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RVTravler's avatar
RVTravler
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014

Central vacuum problem

We have the Dust Devil central vacuum system and here of late have been have an issue with it. It will only run for about 15-30 seconds and then start going on and off, but not completely. And then it shuts down. At first I thought is was because the bag was full. But it's still doing it with a new bag. Any suggestions?
  • Power issue! First check the outlet where it is connected, Second check the switch at the hose connection. One of those will be the problem.
  • There's a thermal switch inside the housing. If there's an obstruction in the hose or a full bag, the motor will overheat and shut off. Once it cools, it will work until it overheats again. Check both these issues and make sure the new bag isn't blocking the air flow.....Dennis
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    I will go with the thermal switch as well. You have described it rather well.

    In addition to the bag there may be a secondary filter or two. And there are other issues too that could be overloading the motor and causing that.

    You need to clean everything.
  • Bad brushes in the motor? (no, not the cleaning brushes) How old is it? The overload is a manual reset is it not. Not automatic. How about the outlet the unit is plugged into. Plug a light into it and watch to see if the light remains on if the vac goes out. Outlets in RV's bite into the wire and are a POS. Vampire outlets cause a LOT of trouble in RVs and usually affect only that outlet, not others downstream. A plugged hose allows the motor to run without working so the current goes down so the overload should not trip or reset.
  • I know it's not the hose because it does the same thing when the hose is not connected. Plus it also does this when we try to use the toe kick in the kitchen. It's not the electrical 110v outlet because I also have a 18v battery charger connect to that outlet and the charging light stays on during this time. The bag is completely empty and new. The secondary filters are clean and in place. Someone mentioned something about the bag blocking the flow, How is that possible? It can only go on one way. Any way of testing that thermal switch? Where is it located? Where the hose connects?
  • I have never seen a thermal switch on a vacuumn motor. there will be on on the unit somewhere but ON the motor? Don't think so. You did not mention how old the unit is , or if you use it a lot. I serviced car washes and they replaced the vacumn motors about twice a year because of the use. My central vac is 20 years old and no trouble. You could have a bad switch or bad motor or even the plug that plugs the unit into could be loose and arking. My central vac starts when you plug it ( the hose) into the inlet. Could you have a low voltage wire loose. How many inlets do you have and does it work the same at every one? Plug the vac into an extension cord just for the heck of it from a differant outlet. Any better? So many questions. A filter or plugged hose has nothing to do with it running or not.

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