Circuit board repair for vacuum cleaners

[adam-aussie-vac]

Hey guys I’m a little curious, if you ever have a vacuum cleaner that’s one of the multifunction ones but has a circuit board issue, do you guys try to get the second board repaired or do you replace it ? Even if the boardis hard to source? as my steam vacuum had a small section of the board burn between the two pins of a triad and I’m hoping to find out if it’s repairable as I don’t wanna scrap the entire Vacuum for a single thing that went wrong

 

[lesinutah]

If

The boards fried replace it. I think trying to fix a board would open up a whole new cam of worms.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Yeah, but the thing is the manufacturer doesn’t even make

This model anymore, and the company that sold it here in this country went bust at least 15 years ago and I’ve only seen one other steam vacuum By the same manufacturer here

 

[human]

That's how manufacturers roll. Circuit boards are effectively self-destruct devices, designed to burn out shortly after the warranty expires. Rapid sunsetting of such components ensure that consumers are forced to buy their latest disposable chinesium plasticrap offerings. All that said, you have nothing to lose by giving your soldering skills a workout, provided you can find the exact component(s) that need to be replaced. Be sure to un-solder what's there and thoroughly clean the contact points before soldering the replacement into place.

 

[panasonicvac]

If circuit boards are designed properly and proven to be reliable, I see them as another simple component like a switch. Windsor for example has a circuit board that not only shuts off the machine if something got jammed in the brushroll but also shuts the machine off if it was clogged or the bag was full. It's no wonder that more commercial applications are switching out the classics like Sanitaires for Windsors because they last longer and are more user friendly, in fact that's how my grandparents got one of their Kirbys when the church upgraded from a Kirby to a Windsor. To this day that church is still using Windsors. But I'm not a fan of vacuums that uses so much circuitry where it looks like a computer inside, definitely have seen those being problematic in the short run.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Surprisingly, this thing is 15 years out of warranty

And that is the only problem I’ve had on it so I’m very happy about it, gonna head over to an electronics repair store later today and ask about it


And yeah, if a circuit board is made reliably and designed properly that’s also how I see it as well, I know it’s probably doesn’t really seem like much of a computer, but I’m thankful the thing doesn’t have a damn touchscreen

 

[lesinutah]

Here

You could pick up this model of shark just like this.
If you went to atleast 3 different thrift stores you'd find one.
I had this exact model and the vacuum was an awesome vacuum.

 

[richmnz]

I would try to repair it

You cannot break something that is already broken.

Use a fiberglass brush to scrape off the burnt bits.
More photos of the board please.

What does the other side look like?

Richard

If it shoots steam, all it takes is one drop.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

So the other side of the board looks fine,

It’s literally only that section where it burned and I’ll have to try and grab some more photos back when I’m in Canberra as that’s when I will be able to get close look at it but yeah, I’m kind of a bit confused as to why it’s that very specific spot where it burned, as I had a look on the other side of the plastic casing and there wasn’t anything there, so I just hope it was at worse, probably a small spider by coincidence

 

[human]

It's very likely that the component soldered in at that spot failed or shorted, and it is possible that it burned up before doing any further damage. You'll need to find a schematic diagram of that circuit board to determine exactly what goes there, and then source the correct component. Unsoldering the remains of the old one, cleaning the contact points, and soldering in the new one should be relatively simple and straightforward, and provided no other components were damaged by the overheating, it should be good as new.

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, I had two different Craftsman rechargeable screwdrivers fail in this same way. Something on the little board where the charger plugged in burned up. In both cases, it was exactly the same component. This was pre-Internet and I had no way to determine what that component was. In both cases, the tool worked until the battery ran out, and then there was no way to charge it. I chalked it up to a design defect, and made sure after that to buy cordless drills and screwdrivers with removable batteries and separate chargers. This was also where my firmly held theory of circuit boards as self-destruct devices had its origin.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

I know what the thing is and where to find it

I just gotta get around to purchasing it, and I’m thinking it’s the actual board as the component looks completely fine plus there was a burn spot on the other side of the board not actually where the component was sitting

 

[panasonicvac]

I'll be given a Rainbow E2 Gold soon from my aunt that uses a circuit controller which is basically a computer board. Reason she's giving it to me is because it doesn't turn on anymore. I'm hoping it's a switch or something small but chances are that it's going to be the board and a replacement for it is like $300. If that's the case, I'd see if that board can be repaired since it'd be nice to not have to purchase another board for it. From my understanding, they've changed the boards 8 times now over the years. It's a good vacuum no doubt but a vacuum like the Rainbow that has it's board numerous revisions is something I'd not want to have as a consumer and proves my point from earlier.