Upright Vacuum Cleaner Repair Pt. 1: Electrical Problems

Upright vacuum cleaners seldom have problems. Electrical problems are restricted to the cord, the motor and the switch.

Step 1 – Owners Handbook

If your vacuum cleaner suddenly stops working you should read the owners handbook for suggestions of problem diagnosis and treatment.

Step 2 – Thermal Cut-Out

Most vacuum cleaners have an electrical safety feature for when the motor over heats. This is a thermal switch in the power line that opens if it reaches a specific temperature, immediately disabling the cleaner. These cut outs usually reset themselves after a short while so wait half an hour to see if your machine starts working again. Exceptionally there might be a reset switch on your machine. These are usually red, quite small and near to the motor housing.

Step 3 – The Vacuum Still Doesn’t Work

If the vacuum still doesn’t work check your switch board to make sure the circuit breaker for that socket has not tripped.

Step 4 – Check the Socket

Use a mains tester to confirm that there is still power to the socket.

Step 5 – Check the Power Cable

If there is power in the socket, use the mains tester to check that power is being delivered by the cable to the vacuum cleaner switch. If there is no power at the switch end of the cable the problem is in the cable. You need to check the plug connections on the cable and then examine the length of the cable for any breaks in any of the wires.

Step 6 – Check the Switch,

Remove the cover from the switch. This will either be in the handle or in the head of the machine. Use the mains tester to confirm that power is reaching the switch. Test the delivery side of the switch to see if the switch is delivering power. If there is no delivery from the switch it needs to be replaced.

Step 7 – Check the Motor Terminals

If the switch is delivering power you need to expose the motor to test the power at the motor terminals. Different types of upright vacuum cleaners have different ways to access the motor so you will have to be guided by your hand book.

Use the mains tester to confirm that the power from the switch is arriving at the motor. Check that the cable is correctly fastened to the terminals.

Step 8 – Check the Carbon Brushes

If power is being delivered to the motor terminals but the motor will not run the answer lies within the motor itself. The most likely cause will be the carbon brushes being too worn. The brushes can be removed quite easily and a visual check will soon confirm whether the brushes are worn or not.

Most electrical repairs on upright vacuum cleaners are fairly simple but they can be indications that the machine is coming up to needing replacement. Repairs to the electric motor apart from replacing brushes will probably be more expensive than buying a new cleaner if you can’t repair it yourself.