Electrolux 1205 Will Not Turn On

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ferngreen

Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
5
Location
CT
Hello everyone i'm new to the site and new to working on vacuums. I recently acquired a electrolux 1205 from my mom's attic and i would like to get it working. So far I have taken apart the cord winder and cleaned all the contacts and reassembled the winder back into the machine. I tested the two gold color contacts on the exterior of the cord winder housing and it's putting out right around 121VAC. So I think i've eliminated the winder assembly. Working my way up to the rocker switch i found a blue & red wire running up to the switch. The blue wire has 2.8VAC, is that too low? I would think there would be roughly 121VAC supplied to the switch? What should i check next? The problem is the vacuum won't turn on and the bag light doesn't illuminate either.
 
Check cord before going any further

Sometimes on the old rewind vacs, people would yank the cord out of the winder and tear the wires inside. Try jumping power to the switch to see if that turns it on.
 
I Made Progress But More Questions

So i dug into it more and i found the the contacts on the cord winder were not fully touching the contact plate on the inside of the canister. After i bent the contacts so that they made full contact the machine turned on. Now my next problem...When i turned it on i noticed it didn't have as good of suction as my silverado does using the same hose and bag. Do i need to pull the motor out and do a rebuild and cleaning?
 
Check the screen

There is a little screen inside the bag compartment where the air gets sucked in to the motor. make sure that screen is clear. If a bag has leaked inside at one time or another dust could have covered the screen. It is true the Silverado has a bit more powerful motor.

Electrolux made a work around for the cordwinder contact plate because those would often be a source of trouble and arcing just as you have found with yours. An Aerus dealer may still have the conversion kit. The terminal block was eliminated on later models for direct wiring with slide on connectors to the cordwinder. We had to do this once on a golden Jubilee 1205.

Also if you have electrical issues in the future...the switch on these often wears out but is replaceable and Aerus still sells them inexpensively.

Jon
 
The Silverado...

has the Super J motor design. The 1205 has the last motor they used in the G....the one that is the most powerful.

The 1205 should pull about the same as the last G's and the Golden Anniversary model. The Super J motors will pull more(if they are in good shape).

Kevin
 
Silverado Motor Swap?

Thank you all for providing info on the differences between the 1205's and the silverado's. Can I install a Silverado motor into a 1205?
 
Terminal Block Repair

Where can i pick up a terminal block conversion kit? I read that aerus still makes them, is that correct?
 
We did ours...

Many years ago back in the late 80s so not sure if Aerus still has them but a simple phone call to your local Aerus dealer will verify. Let us know. Basically it’s a set of pigtail wires with slide on clamp pieces mounted to them, a set of brass connectors that get screwed to the back of the cordwinder terminals to accept the new wires. The Electrolux store sold it to my Dad and I and told us exactly how to install it. It completely bypassed the terminal block.

A Silverado motor will not fit any 1205 which includes the blue or gold golden jubilee version as their bodies are slightly shorter. The body of the super J was made slightly longer by about an inch for the upgraded motor and the Olympia and Silverado have this longer body as well since they have the larger motor. The top cover of a super J for example will hang off the back of the machine if attempted to be put on a Golden Jubilee. (The golden jubilee we found had no top cover and the Electrolux store sold us a used super J top cover and it fit but hung off the back of the machine! While the machines look nearly identical, they are not, the super J is longer to handle the longer, larger motor.

Jon
 
The metal canister bodies made after the Super J have a larger opening that can accomodate a regular 5.7" motor". If you compare them side by side, you will see the later canister bodies have a round opening.

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We did ours...

Many years ago back in the late 80s so not sure if Aerus still has them but a simple phone call to your local Aerus dealer will verify. Let us know. Basically it’s a set of pigtail wires with slide on clamp pieces mounted to them, a set of brass connectors that get screwed to the back of the cordwinder terminals to accept the new wires. The Electrolux store sold it to my Dad and I and told us exactly how to install it. It completely bypassed the terminal block.

A Silverado motor will not fit any 1205 which includes the blue or gold golden jubilee version as their bodies are slightly shorter. The body of the super J was made slightly longer by about an inch for the upgraded motor and the Olympia and Silverado have this longer body as well since they have the larger motor. The top cover of a super J for example will hang off the back of the machine if attempted to be put on a Golden Jubilee. (The golden jubilee we found had no top cover and the Electrolux store sold us a used super J top cover and it fit but hung off the back of the machine! While the machines look nearly identical, they are not, the super J is longer to handle the longer, larger motor.

Jon
 

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