DC03 Clear - Stripdown and Refurb

[beko1987]

• Tweet

9am - I had a rolly and checked ebay. Nothing
10am -  Rolly time again, checked ebay again for reasons unknown and Boom, there she was!

Advertised for spares/repairs, in storage for 15 years, new cyclone unit 6 years ago and currently dead. £9.99 BIN.

10.04am - I owned a DC03 Clear!

4pm came, and I drove over for 4.30. Home by 5.20 thanks to some stupid  :censored:mazda 6 on the twisties doing 25mph because theres a corner...





To be fair to the seller he turned it over and pointed this out straight away, the centre part of the baseplate is missing. I  assured him this was not an issue 



Because I'm hopeful that someone we all know and love has one he would be prepared to sell...



This highlights another issue, the wheel axle has gone rusty, staining the lower motor cover. I've seen new ones on q know who, BUT, that would mean loosing/moving the ratings sticker over and I doubt that would go well so may well tidy this up but leave it slightly stained...



Cyclone is indeed bob new! Has signs of VERY brief use. I will use this more before I refurb it, then probably not use it at all afterwards!

So, all this being brilliant and all, it was indeed dead. I started at the switch, and after 10 minutes of painstaking levering, I cracked the chassis very very slightly, and the switch came out. The contacts were green and it didnt click when pressed. It's a 4 pole switch though (need one of those too, more urgently tbh), so I cut up some cable I chopped off a 1981 Electrolux above some damage, and bridged the cables (as I can't just go crimping new spades onto the end so they plug into each other as you can see it!)

Suction is much better than my DC03 Absolute+, and it highlighted a blockage in the wand! Blockage removed it was fine! I think the belts need replacing though!

This will be a tough refurb, as I'll have to polish the blody inside as much as the outside! Hey ho...

[Madrat]

I have one of these they are lovely, but can be so fragile, I hope "you know who" has a base plate, I was very lucky and found a complete new one on ebay but it cost about £15.00  I think these perform exceptionally well given the tiny motor.

[MVacs]

I just checked three suppliers, none have that baseplate. I can try two more on Monday. I'll also look in our DC03 stuff just in case we do.

Edit: Q have them, part number 900196-02

[beko1987]

Holy cow so they do! Feel free to ask about but I'll probably just add that to my next order, unless I need any more bits which you can get!

Amazing how parts supplies drop off the face of the earth isn't it! Can't find much new dc03 stuff nowadays I've found

[MVacs]

We bought a stack of wands and brushrolls today. Still have new motors and clutches. I am planning to refurb my silver/white DC03 I recently came by soon. 

[beko1987]

Having a bit of an issue with the switch...

The switch I removed (as it's broken) has 4 connectors, both the L and N connect to the switch. However, I cannot find a 4 pole switch anywhere, just 2 pole ones. Of course, I could get a 2 pole switch and wire the neutral together as per my other DC03 (and every other one by the looks of it), but that sounds like a cop-out...

Anyone got a 4 terminal dyson switch they would sell?

[MVacs]

Anyone got a 4 terminal dyson switch they would sell?

Loads of them.

 

[beko1987]

Brill, will be in touch when I have some spare change then! The bits of wire bridging the terminals can stay put for now!

[beko1987]

Apologies for the lack of updates on this, but TBH I have not done much myself!

One thing that happened shortly after I got it is the broken handle fully went



Didnt really surprise me, and I glued it up





I have bought (well, reserved, yet to pay for it) a non broken DC03 Clear wand (thanks richieg), so I'll keep this broken wand for storage, and keep the unbroken one for display use!

Saturday morning, I was up in the loft doing something else and bought it down with me



The wand went straight on the sofa, not going to do anything with that

Cyclone off



These pictures highlight what a pain this stripdown was, the see through plastic either didn't focus or bounced the flash back...





Either way, there is a screw under the switch cover. I didnt put the switch cover back on after replacing the switch so I didnt have to battle it off again. It is now temporarily mislaid...

The little switch housing lifts up and out



Cable off



Empty



The side handle is held in at the top by this peice of moulding being held in by the switch housing, so the handle goes all floppy at this point

The removeable suction channel part comes out next, was a bit bendy getting it out



Seal removed



Tools off



Hose out



Hose removed from the changeover valve



Pivot part removed from the housing

Split down some more (no idea what these parts are called tbh)



These were hiding inside the hose



Seal pulls out



Pivot seal out



Hose locking tab and spring removed



Back to the main machine now, and nestled inside the suction channel is a screw



This releases the tool holder, pre motor filter and pre motor filter housing



This is the non washable one, needs replacing, it's minging



The locking mechanism splits down





The top handle looks easily breakable



So it and the little seal are removed



I took the post motor filter out, which is also in need of replacement



Time to move down



The little inspection window did this whilst removing it, which isnt a massive issue as you will see later



The baseplate is borrowed from my Absolute+ DC03



it can have it back now



The belt lifter tool is very tricky to use on a dc03 as it doesnt sit right, and the tab of the clutch housing it sits on is damn fragile, so gingerly I wrestled the brushroll out



and split it apart



Baseplate seals out



The LHS rear wheel comes off now



and onto plastic casualty number 1, this thread snapped whilst removing the clutch cover screws





I re-belted the clutch when I first got it as the ones in it were so stretched the brushroll barely turned, so that's one job I havent got to do now!

The other rear wheel comes off



The cleanerhead lifts off now, and reveals plastic casualty number 2



Cleanerhead removed, it's off with the bumper



Little window seal out, which broke but I'm not too fussed about that



One of the base plate retaining brackets is screwed in



This little chap pops out of the brushroll housing (no idea what it is tbh)



Plastic catastrophe number 3 (pretty sure I didnt do this though)



Tiny crack on the other side too



Lower motor cover off now



Seal out (which was pointless as you will see)

Reference shot for the motor wires



Neutral wire connects on the other side



Crap shot but the motor is immaculate



spotless!



Motor seals and suction channel



Removing the suction channel releases the post filter holder too



which allows the spinal cord to come out



There's a seal hiding at the bottom



One up by where the cyclone meets the chassis



and naked!



Cyclone now



Lower part split



The cyclone release clip pops off the top



The seal needs removing



An screw



This enables the inner cyclone bits to be pulled free





The cyclone bin seal pulls out of the top part



The release valve sits under the clear plastic hat









A seal holds it all together



The shroud pops off the cone



Everything was then washed and put for drying.

[Madrat]

You still looking for a sole plate?

[Outdated link removed]

[beko1987]

Nope,  got that covered! Should have had the back together bit written uo now but Amy did the asda shop and now we are in bed,  but I got a new soleplate months ago that now finally has a purpose in life -  to sit on this and never get used!

[Madrat]

OK cool 

[Parwaz7862]

Excellent  thread so far! :thumbsup; I remember when we had our DC03 in 2006ish we got it cheap, £6 (a bit like getting a DC24/25 for £6 today as it was 9 years in production) It was pretty crap sadly, only good for surface dirt and dust on carpets only. Was pathetic on hard floors cos nothing was picked up, I remember vacuuming up some spilled cornflakes off tile flooring and it never sucked any of it up. Also, the hose suction was so bad, I remember picking something up and it was just weak so the thing rattled in the middle tubing.This thread brought back some memories Thanks! I am now on the hunt for a DC03 Absolute+ or Standard and a DC01 Standard 

[Tech12]

Hi Sam: The switch your looking for is a 2 pole, 4 terminal switch. Not a 4 pole switch.

[beko1987]

Aaah Mvacs sent me a switch months ago! I just didnt refit the switch cover so I wouldnt have to take it apart again.