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Author Topic: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on  (Read 11320 times)

Offline dye_son

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DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« on: July 24, 2014, 09:29:06 am »
Hi Chaps, hope someone can help.

My fiances has never liked her DC14 and since getting together I've been trying to show her it's a good vaccuum. The beater bar stopped turning a while back and I replaced the clutch and all worked fine again.

There are two problems with it at the moment, I am not sure of they are related.
1) The clutch never switches itself to the ON position when I tilt the vacuum back. I always have to manually kick it onto this setting once I tilt the vacuum. The beater then starts working. When I stand the vacuum upright it goes back onto setting 2 (auto) as it should, but tilting again leaves it on auto. I thought this was what was supposed to happen until I read something on here the other day - always thought it was odd. I took the knob off and can see a coiled spring inside that looks like it should be able to flick the switch into the ON position but for whatever reason that doesn't seem to happen. I noticed the knob housing is touching the plastic exterior of the vacuum so maybe it's misaligned? WD40 hasn't helped...

2) So I put the vacuum on, tilt it back, kick the beater bar on as mentioned above. I then vacuum for maybe 10 seconds before the vacuum seems to grab the floor like a limpet and become difficult to move. After some troubleshooting I found this seemed to be due to the tilt mechanism on the sole plate. The sole plate itself seems to pivot on the axis of the beater bar and when the front of the sole plate is down works fine. However in the course of normal vacuuming the sole plate front pivots up and this seems to then make the vacuum suck down on the floor to the extent that it's hard to move (on carpet or hard floor). If I push the nose down again it's fine for another 20 seconds until it flips up again. Sucking down like this pulls the carpet up into the vacuum to the extent that the beater bar doesn't rotate.

I can't quite work out how the hell this mechanism is supposed to not constantly flip up like this - I haven't been able to find anything on the internet about it but the DC14 is a simple beast, surely someone must have encountered this?

Could really do with some help - don't want to get rid of a perfectly good vacuum.

Offline DavidP

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2014, 10:35:26 pm »
1) The clutch never switches itself to the ON position when I tilt the vacuum back. I always have to manually kick it onto this setting once I tilt the vacuum. The beater then starts working. When I stand the vacuum upright it goes back onto setting 2 (auto) as it should, but tilting again leaves it on auto.

Well, that certainly isn't right.

I replaced the clutch

I think you did something wrong.

Offline dye_son

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2014, 08:45:53 am »
I thought the clutch replacement went quite well, and the clutch selector never workwd , was the same before I did the clutch. Good to know its definitely not right though.

Offline __russ__

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2014, 09:17:31 am »
I thought the clutch replacement went quite well, and the clutch selector never workwd , was the same before I did the clutch. Good to know its definitely not right though.

Assuming you put a working clutch in...is the triangle part of the frame arrowed in the photo intact on your machine?

It's this part that operates the clutch so if this is broken or misaligned it won't turn the clutch on/off.

The clutch is turned off in this photo so the clutch arm isn't resting on the triangle.

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2014, 01:25:09 pm »
You cant strip the spring out of a clutch sadly, but your issue may be the internals where it moves the cog on and off of the other cog (sorry, been a long day!) There's a thread in the how to section that shows it all. As said though, check the location of the lug as that does the work.

What does the internal hose that goes to the brushroll look like? IIRC the orientation of this is key as it forms the spring for the soleplate, so if it's not correct it wont pivot properly. Sounds like it's got some suck to it though if it glues itself down! There's a suction hole right at the front of the soleplate to grab large bits before the brushroll, is this blocked?
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline dye_son

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2014, 09:41:24 am »
Assuming you put a working clutch in...is the triangle part of the frame arrowed in the photo intact on your machine?

It's this part that operates the clutch so if this is broken or misaligned it won't turn the clutch on/off.

The clutch is turned off in this photo so the clutch arm isn't resting on the triangle.
The triangle in question is there and in tact, from what I can see it's purpose is to disable the clutch when you stand the vacuum up - which works fine. It's when I tilt it again that the clutch doesn't engage, which I am guessing is the role of the spring in the clutch.
Here's a pic:

Offline dye_son

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2014, 09:48:11 am »
You cant strip the spring out of a clutch sadly, but your issue may be the internals where it moves the cog on and off of the other cog (sorry, been a long day!) There's a thread in the how to section that shows it all. As said though, check the location of the lug as that does the work.

What does the internal hose that goes to the brushroll look like? IIRC the orientation of this is key as it forms the spring for the soleplate, so if it's not correct it wont pivot properly. Sounds like it's got some suck to it though if it glues itself down! There's a suction hole right at the front of the soleplate to grab large bits before the brushroll, is this blocked?

Thanks for the tip on the hose orientation. I took it out and flipped it which seems to have solved the issue with the soleplate flipping nose down and engaging limpet mode.

I now still have the issue with the clutch not auto-activating when I tilt the vacuum and a new problem too which I'll mention shortly. I took a picture of the clutch knob with the cover off and can see it touches the plastic around it when rotated into the auto position (as pictured) but it doesn't seem like it should be enough to stop the clutch rotating. The plastic itself is all in good nick and not obviously warped. I have added a picture below.

So although the soleplate issue is now ok, I find that the beater bar struggles to turn after a while. It rotates around but when I push the vacuum forward you can hear it meets resistance at the carpet and slows or stops turning, when I pull the vacuum back it starts again. As mentioned I already replaced the clutch a while back but does this sound like like the clutch is buggered again?

Offline __russ__

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2014, 10:11:23 am »
You cant strip the spring out of a clutch sadly, but your issue may be the internals where it moves the cog on and off of the other cog (sorry, been a long day!) There's a thread in the how to section that shows it all. As said though, check the location of the lug as that does the work.

What does the internal hose that goes to the brushroll look like? IIRC the orientation of this is key as it forms the spring for the soleplate, so if it's not correct it wont pivot properly. Sounds like it's got some suck to it though if it glues itself down! There's a suction hole right at the front of the soleplate to grab large bits before the brushroll, is this blocked?

Thanks for the tip on the hose orientation. I took it out and flipped it which seems to have solved the issue with the soleplate flipping nose down and engaging limpet mode.

I now still have the issue with the clutch not auto-activating when I tilt the vacuum and a new problem too which I'll mention shortly. I took a picture of the clutch knob with the cover off and can see it touches the plastic around it when rotated into the auto position (as pictured) but it doesn't seem like it should be enough to stop the clutch rotating. The plastic itself is all in good nick and not obviously warped. I have added a picture below.

So although the soleplate issue is now ok, I find that the beater bar struggles to turn after a while. It rotates around but when I push the vacuum forward you can hear it meets resistance at the carpet and slows or stops turning, when I pull the vacuum back it starts again. As mentioned I already replaced the clutch a while back but does this sound like like the clutch is buggered again?

It looks as though the clutch isn't seated properly in the cleanerhead and will be what's causing the problems you mention I would have thought.


Offline beko1987

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2014, 10:21:27 am »
It looks like its been rubbing going by the white plastic powder scattered around.

If you feel confident, I'd remove it, clean up the mating faces on both the dyson and the clutch, put a nice smear of grease on all the moving parts and see if that helps it.

You will need to:

Soleplate off
Brushroll out (the tool helps massivly but you may be able to do it with 2 screwdrivers)
brushroll carrier out (it pops out but be careful not to snap the bottom housing whilst you do it) The internal hose comes off now
3x t25 screws, one is quite deep
put the cleaner in upright position
Pull the clutch cover up and off
pop the belt off the motor spindle
grab both belts and pull upwards
clean, grease, re-assemble (keep the brushroll end cap off for now if you think you may need to do it again, I find it a pain to get on and off) it wont affect the clutch

If you need to replace the belts, then either a refurbished (or new) clutch or https://manchestervacs.co.uk/DysonForum/index.php/topic,1196.0.html and back together!

When the clutch is out test the operation. One way only the clutch to motor pulley should spin, the other way it will spin both pulleys (may need to pull on the belts a bit to get the tension enough to spin everything)
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline dye_son

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2014, 11:12:56 am »
It looks like its been rubbing going by the white plastic powder scattered around.

If you feel confident, I'd remove it, clean up the mating faces on both the dyson and the clutch, put a nice smear of grease on all the moving parts and see if that helps it.

You will need to:

Soleplate off
Brushroll out (the tool helps massivly but you may be able to do it with 2 screwdrivers)
brushroll carrier out (it pops out but be careful not to snap the bottom housing whilst you do it) The internal hose comes off now
3x t25 screws, one is quite deep
put the cleaner in upright position
Pull the clutch cover up and off
pop the belt off the motor spindle
grab both belts and pull upwards
clean, grease, re-assemble (keep the brushroll end cap off for now if you think you may need to do it again, I find it a pain to get on and off) it wont affect the clutch

If you need to replace the belts, then either a refurbished (or new) clutch or https://manchestervacs.co.uk/DysonForum/index.php/topic,1196.0.html and back together!

When the clutch is out test the operation. One way only the clutch to motor pulley should spin, the other way it will spin both pulleys (may need to pull on the belts a bit to get the tension enough to spin everything)
To be fair I think the white powder was from when I decided to attach the dyson hose to a sander to prep some walls for painting. I'm sure that's made you cringe but it seemed to work pretty well!

I just ordered the belt took and a new filter from your site, I remember the almighty battle I had last time to try and get the belt changed. Something tells me this won't be the last time I need to remove it. I'll update you once I receive it and do the work. Thanks for the speedy response and help guys...

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2014, 11:18:21 am »
Ah the belt tool is brilliant! The brushroll will come out with stretched belts easily by hand, but is a pain to get back on with new non stretched belts!

Dyson for DIY...Oh dear, have you washed your cyclone out?

If you own an older Citroen LHM is brilliant for lubricating the clutch as it's designed to cope with pressure and heat!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline dye_son

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2014, 11:30:17 am »
Progress update. I finally got chance to take the vacuum apart last night. The belt tool definitely made it easier to get the belt off - but it was still a struggle! Those suckers are on there tight!

So I followed your instructions, took everything off and the clutch out. Everything looked relatively clean and I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be greasing so I didn't grease anything. I read another post online about the beater not engaging when leant back and the guy mentioned flipping the belts over as the inside of his belts were shiny. I did this as the outer felt slightly rougher, then I shrugged and started putting it back together. I noticed when I put the clutch cover back on (the one with the three torx screws) that there was a crack near the where the hose fits - and that was potentially caused by me not putting it back on flush when I did the previous work. I reset it and made sure it sat in snug on all surfaces and screwed it back in. Fired that badboy up and lo and behold, the clutch engaged when I tilted it back. The vacuum sounds quite different to before, which I attribute to the new filter (althuough the old one looked fairly clean but might've been clogged up with my DIY sanding escapades).

So, touch wood, all seems to be working ok at the moment. I only gave it a brief test but the beater bar is spinning and feels much nicer on the carpet than before. Almost like it's lifted the beater bar slightly and it's not mashing into the carpet so much so causing lest resistance.

Thanks for the help guys! Saved me splashing out on a service and got me some brownie points with the mrs :)

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC14 - sucks the floor like a limpet when turned on
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2014, 11:38:18 am »
Brownie points are always good!

The clear hose that connects the brushroll assembly to the vacuum cleaner provides the springing mechanism for the brushroll to contact the floor, if it's orientation is incorrect, or just worn out then that will affect the pressures given (or something like that)

Have a play with rotating it for now, see if it improves things. If so, then a new hose can transform a machine, and it only costs a few quid (pattern parts are as good as genuine ones). I;ve had DC04s that dont contact the floor, and after replacing the floppy, limp excuse of a hose for a new one is back in action again.

Another trick with the 14's, (one I've been told but have never done due to not having a 14 for ages) is to block off the extra suction port that's at the front for large objects to be sucked up without hitting the brushroll. Is yours blocked up? Might explain why it sucks itself to the carpet, there needs to be enough arflow for the vac to pick the carept up slightly and brush it with the brushroll. Hoover did this very well in the 40's and 50's, sadly things seem to have gone downhill but the principle is still the same!

Glad your clutch is working again anyway. I wouldnt worry too much about the clutch cover being cracked, as long as it screws down squarely enough it wont affect anything!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

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