Dyson DC15 - Stripdown and Refurb

[beko1987]

• Tweet

I took this in part exchange for a refurbished DC04 last week. Was pretty chuffed, as I've only had one DC15 before, which was free with a snapped chassis. I gave it away to a fellow dyson collector. This one is complete, and works as it should. It is, however, utterly filthy!











I like to think I'm fairly competent with vacuum repair, but what follows took me 3 hours, and I havent touched the cyclone assembly yet! This is a very tricky machine, I'd say trickier than a DC24 or 25. I'm about 70% confident I can get it back together, but hey, if I end up with a big pile of scrap then at least I tried!

On a happy note, the tools are in great condition





Wand off first



Wand end off



Release button off



push the two tabs in and the metal inner pulls out of the handle assembly



The end stop is held together as so



and splits down fairly simply (correct orientation is shown, so I know how to put it back together!



2 locking tabs pop off



Top half slides off after removing one screw



Top cord hook off



box for washing starting to fill up



Hose off next







I grabbed the pre motor filter too, so I could put a load in the machine (grabbed 10 other pre motor filters from various places, so I need never wash any for a while!



This was lurking in one, it went in the bin...



Back to the dc15...

Switch housing off





The motor debris guard had to come off for the housing to clear it





Quite simple under here



Cyclone release clip off



One last check of what goes where...



Cable off





The little hose clip slides off the chassis



crevice tool pops out



as does this little filler bit



Post motor filter unclips





Had to look up some help...



Clips off



brushroll hose off. Really should have put that in the machine too but didnt realise! Not putting it in on its own though



PCB cover off





One half of the ball retaining clip off



Popped the rubber bung out of the chassis



Had to take this spring out



and finally the brushroll assembly wrestles off (hope it will wrestle on again...)



Looking a bit bearer now



The changeover valve removes now



More wires on the filthy PCB



and once removed, the spine wire can be pulled out



2 more wires that go to the brushroll microswitch



The PCB is finally free





and filthy!

A screw on the other side of the ball and it pops out



This part of the reclining mechanism comes out



and one circlip later on the other side the wheels fall off



The pivot spring was fiddly to get out





I tried to take this circlip out on the wheel assembly



which didnt go too well, but hopefully a dc04/7 wheel axle circlip will fit it





The yellow pedal snaps off the grey assembly



not forgetting the little spring thats buried inside



the box is a bit fuller! And I must go to bed. Will carry on the posting tomorrow, but need to be up at 6.30...

[SBLfromNS]

Wow!  Thanks so much for posting this.  I have a DC15 which I loaned to a "friend" some time ago and I got it back looking as bad if not worse than yours.  I don't know what the heck they were doing but it looks like they used it as a wet-vac to clean their carpets.  Either that or they were vacuuming mud.  Yes - it was that bad.

I started disassembling the DC15 more than a year ago but got stuck when I couldn't figure out how to remove the brush head.  I got so frustrated I put the DC15 in my closet and just took it back out a couple of days ago.  I look forward to restarting my DC15 cleanup project and am very grateful for your stripdown and refurb guide (and pictures!!).  Thanks again!!

[beko1987]

Wow, your friend could have picked a more easily stripped vac to ruin! Best of luck to you!

In the office now, and since no one else is in yet I'll update this a bit more!

So, once the screw holding the wheels on is removed, the rest of the reclining mechanism is removed



The spring wriggles out of the housing



and the black part splits in two



Looking under the machine, a few screws hold the changeover assembly and hose entry gubbins in





The changeover seal wriggles out of its housing





The tension spring pops off its holder on the main plastic part



and with great difficulty pops off into two pieces





Changeover valve seal comes off now



The release valve pops out of its housing





Next to the release valve is the brushroll micro switch. One long screw removes a cover



and it withdraws from the assembly



And the chassis is stripped!

Moving onto the motor now







The main pivot bearing falls off the motor housing



and the little bearings falls off the other side



The stub for which sits inside a groove. The rubber end doesnt come off



With the motor housing removed, the tiny motor is visible (did these have a habit of killing the motors?)



The wires fiddle out of the main seal



Some hair got past all the filters, will need to try and clean that up before re-assembly





And that's the motor stripped



Brushroll assembly next, but I must get on with some work, so that will have to be written up later, sorry!

[beko1987]

TBH looking at the pictures I don't quite know why I didnt just carry on for an extra 10 minutes this morning and finish it off, but hey ho, daughter is drinking milk infront of ITNG, and SWMBO has gone shopping so I have some peace!



I didn't see this connector when I first looked, had I have done and removing the cleanerhead may have been a damn site easier, but I;m now not so sure it wasnt hiding underneath something and inaccessable, so I'll have a look when putting it back together

Unplug those wires, and feed the main harness through and the yolk falls off



The floating part unclips then



The baseplate unscrews with philips screws



Soleplate wheels just pull out, no messing about tapping them out from behind like an 07/04. Will give them a smear of grease when I put them back, I'm not buying new ones for it



4 screws ontop, and one underneath the brushrolls (which I removed beforehand, don't need to explain that, you should all be regularly removing and de-hairing them) and the motor housing lifts off



All the vent holes were blocked





Spring makes the pivoting head bounce



With a bit of fiddling the motor comes away from the housing



I was intrigued, so removed the 5 screws holding the motor housing together



The cogs just lift out, 2 more screws and the housing removes from the motor



Ticking time bomb...



didnt fancy messing around with removing the bearings, which were fine so gave everything a wipe down with a dry cloth, and rolled the gears in grease and refitted them (their angled, easy to tell when putting them in)





Spooned some into the housing with a screwdriver too



Gave the motor a vac off and picked the hair out of the crevices, and re-assembled it, it spins quieter by hand now!

Finished off the housing. Motor mount rubbers



Bumper and rubber insert snaps off



Removed the brush guards



and the box looks alot fuller!



Screws



and non washables



Still not done the flipping cyclone, may try that tomorrow, I'm off work ready for our holiday this weekend!

[SBLfromNS]

Wow, your friend could have picked a more easily stripped vac to ruin! Best of luck to you!

Yes, very true!  And thanks!

I regularly completely strip down laptops for repair / refurbishment so I thought how hard can a vacuum cleaner be?  I'm very surprised at how complicated the DC15 construction is.  It appears that Dyson has greatly simplified the construction of later ball vacuums - at least to my untrained eye.

Your post and the post by Dyson Tech about how to strip down and replace the motor https://manchestervacs.co.uk/DysonForum/index.php/topic,1001.0.html has given me the incentive to try and refurbish my DC15.  If I am unable to get it back together after taking it apart I'll just eBay the parts.  The vacuum still works it's just extremely dirty.

Thanks again and I look forward to following your progress on your DC15.

[beko1987]

Ah I can do desktops, but not always laptops! I generally get old business spec laptops thrown from my work, so their a bit more roomy!

My dc15 probably won't go back together before next week now. We are away until Monday night, and will probably only manage to get the cyclone stripped and everything washed before swmbo makes me start helping to do this or that...

Good luck with your 15, be sure to post some pictures of progress up!

[beko1987]

And as you say, even if you can't get it together certain parts will be worthwhile enough to forgive your friend!

[SBLfromNS]

Ah I can do desktops, but not always laptops! I generally get old business spec laptops thrown from my work, so their a bit more roomy!

My dc15 probably won't go back together before next week now. We are away until Monday night, and will probably only manage to get the cyclone stripped and everything washed before swmbo makes me start helping to do this or that...

Good luck with your 15, be sure to post some pictures of progress up!

I will take some pics.  It's partially disassembled now; the cyclone and bin, wand, hoses.  I wish I had taken a few pictures before I disassembled and cleaned the cyclone and bin and tossed the filters.  I'm sure I would have won a competition for world's dirtiest dyson.

Based on the date that I joined The Dyson Forums it looks like it's about 3 years that my DC15 has been out of commission.   I like your technique for keeping the various screws organized in a labeled piece of cardboard!  I wish I had thought of that when I began disassembling mine.  I think I may have lost some of the screws.   

[beko1987]

Ah I only started doing the card as I've done the same, or put a long screw in a short hole and punched the end out!

If you get stuck on sizes etc I'll try to match them up, can take a picture of the back of the sheet and from the side if you want so you can roughly compare?

A lot of the screes are normal 04/07 types, so if your short of some of the shorter/normal ones I could pop a few in the post for you!

Worlds dirtiest? I dunno, I washed a dc07 cyclone that smelt of vom the other night...

[beko1987]

Finally stripped the cyclone down. Wanted to wait for daylight so I could do it on the lawn anyway







Release rod fiddled out with a screwdriver!

Top handle off next





Second release valve removed



Red catch comes off



and finally the top handle and release button













I really wish DC07 cyclones stripped down like that!

More release rod is removed





Took some doing but the cone popped off the shroud





It fell apart some more (wasnt expecting that)







Done. SBL - These are ALL the screws





And then, I washed it. Took ages due to all the fiddly parts, and there was greasy crap over most of the bottom of the chassis...



It had better work VERY well after all this effort!

[Parwaz7862]

Nice! If I were you, I would block the large debris channel for more suction in the cleaner head, and maybe a new brushbar if the machine is working fine

[beko1987]

I knew it was a bad idea to start this before we went away for 2 consecutive weekends, but, finally, there is progress!

Big thanks to SBLfromNS too for the help, cleared up alot of questions on this fiddly beast!

So, after a week of drying (as I forgot about it and we did no washing) I made a start on the cyclone







Inner cone back together



Cyclone top seal back on





Took a slight tap with my fist to clip it together but on it went



First part of the bin release rod back in



Cleaned up the inner seal





White reducer on





Top vanity assembly lowered on





and all the screws nipped up nice and tightly



The top part of the release rod clips back into the top handle



Cyclone release valve together



and gets screwed in along with the red catch to stop it closing without a filter





And the cyclone is done!





Tools fitted



Big pile left to do



Plucked out the cleanerhead parts



Looks much better after a quick clean and polish



Bumper and rubber inner ready to go





Bottom motor rubbers in



followed by the rubber mount that sits by the brushroll and the motor itself (if you forget it, one needs to take it all back out again, guess what I found in the parts box last night...)



Pivot spring



and motor housing (needs to be screwed in asap as it's a fiddly bastard otherwise!

Looking a bit fuller



Vanity cap and very battered baseplate refitted



The pivot springy bit was refitted, and checked for springyness. Then the yolk was offered up to the brushroll housing





Wire was tucked inside the housing



Brushroll cleaned up nicely (the PO said alot of parts had been replaced on it, I reckon the brushroll was changed too, it looks too clean...)







More later, lunch break is over!

[beko1987]

Onto the motor now



wiring is fed through the hole in the seal



The seal is fitted to the motor, and the end cap rotated so it locates with the lug in the housing





It is important to check the orientation with the fancase seal. Initially, I checked after assembling everything and it wasn't aligned correctly, which would have caused rubbish suction when back together, so the whole ball had to come apart again...

End bar fitted



and the top housing screwed in place



The large bearing splits apart



enabling a nice smear of grease to be applied to the race



Once done and clipped back together the whole lot sits in one half of the ball





Time to move onto the chassis. Brushroll microswitch first



The blue X was there when I started, no idea why...



Hose pivot assembly fitted next



Changeover valve seal fitted



and onto the changeover/reclining mechanism



the two halves snap together again

and are joined by the hose entry port



Changeover valve rider seal is fitted again (this has a habit of rotating about when like this, possibly best to fit the blockage port to keep it in check, but i didn't think of that at this stage...)



Once all that is done, the whole assembly slides onto the chassis



and can be screwed up.

The reclining spring mechanism fits on next, this is fiddly, but with the right orientation fitted a treat





Onto the stabiliser bar and release pedal next. Pedal snaps back onto the housing, not forgetting the little spring



Both halves of the assembly are bought back together with the axle



Sadly, I could not get another circlip into the wheel, I just don't have the dexterity or right tools, so I improvised with a cable tie. Time will tell if it was a good idea or not...



Spring is refitted



The assembly clips into the runners at the rear of the machine now



I refitted the ball now. Bit fiddly, but one side in first, then the other





Time for some wiring now, as there were wires everywhere. PCB was dusted off, and I started plugging it back in



Spine cable went back in from the inside, and pulled up until the rubber seal popped into place



Motor and brushroll microswitch wires were routed over to the pcb, and the cable tie replaced



The brushroll motor loom went in next, it fits in a little hole hidden underneath the assembly



Once done and plugged in, the cover can go back on, with it's fiddly rubber seal (took me a few goes to get it seated correctly





The brushroll assembly is refitted now, with the machine laying on its back, the two housings meet up, and the LH side snaps into place on the reclining mechanism. I put a screw in per side just to hold it steady whilst the wires were plugged back together



The second spring sits like so on the little cam



Resembles a vacuum cleaner now!



The blockage tube was fitted now (was nice to see a nearly empty parts box!)



Switches next, everything was plugged in and routed nicely through the various cable channels



Switch covers and housing snaps on now



The clip for the crevice tool snaps on



as does the crevice tool



Onto the hose, and the rubber seal slips over the end of the pivot assembly



and it goes into the suction tube at an angle, and snaps into the locating lug on the left hand side



Lower cord hook back in next



and onto the wand (Was getting late now but I was in the groove so soldiered on!)



Top cord hook on

wand top and cap fitted



The wand release mechanism went back together as it came apart, and slid into the housing, being careful to re-adjust it at all times to be straight







Wand release button in next



and the wand tip on (should I glue this in or leave it dry?)



Hose went into the lower holder next



and into the wand



looks even more like a vacuum cleaner now



Don't have any DC15 post motor filters, so found a DC07 one fits ok enough







Pre motor filter came up like new after a good wash





And it's very nearly done. Forgot a brushroll motor seal, so that needs to come apart again, and there's one bit of trim missing which is probably in the airing cupboard, but it's ready enough for testing tonight!





More soon!

[MVacs]

This is a sterling write up 

and the wand tip on (should I glue this in or leave it dry?)

Originally they were secured with a smear of silicone. We tend to refit them 'dry'. However, they are nearly always very worn, but new ones are on the way I hear. 

[beko1987]

Thanks!

Seems fine dry, I did have to pick a load of silicone off it you are correct.

New ones on the way? Interesting...