Thread Number: 11778
Time for Service? 		[Down to Last]
Post# 126617   3/4/2011 at 09:43 (5,171 days old) by mercuryman ()        

Hi All,

Today I was using one of my Model Ls (the blue one). All of a sudden, I noticed that the motor began running more slowly and the suction decreased.

At first, I thought perhaps an appliance somewhere in the house had kicked in and was drawing power away from the circuit upon which I was using the machine. However, upon plugging the machine into another outlet on a completely different circuit, I noticed the same thing--the machine ran fine for about 30 seconds, then the motor slowed down.

I "sniffed" the machine's exhaust and noticed a very faint out-of-the-ordinary smell, but it wasn't necessarily a burning smell . Then, after about another thirty seconds, the motor returned to full speed.

This isn't the first time I've noticed this with that particular machine; in fact, about a week ago, the same thing happened. Again, I've ruled out that it isn't the electricity in the house--and the motor in my other Model L had never slowed down while in use.

One course of action I am going to take is to use my Kill-A-Watt Power Usage Meter to see how many amps/watts it is drawing when I use it, and if the motor slows, I am going to see what is happening (i.e.: if watts drop and amperage increases, etc).

This machine is one in which I wouldn't necessarily trust myself to disassemble its innards and inspect (it's too nice). However, my question is, if I need to replace the brushes and/or bearings, do you any of you have an idea of how much it would cost (ballpark figure)? I'm just curious...I want to make an "informed decision" and know what I'm talking about before I take it to the professionals.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Brian =)

Post# 126678 , Reply# 1   3/5/2011 at 00:38 (5,170 days old) by hoover28 (Oneida N.Y.)        
carbon brushes

 some of the first run of model L and 1205, have a carbon brush ishyou, the brass carbon holder some times slides in to the comentator and causes a this to happen. this can be taped back into place and then a cleaner stone can be used to clean up the comentators. the lator run of these models have this ishyou fixed. some times all of these models even after service still die down and come back up some times. I think it is the nature of the beast. I would check this befor I used it any more sew you don't heart the motor.

Chris

Post# 126687 , Reply# 2   3/5/2011 at 11:45 (5,169 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

What's that in English?

Post# 126689 , Reply# 3   3/5/2011 at 12:48 (5,169 days old) by djtaylor (Salt Lake City, Utah)        
English????

 djtaylor's profile picture
I belive that isyou translates to Issue.
And lator translates to Later.
Thank God for Spell Check.
Justin

Post# 126701 , Reply# 4   3/5/2011 at 17:09 (5,169 days old) by kenkart ()        
Definately!

 Motor brushes, a simple fix!

Post# 126786 , Reply# 5   3/6/2011 at 14:39 (5,168 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)        

eurekastar's profile picture
I kind of wondered if it was a motor brush issue. I have a Kirby 509 that was running intermittently. I pulled the brushes and they were worn to nubs. I wonder, if with wear and age, the tension in the springs was no longer sufficient to cause one or both brushes to make sufficient contact with the commutator. Anyway, new brushes solved the problem.

Post# 126804 , Reply# 6   3/6/2011 at 17:53 (5,168 days old) by mercuryman ()        
Thanks...

 Thanks guys for your input...I am going to bring my L into the vac shop this week to get it checked out. Hopefully it will be a simple brush replacement that will do the trick. =)

Brian

Post# 126894 , Reply# 7   3/7/2011 at 15:35 (5,167 days old) by mercuryman ()        
Good News!

 Curiosity got the best of me, and I took my Model L apart myself to inspect the motor (to see if I could discern what was wrong). Come to find out, the only problem I could see was that the motor's commutator was caked with dirt. Upon cleaning it, then checking the motor brushes (which were fine), I put it back together and now it runs beautifully!

I spent a good half hour today vacuuming to see if the motor had any "slow-down" episodes. It had none whatsoever! =)

Brian

Post# 126898 , Reply# 8   3/7/2011 at 16:12 (5,167 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)        

eurekastar's profile picture
That's fantastic! It feels great when I'm able to figure stuff out like that on my own. I would have never thought of caked on dirt, but it makes sense with a Thru-Flow motor.


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