On Feb 21, 4:02*pm, "Bob F" wrote:
My old craftsman shop vac started to smell "hot", like the motor was burning
out. I removed the top cap over the motor, and verified that the brushes were
fine. On further inspection, I discovered that there were two wires that had
broken loose from their commutator connection. I carefully heated the wire end
with my soldering iron, then scraped the insulation with a knife, and scraped
the connection point on the commutator, and then soldered them back in place. It
now seems to be working fine. FWIW.

Motor repair shops will also secure sensitive wires like those with a
dab of glyptal cement to help them survive the high centrifugal forces
in vac motors. A small blob of epoxy might work as well. but take it
easy with the amount because at 20,000 RPM it won't take much to get
things unbalanced. Congrats on a nice repair. IMO Sears shop vacs are
some of the best and often the best priced.

Joe