Hello,

I bought a second-hand Dyson dc04 from ebay from a chap who
reconditioned them. So I have no way of knowing whether it had been
used for 1 hour or 1001 hours before I bought it.

The underside of the base is a different colour to the rest of it
suggesting it is a "cut and shut" and potentially has parts from more
than one vacuum!

I had a phone call the other day to say that there was a burning smell
coming from the vacuum. I have read here that Dysons are well known
for overheating; especially if the filters get clogged.

When I got home I had a look. The filter was dirty but I didn't think
it was that bad. I tried it and there was a bit of a burning smell.

I found some instructions on the internet of how to disassemble the
vacuum. They were not a perfect match for my machine but good enough
that I managed to dismantle it.

The motor itself looks pretty clean, though there was carbon inside
the case. The problem is not knowing whether that's recent or whether
it has been there for a long time.

The motor runs but it is illuminated with blue at the brushes. Does
this mean that I need new brushes and can they be replaced or do I
have to change the whole motor? OTOH some drills spark in normal use
and they do not indicate a fault with the motor or its brushes. I'm
thinking that with it being an unknown age, the brushes could have
worn.

What else could cause the smell? I'm puzzled because I can't see
anything that is obviously burned. Before I buy a new motor, I'd like
to know what is wrong with the one I am throwing away. There is no
obvious burnt area and it does not make any unusual noise in use. Can
anyone satisfy my curiosity?

TIA
Fred

Fred wrote:
Hello,

I bought a second-hand Dyson dc04 from ebay from a chap who
reconditioned them. So I have no way of knowing whether it had been
used for 1 hour or 1001 hours before I bought it.

The underside of the base is a different colour to the rest of it
suggesting it is a "cut and shut" and potentially has parts from more
than one vacuum!

I had a phone call the other day to say that there was a burning smell
coming from the vacuum. I have read here that Dysons are well known
for overheating; especially if the filters get clogged.

When I got home I had a look. The filter was dirty but I didn't think
it was that bad. I tried it and there was a bit of a burning smell.

I found some instructions on the internet of how to disassemble the
vacuum. They were not a perfect match for my machine but good enough
that I managed to dismantle it.

The motor itself looks pretty clean, though there was carbon inside
the case. The problem is not knowing whether that's recent or whether
it has been there for a long time.

The motor runs but it is illuminated with blue at the brushes. Does
this mean that I need new brushes and can they be replaced or do I
have to change the whole motor? OTOH some drills spark in normal use
and they do not indicate a fault with the motor or its brushes. I'm
thinking that with it being an unknown age, the brushes could have
worn.

What else could cause the smell? I'm puzzled because I can't see
anything that is obviously burned. Before I buy a new motor, I'd like
to know what is wrong with the one I am throwing away. There is no
obvious burnt area and it does not make any unusual noise in use. Can
anyone satisfy my curiosity?

TIA
Fred
Check the brushes are free to slide in the guides and have reasonable
pressure on the commutator. Provided that is the case then a small
amount of sparking along the straight edges of the brushes is
permissible but a ring of sparks from one brush perhaps extending to the
other brush is indicative of a damaged armature and is beyond repair.
The fault is usually an open circuit section of the winding or a shorted
turn/s. This is the commonest fault on cheap/nasty universal motors used
in domestic appliances.

Bob

On 19/12/2011 20:45, Fred wrote:
Hello,

I bought a second-hand Dyson dc04 from ebay from a chap who
reconditioned them. So I have no way of knowing whether it had been
used for 1 hour or 1001 hours before I bought it.

The underside of the base is a different colour to the rest of it
suggesting it is a "cut and shut" and potentially has parts from more
than one vacuum!

I had a phone call the other day to say that there was a burning smell
coming from the vacuum. I have read here that Dysons are well known
for overheating; especially if the filters get clogged.

When I got home I had a look. The filter was dirty but I didn't think
it was that bad. I tried it and there was a bit of a burning smell.

I found some instructions on the internet of how to disassemble the
vacuum. They were not a perfect match for my machine but good enough
that I managed to dismantle it.

The motor itself looks pretty clean, though there was carbon inside
the case. The problem is not knowing whether that's recent or whether
it has been there for a long time.

The motor runs but it is illuminated with blue at the brushes. Does
this mean that I need new brushes and can they be replaced or do I
have to change the whole motor? OTOH some drills spark in normal use
and they do not indicate a fault with the motor or its brushes. I'm
thinking that with it being an unknown age, the brushes could have
worn.

What else could cause the smell? I'm puzzled because I can't see
anything that is obviously burned. Before I buy a new motor, I'd like
to know what is wrong with the one I am throwing away. There is no
obvious burnt area and it does not make any unusual noise in use. Can
anyone satisfy my curiosity?

TIA
Fred
Sounds obvious, but have you checked the belt on the brush roll?

--
David

On 12/19/2011 5:22 PM, gremlin_95 wrote:
On 19/12/2011 20:45, Fred wrote:

What else could cause the smell? I'm puzzled because I can't see
anything that is obviously burned. Before I buy a new motor, I'd like
to know what is wrong with the one I am throwing away. There is no
obvious burnt area and it does not make any unusual noise in use. Can
anyone satisfy my curiosity?

Sounds obvious, but have you checked the belt on the brush roll?


Good thought - that's what it always was, when my mother's vac produced
a burning smell.

Could the filter charged with stopping particles getting to the motor be
clogged or the incorrect sort?
Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Fred" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I bought a second-hand Dyson dc04 from ebay from a chap who
reconditioned them. So I have no way of knowing whether it had been
used for 1 hour or 1001 hours before I bought it.

The underside of the base is a different colour to the rest of it
suggesting it is a "cut and shut" and potentially has parts from more
than one vacuum!

I had a phone call the other day to say that there was a burning smell
coming from the vacuum. I have read here that Dysons are well known
for overheating; especially if the filters get clogged.

When I got home I had a look. The filter was dirty but I didn't think
it was that bad. I tried it and there was a bit of a burning smell.

I found some instructions on the internet of how to disassemble the
vacuum. They were not a perfect match for my machine but good enough
that I managed to dismantle it.

The motor itself looks pretty clean, though there was carbon inside
the case. The problem is not knowing whether that's recent or whether
it has been there for a long time.

The motor runs but it is illuminated with blue at the brushes. Does
this mean that I need new brushes and can they be replaced or do I
have to change the whole motor? OTOH some drills spark in normal use
and they do not indicate a fault with the motor or its brushes. I'm
thinking that with it being an unknown age, the brushes could have
worn.

What else could cause the smell? I'm puzzled because I can't see
anything that is obviously burned. Before I buy a new motor, I'd like
to know what is wrong with the one I am throwing away. There is no
obvious burnt area and it does not make any unusual noise in use. Can
anyone satisfy my curiosity?

TIA
Fred

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:22:27 +0000, gremlin_95
wrote:

Sounds obvious, but have you checked the belt on the brush roll?

Thanks for all the help. I hadn't checked the belt. I'll have a closer
look at that and the brushes after Christmas.