Why has my Panasonic upright clearner stopped working and can I fix it?

[MM]

My Panasonic MC-E468 upright cleaner has stopped working barely two years after purchase brand-new. It was sudden. I vacuumed the hall, switched it off, moved to another room, it would no longer switch on. Dead.

I checked the 13-Amp socket (plugged in a table lamp).

I changed the plug fuse for a known good fuse.

I cut off the moulded plug and put another on, just in case the wires had become loose internally.

I dismantled the cleaner.

See

checked the brushes (loosened screw on each brush holder to test whether the brushes still have plenty of "meat" left)

I used a testing screwdriver (neon light) to check whether juice is getting to switch and beyond (it is)

Motor commutator appears to be in good condition. Motor shows no signs of overheating.

Only thing left is the little condenser/capacitor thingy connected to the switch.

BIG QUESTION: WHAT IS THIS CONDENSER FOR, WHY IS IT THERE? And I can I get a replacement?

NB: New motor costs £65 !!!!!

New cleaner, e.g. Electrolux from Argos: £49.99

This Panasonic cleaner seems to have very few parts - motor, switch, cable - that there is no explainable reason why it won't work.

Any ideas before I drive it to the tip?

Thanks!

MM

[John]

There could be a break in the neutral lead in the flex.

[Colin Wilson]

You may have had a claim under the Sale Of Goods Act (as amended) prior to taking it to pieces yourself - depending on the cost of the item, you now have up to six years to make a claim if it keels over.

[MM]

How about if I put it back together again, then claim? I didn't have to break any seals and all the screws are bog-standard Philips/Pozidrive type.

MM

[MM]

Further Googling revealed that this is a suppression capacitor, but I still don't know what purpose it serves? It is perhaps for cutting down interference on televisions, radios in the vicinity?

How can I definitively test the motor?

MM

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Regardless of any warranty it might be worth having a go at the seller and maker. A reasonable person would expect a quality product from such a maker to last a great deal longer than 2 years - indeed my similar model is over 10 years old and still going strong, having outlasted several of next door's Dysons...

It's interference suppression - stops the switch arcing when opened. But if it had failed it wouldn't stop the thing working.

My guess would be the thermal fuse on the motor has ruptured due to overheating. But not sure if it can be replaced.

[MM]

Do all/most such motors have this thermal fuse? The motor is currently just resting in the half of the case. You can just lift it out.

MM

[Colin Wilson]

Nothing lost - it's already knackered !

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say yes - most devices with windings like motors and transformers. One blew on my tile cutter after it was left running for a long time and I managed to change that.

[Graham]

brushes still have plenty of "meat" left)

This proves little. You need to check the continuity of the live and neutral wires in the flex.

The most probable cause is a breakage of the one of the conductors in or near the strain relief grommet as it enters the machine.

Pulling them hard with pliers will prove if this has happened, and the cure is simply to shorten the flex a few cm.

I suspect cutting off the moulded plug has invalidated any warranty.

[MM]

What sort of thing am I looking for and where will I find it? (I've only had a cursory look at the motor so far.)

MM

[MM]

Well, the warranty had expired anyway. Only a year's warranty, and I've had the thing for just over two years.

MM

[The Natural Philosopher]

The thermal fuses look like little metal cylinders with a wire coming out and are near the motor.

Its a bit soon for worn brushes, so I would say it's that or a bad connection or a faulty motor. Replacement motors can bet got by the way

- £50-£70 usually. Less if P/ex'ed

[Colin Wilson]

No, what they purport to be a warranty isn't the whole story - you have up to six years depending on the value of the item to pursue a claim.

Check out the many threads on the subject over in uk.legal

Or...

"For up to six years after purchase (five years from discovery in Scotland) purchasers can demand damages (which a court would equate to the cost of a repair or replacement)."

"In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years)."

[Tournifreak]

It will be either a small square plastic encapsulated box about 5mm x

5mm x 2mm, with two leads coming out of the bottom. Or a cylinder about 8mm x 3mm with a lead a each end.

Either way, it will be marked with a temperature rating, and it's east to check with a multimeter.

Usually easily replaced too, although you have to question why it has popped in the first place.

Jon.