HENRY Hoover stopped working....

[Louisa77]

Hi,
I have been using a Henry NVQ250B quite happily for about a year until I changed the bag for the first time since I have had it. I am not sure if there are bags for this particular model any longer and I used the ones I inherited with it. When I switched it back on it hoovered up for a while then I switched off and it would not go back on again. There was no noise or smell of burning and I have changed the fuse and looked at the electrical connections and all seems fine. I have also thoroughly brushed the filter clean. Anyone got any ideas whether this is "dead" now or if there is anything I can do to get it going again? I am unemployed and don't want to have to find the money for a new one! Many thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

Many vacuum cleaner motors have a thermal cut out built into them - this thing switches the power off if the machine gets too hot. usually they automatically reset, so if your machine has come back to life again, this is what the problem has been.
If still no joy, it could be switch, cable or motor failure, and this can be tested without much expense - or even none at all if you can find a sympathetic repair man.
John

 

[foxhole]

Move cable where it enters the machine to see if it will start up, it's a common location for the wiring to break internally due to constant flexing.

 

[catherine001]

Does the bag look like this ?


http://www.vacuumworld.co.uk/numatic/vacuum-bags/

 

[gregers]

it may also be a lose contact within the cable reel,iirc there is a couple of copper contacts that move when you coil/uncoil the lead.

 

[treytrey]

Henry hoovers are very easy to fix in my DIY experience (I run a B&B). I hope the following helps someone.

Safety first: keep Henry unplugged at all times during disassemble. Reassemble fully to test Henry after eliminating each step, only then plug in. Apart from obvious electrical safety, this also prevents all sorts of problems if the motor kicks in with the casing loose!

Tools needed: 1 Philips screwdriver and a 2 hands ready for dirt

Here is my checklist for you:

If your Henry cuts out intermittantly

- It is most likely the copper contacts within the the cable reel. There are 4 screws to unscrew to get to this. These can be bought very cheaply and replaced (www.espares.co.uk or www.ebay.co.uk).

- It could also simply be a loose contact in the plug, very common with the hoover being tugged all the time.

If Henry is showing no signs of life(!)

- First thing to check is the fuse.....
- Next, check the on/off switch. If you are not competent enough, get an electrician to test this by bypassing it using the wires. Brown (live) to brown, blue (neutral) to blue. Safety first people. If Henry works, order a new switch, the easiest and cheapest part to find and replace for a Henry!
- Failing this, some Henrys have a hi/lo switch that may be faulty. As has happened twice to me in one week with 2 different Henrys. This switch is attached to a tiny circuit board further within Henry's casing. Unscrew a further 3 screws to get to the motor compartment, making sure to lift the casing off the right side up. The wires from the hi/lo rocker switch can be clipped off and transfered directly to the on/off rocker switch, where the live and neutral should be. Simply throw away the useless circuit board and keep the disconnected hi/lo switch in place if you wish. You will not have the hi/lo facility anymore. As your Henry gets older, you may find the hi/lo facility becomes an annoyance anyway! Not worth the hassle to replace in my opinion.
- If this is not the cause, the next thing to check is the motor brushes. Again, easily obtainable and replacable. This is a common problem with older Henrys as the brushes become worn over time with use.

Failing this, it might be time for a new Henry. This is all I know so far, feel free to add more solutions.

Good luck and keep Henry alive people.

 

[willerton]

He cant be dead he must just be asleep have a look around for maybe a person with the same problem if it is a known problem you will probs find a fix if push comes to shove buy a new one they are not to expensive I recently bought 2 hettys and a Henry and I got them for pretty cheap from Premierstorage.co.uk

But put him on the op table cause you cant let a fellow Henry Die he is to precious.

 

[Occultus]

Henry hoovers are very easy to fix in my DIY experience (I run a B&B). I hope the following helps someone.

Safety first: keep Henry unplugged at all times during disassemble. Reassemble fully to test Henry after eliminating each step, only then plug in. Apart from obvious electrical safety, this also prevents all sorts of problems if the motor kicks in with the casing loose!

- Failing this, some Henrys have a hi/lo switch that may be faulty. As has happened twice to me in one week with 2 different Henrys. This switch is attached to a tiny circuit board further within Henry's casing. Unscrew a further 3 screws to get to the motor compartment, making sure to lift the casing off the right side up. The wires from the hi/lo rocker switch can be clipped off and transfered directly to the on/off rocker switch, where the live and neutral should be. Simply throw away the useless circuit board and keep the disconnected hi/lo switch in place if you wish. You will not have the hi/lo facility anymore. As your Henry gets older, you may find the hi/lo facility becomes an annoyance anyway! Not worth the hassle to replace in my opinion.

Good luck and keep Henry alive people.

Excellent post treytrey, Exactly what happened to my Henry. My wife was using it switched it off, moved it to another room, plugged it in, dead. I took it apart checked every connection and brushes and all seemed good, tested wires and switch also good.

Finally settled on the hi/lo circuit board as the culprit, it was simple enough in the end, removed all the wires from the board, removed all the wires from the rocker connected the two white wires (my model) to one side of switch, guessing there is no wrong way round with A/C and removed any unconnected wires screwed him up and he lives!

Many thanks

Occultus.

 

[propermoney]

Excellent advice, many thanks treytrey. Ours is a Hettie and she simply went into a coma for no apprent reason - no signs, no smoke, no smell. I bypassed the hi/lo speed PCB as suggested and she's back on duty 100% now.

 

[fungiroon]

SHE LIVES ! after Hetty went into a deep coma I read Dr Treytrey's diagnosis I performed an operation on the hi/lo switch . When I fed Hetty some electricity after the op she woke up and was ready to go .Thank you Doctor

 

[kjacko]

Oooh.....my hetty has been well and truly spanked over the past couple of months. Not that she's complained mind you.

However, does bypassing the hi/lo switch mean that she will always work at either hi or lo suck?
If lo, then there will be jobs she just can't handle. If hi, wouldn't that burn her out too quickly?

 

[propermoney]

I'm not certain what our Hetties speed is now - I think she is probably working on Hi full time now as she does seem to be very enthusiastic !
I don't think she will burn out any sooner though, these are excellent machines.

 

[nickherbert]

I've had a go at this but with no success - not powering up when plugged in. We put two white wires together on clip on right hand on/off rocker switch. We removed the circuit board for the hi/lo switch and have four wires out - two brown, one blue and one black. Is this as it should be or should be have left one of these wires in as well? Many thanks.

 

[fungiroon]

it sounds that you have only connected the white wires to the on off switch but you have to connect the others otherwise you have no power .GOOD LUCK!!

 

[jadeharrison]

Hi can someine give me step by step on how to bypass the on off switch, just remembet im a woman lol, thanks x