Well I took the central vac into the dealer this morning so he could make
sure I was getting the correct replacement motor. Of course he wanted to try
it, to see what was wrong. After seeing it run for 15 secs he stopped it ,
went to the back of his shop and came back with a gray stick of some type of
abrasive material. He started up the vacuum, held the stick in some needle
nose pliers and ran it up and down the commutator a few times, removed the
stick and let the vacuum run. The severe arcing had disappeared and he
pronounced it good for another 5 years! He said this stick was the best
thing for removing any carbon buildup between the commutator and also for
removing any rough spots. It was about $10 CDN per stick. Sorry but I've
forgotten the name ot it already ( CRS disease). Of course while there my
wife spotted the new type of electrified hose with on/off switch on the
handle and wanted one, ( doesn't like my duct tape repair on the old one )
so the guy was happy to not charge for the work and we came away with a
little extra on our Visa bill!

Mike
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wrote in message
...
Thanks to all who responded to my original post. I've taken a good look at
the commutator on the motor and it doesn't look in the best of shape. I
think the heat and arcing has pitted it badly. Guess I will look at
replacing the motor. Apparently a replacement Lamb motor runs $195 to $245
here in Canada.
Thanks,
Mike

wrote in message
...
I noticed that our central vac didn't sound right today. I took the
plastic housing off the top of the motor so the commutator and brushes
were visible and started it up. After a few seconds of operation I start
to see the blue spark between the brushes and commutator start to extend
almost 1/2" in the direction of rotation around the commutator. As this
happens the speed of the motor slowly begins to drop. The motor was
overhauled last April; new bearings and brushes.The vacuum is 22 yrs old
so the commutator on the motor has seen a lot of wear but it looks in
reasonable shape. Anybody have an idea what might be happening here?
Thanks,
Mike
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