Author Topic: *** DC33 "replacement motor" (Read 9092 times)

bheart · « **on:** October 05, 2014, 12:44:27 pm »

Hi

We have owned may Dyson's over the years and our current model is the DC33.

It was registered in 2011 and, up until last Thursday morning, it has been working well. Whilst I using it on Thursday morning, within 15 seconds of starting it up, the motor started to slow down and was accompanied by a very strong burning smell - not rubber (as in the belt being snagged up) but more electrical.

I immediately stopped the Dyson and unplugged it, checked the brush bar and belt, then checked for blockages and everything seemed fine. I removed the dust collector and unclipped the cover of the motor filter and pulled it out and could immediately see that the underside of the filter casing had melted in places so, I figured the motor needed replacing.

I called Dyson and they sent an engineer out on Friday morning. The engineer confirmed that it was the motor and replaced it saying, that the new motor was quieter that the previous motor and I immediately asked if it was as powerful as the old one and he replied saying yes and that it had to be at least the same or better.

He checked that it was working ok and, after he had gone, I vacuumed the bottom floor and although it seemed quieter and it picked up ok but, the suction was not as good as it was with the old motor or any of the Dyson models that we have owned.

I'm no expert and the only way that I can compare it to our Dyson with previous motor is when it was new and also when I cleaned all of the filters, brush bar and dust bin, you could see the Dyson suck up the carpet as you clean it and let it down again when you had gone over it - our DC33 does not do that now so, to my mind, the replacement motor is not as powerfull and the suction is not as could?

Any advice welcome.

macman · « **Reply #1 on:** October 06, 2014, 09:48:22 am »

Presumably the engineer replaced the post motor filter and cover?
Is suction reduced just from the cleaner head or also from the wand? if the former only, then it's not a motor issue, but possibly a blockage/hole/disconnection in the bottom hose.
Last question that must be asked-are you sure that the clutch hasn't been switched to 'off' during the repair? If so, and the brushroll isn't spinning, the effect will be that of reduced suction-and also quieter running.

bheart · « **Reply #2 on:** October 06, 2014, 11:53:04 am »

Hi macman

Thanks for your reply.

Yes the post motor filter and cover were replaced.

As stated, the DC33 picks up ok and you can see visible lines on the carpet as you clean each section but, unlike the DC33 with the previous motor and, every other Dyson that we have owned (DC01, DC02 and two DC07 (one carpet only and the other multifloor), the suction was that good that when new an also when the filters were periodically cleaned, dust collector emptied, you could see the carpet being sucked up to the bottom of the cleaner as you went over it - with the replacement motor, that does not happen.

I'm getting suction from both the cleaner head and the wand but, for the reasons just given, I know that the suction from cleaner head is good but not as good as it was before; with regard to the wand, again the suction is good but unlike the cleaner head sucting up the carpet, I have no way of checking if the suction is the same as it was.

Also, when the DC33 is powered up and the handled pulled down to vacuum the carpets, the brush bar does spin and, in that position, when you turn the floor control back to 'floor', the brush bar stops and I think that this is normal?

With reference to the 'clutch', I have no idea if it was switched to 'off' but, as stated above, the brush bar is spinning when cleaning the carpets.

One last thing, I've noticed that, at the base of the dust collector, there is a lot of movement and the rubber seal on left hand side (as you look at the front) does not appear to be sealing properly against the bin and every so often we get dust settling behind the dust collector on the body from the top of the bin and down to the bottom so, this to me means that when assembled with all seals in place, the DC33 is not airtight.

autovac01 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 06, 2014, 01:07:51 pm »

You could try clearing out the cyclones, by removing the bin and tapping on the ground (suggest you do this outside).
If not happy, speak to Dyson, get them to come out again, they should get it working properly after a major repair like that.

macman · « **Reply #4 on:** October 06, 2014, 01:50:49 pm »

If the brushroll spins when the handle is reclined, then yes, the clutch is switched to 'on'. When switched to 'off', the brushroll will not spin in any position.
Did you check the bottom hose as suggested? This will have been removed to change the motor, and it's possible that it's not been replaced securely at both ends, which will greatly reduce suction at the cleaner head.
Other than that, the cyclone and bin assembly certainly shouldn't shed dust as you describe and may need attention-but I don't see how this can have been caused by a motor change-was this fault already present? If so, it's a separate issue.