Shutoffs happen frequently with the cordless (stick) vacuums, but occasionally the corded vacuums can suffer from this. We will look into the possible causes and point to some possible fixes. Get ready to do a little TLC for your Dyson.
First Steps
What is it doing?
- Is it "pulsing" that is turning on and off rapidly when the trigger is pulled? This is something designed into the cordless vacs so they don't destroy themselves trying to overcome a clog. Usually the vacuum will pulse for a few cycles and then shut down completely. you will have to wait for a short time before it will restart.
- Is it running for a while and then shutting off? This is much more common with the Dyson Corded vacs, but the cordless ones can do it as well. Again this is a feature to protect the motor of the vacuum from burning up.
- In both cases the issue is that the vacuum is heating up (triggering thermal protection in the motor) or the control circuitry of the vacuum (cordless models) is triggered by the behavior of the motor due to lack of airflow or a glitch in the system. Two main causes: Clogs and Dirty Filters. We will start by looking for clogs, but first we check battery and charging issues for cordless models.
Low Battery
While this applies to cordless models only, it is important to fully charge the battery before doing all of the other troubleshooting steps.
- A low battery will cause the unit to shut itself off to prevent motor or battery damage.
- If the battery won't charge properly, you should replace it.
- Check to see if the unit still shuts off after charging or replacing the battery.
Charging Glitch
On some Dyson cordless vacs there can be a condition where the vacuum will run for about 10 seconds then shut off (no pulsing) One possible fix:
- Unplug the charger from the mains.
- Reconnect the charger to the mains
- Put your vacuum in the charger and hold the trigger for 15-20 seconds. Nothing will happen while the trigger is pulled
- Remove vac from charger and it should be normal
- For further info go to this answered question
The Vacuum is Clogged
We will concentrate mainly on the cordless vacs here because they have this shutdown issue most frequently. For corded vacs, you should check out this page on clogs.
There are several common locations for Dyson cordless vacs to develop clogs. Just think "follow the air".
- The brush roll head is the first place to check. Dyson cordless brush rolls are quite simple to disassemble for cleaning.
- Since they have a one piece brushroll, it comes off from the end and allows easy access to the airway behind the roll.
- There is often some shrouding to remove, so be prepared to do a little disassembly if you can't see into the airway.
- There is a piece which can be removed to allow better access for clog removal in the airway, that needs only a coin to open.
- If you find a clog, remove it, reassemble the machine and test it. If no good, continue the checks.
- Next take a look at the wand and see if there are any clogs in it. Given that it is a straight pipe, the likelihood of a clog is low.
- The next step is to detach the wand from the vacuum body, and look at the opening where the air enters into the dust container. There is a deflector located there that can sometimes trap debris.
- You need to remove the dirt canister for best access for the next few steps..
- There is a latch that you must release apart from the latch which opens the dirt container.
- It can be tricky to remove the canister, and a slight rotation may help
- Check inside the center of the main cyclone for debris. It's a good idea to clean the filter screen at this point,
- Reassemble and test, if no good, go to the next item.
Dirty Filters
Dyson vacuums rely on their filters heavily to trap both large particles at the first pass and very small particles downstream. The next step is to check all of the filters.
- We have already checked the filter screen in the cyclone and cleaned it (a major offender for lost suction).
- On cordless models there is a filter located in the middle of the cyclone portion which can frequently get dirty, and must be washed or replaced.
- When dirty, this filter can cause pulsing on cordless units. In some cases it may be simpler
- it can be washed by running water through it, but it helps to disassemble the filter before washing it.
- There is a plastic frame inside it that helps it keep its shape but also makes it harder to clean.
- To remove this, you have to carefully unlatch three clips at the top of the filter.
- When removed the filter can be more effectively squeezed, and gently wrung out
- Remember that any time you wash a filter, Dyson indicates that it should dry for at least 24 hours before being installed again.
- There is usually a motor post filter (often HEPA) that should be checked as well for dirt. On cordless models this often doubles as the endcap for the unit over the motor.
- Dyson has produced enough different models that it isn't possible to give detailed location information for each filter for such cleaning.
- Generally, the vacuums always have pre-filters before the motor that should be maintained regularly, except for the Cinetic models, which don't.
- All Dyson vacuums have a filter downstream of the motor. In some cases, like the Cinetic models, this filter will have to be reached by disassembly and is supposed to be a lifetime filter.
- If you have cleaned or replaced all of the filters, check to see if the vacuum operates normally. If so, you are done, If not go to the next step.
Switch Failure
At this point, especially on cordless models it is a good idea to check the switch.
- Cordless models use a microswitch for the trigger switch, and if this fails or becomes intermittent, the vacuum will shut off unexpectedly.
- The microswitch completes a circuit which is sensed by a control board. The control board then sends power to the vacuum so it will operate.
- You can test the switch by disconnecting the battery, and disconnecting one lead of the switch from the unit and using a continuity tester. Since the switch is often prewired to the battery protection board, this may be difficult to do.
- If possible test the switch in place, rather than removing it from the vacuum. Some failures, especially intermittent ones, can best be found by wiggling things as they are in operating position.
- You may be able to test the switch by using something to hold the switch in the on position steadily.
- Watch to see if the vacuum shuts off when it isn't moved.
- If that happens it is less likely the switch, and more likely some thermal problem with the motor or control boards.
- If it doesn't shut off, charge it again, and check this by next trying the unit while shifting your grip on the switch; if the intermittent shutoff happens, you have found the problem.
- If the switch tests good go to the next step.
Faulty Control Board or Motor
At this point, the causes are more catastrophic, the control board is not a readily available part and is relatively involved to replace. In many instances, it can be purchased with the motor attached, as they often come as a unit. You can replace them together if all other issues have been checked.
8 Yorum
After eliminating all possible causes with a pulsating V6 Absolute Dyson's "Experts" told me that the main body needed replacing, they gave me the required part number 967911-03. Dyson no longer stock this part so I bought a genuine Dyson part from Ebay. After fitting, this new part cured the pulsating but would not drive the motorised lower brush. The new part was installed on a fully working V6 Absolute and it still did not power the motorised lower brush. I presume the new part 967911-03 was faulty and returned it to Ebay and received a full refund. After contacting Dyson's "Experts" again I ordered another new genuine Dyson part 967911-03 from a different supplier. This part had the same problem, no pulsating but not driving the bottom brush. To be clear, the faulty V6 has been cleaned throughout including dismantling and cleaning the Cyclone, there are no blockages. Does anyone have an answer to this problem? Could the new parts be faulty and how can they be tested?
Malcolm Pool - Yanıt
Check the electrical contacts from the main motor body (which you replaced) and the clear bin. Those contacts connect to conductors that run along the upper edge of the bin and lead to the contacts where the wand is attached. If there are problems with any of those contacts the brush head won't spin. I suspect the problem to be the contacts on your new motor because you even swapped the motor onto a functional V6 and then the V6 brush didn't work.
Bill Gilbert -
Here's a link to an answer that might have helpful info.
Bill Gilbert - Yanıt
Hello Bill,
Thanks for your suggestions. The problem is that this is the second new motor I’ve tried, both results with no spinning brush on both V6s. I would be very surprised if both new motors required the contracts to be cleaned.
I’m reluctant to start cleaning the contacts on the new motor because it would mean I wouldn’t be able to return it.
The contacts on the bin are okay and I have continuity to the wand terminals. I’ve tried swapping the bin from the working V6 and the result is the same. The only thing left is to buy a new bin, however I don’t think that would cure it because the new motor produces no brush spin on a working V6. I hope I’m making sense here.
Malcolm Pool - Yanıt
You're making perfect sense. That's bizarre that both motors would give a no spin condition, You did the next thing I would have tried which is checking continuity to the brush motor. I understand about your reluctance to clean contacts. Are you able to check the motor power outputs to see if you are actually getting voltage at the terminals that would go to the bin and then to the wand connector? I have heard of defective motor boards that people have had to modify because of no brushroll output. Getting two of them seems unlikely. Since you are buying them on eBay, though, there is a small possibility that the units were parted out with the idea that the brush head was bad. Since the motor still ran it was assumed to be fine. So a voltage check is in order. If I recall correctly it should be around 18-21 volts or so. If you can't get voltage at those contacts, then you need to check the motor board for defects. You should also check the working V6 for voltage at it's output contacts.
Bill Gilbert - Yanıt
This is where the whole thing gets interesting and my knowledge of modern electronics fails.
When I test the original pulsating V6 at the output terminals on the main body I get a reading of approx 20 volts. When I repeat the test on the new motor I get 0 volts and testing the working V6 at I get the same 0 volts. From these readings I presumed that the management system in the main body only outputs voltage when a motorised brush is detected. That presumption makes me think that both main bodies I bought are faulty.
The first motor I bought through Ebay and, checking the seller, was a Limited Company, they'v refunded me in full. The second motor I again bought online but directly from a small family run business, they also were a Limited Company and had good revues.
I'm wondering if there is some way I can test to see if the motor control board is working without dismantling the main body.
Malcolm Pool - Yanıt
The answer that I referenced above has some information in several of the posts about the motor circuit turning off when it senses no motor or when the motor seems locked. I think the only way to test the control board is dismantle the main body. Here's a disassembly and cleaning video. I admit you already did all this of course as you said, but access to the motor control board isn't that hard. At about 3:36 it shows how to get the motor cover off and you are then looking at the control board. It could be dirty. You have me kind of stumped without being there.
Bill Gilbert -
I have a Dyson V6 which was turning off after about 4 minutes on normal power even with a new battery. I traced the fault to the blue cylindrical filter which can be removed by pulling at the top of the dust case. It is a good idea when you find the switch off fault to try a fully charged battery with the filter removed. In my case with the filter removed it lasted 22 minutes i.e. perfect.
The original owner did not need a new battery, the motor is good and no fault on the charger.
It is essential for the long cylindrical filter to remove it as explained in this article (three catches). Then I used a Henry vacuum cleaner to suck out the dust from the filter and then thoroughly washed it.
I have refurbished a couple of these cleaners thrown away as they were useless not realising they were just clogged.
It would be nice if Dysons had a filter blocked warning or motor temperature warning. In my opinion it would save thousands of users from unnecessarily replacing batteries or the whole cleaner.
Raymond Willis - Yanıt