On Nov 3, 7:36*am, 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.

Well done!

If you dont want to keep fixing this one....take a look on ebay,
decent used units can be had for a good price.

btw are you sure the g/f is that concerned about a vacuum? and
might that be happier with a "vacuumer"?

for some reason my wife really likes it when I vacuum, maybe cuz she
can't hear me talking?

cheers
Bob