-cover your pool. We’ll restore your cover’s operations and your peace of mind as soon as possible.