Smitty Two wrote:
Hey, it's a home appliance, so it's almost home repair. Anyway I've
fixed my girlfriend's aging vacuum three times in three years, and
keep encouraging her to buy a new one.

This weekend's episode concerned the motor that drives the brush. A
little VOM work confirmed voltage was reaching the motor leads,
confirming switch and wiring integrity. As a double-check I cut and
stripped the wires and got out the suicide cord. No sign of motor
life.

She went on the internet and started pulling up prices in the $120
range for a new motor. Sheesh. I'm in the wrong business.

So I took the motor apart. A quick ohmmeter check showed the field
winding to be open, but I sure didn't see any damage to it that would
account for it being open. I decided to take a look at the crimped
splices that connect the magnet wire to the leads, and my surgery
revealed a little thermal fuse. The fuse tested open, the field
winding tested continuous.

Maybe I shot myself in the foot, because now I'm stuck maintaining the
damn thing for a while longer. But anyway, $1.69 plus tax at Radio
Shack, and an hour's work is all it took to restore the thing to
relatively good health.

I love simple stuff. I'm glad I have the experience to troubleshoot
simple stuff and the tools and the time to fix simple stuff.

Way to go. It'll probably outlast you now.