Lack of Suction

[nosikliw]

• Tweet

We purchased a second hand Dyson DC03 vacuum cleaner, which we think is under 10 years old.  However we were surprised to find that it doesn't have any suction from either the wand or the cleaner head/cassette.  The motor seems to be working as there is suction at the HEPA filter.  The suction at the entry of the cyclone/bin also seems to be ok.  However after that point the suction seems almost non-existent.  Does the cyclone need to be cleaned or replaced?  How can I open it up to check?  Are there any other possibilities of what could be wrong?

[si_nick]

My DC 03 cyclone head constantly gets blocked, which results in the symptoms you describe. I've always had to take the cyclone head appart to clean it. Requires a long shaft Torx tool (I think T15 Torx drive screwdriver with anti-tamper tip). Very annoying.

[liloliluk]

Just come across this post as we have exactly the same problem. We've tried everything that has been suggested here and elsewhere, cleaned the filters, checked the hose, cleaned the cyclone head, none of this made any difference.

We've now discovered what the problem is, we're missing a seal from the side of the cyclone unit. When you remove the side where the cyclone unit is (the bit that you take off to empty the bin) there are two holes in it - the one at the top should have a seal in it and ours is missing. We borrowed a Dc03 from a friend, put their cyclone/bin unit on to ours (theirs has the seal) and the suction is completely back to normal.

A quick Google search revealed that this is the exhaust seal, these cost about £2 to buy, much cheaper than buying a whole new vacuum cleaner!