Epic 6500 Broken Switch Assebly

[djub85]

Hey guys. I bought an Epic on Ebay for cheap that didn't run. I thought I could just put a motor in it. When it arrived today, it was clear that the on/of switch was broken. Lucky me, I thought. Cheap fix. Right...


 


Well, it appears that more is wrong than I might be able to repair. It *appears* that something is broken in the switch assembly itself. The "yoke" is supposed to snap into groves, but on one side, the plastic appears to be broken (I think, there aren't any pictures of this...) and the yoke won't stay snapped in at all.


 


Needless to say, I feel like I need not just the switch button and the yoke, but perhaps the whole switch assembly that screws into the Epic's lid. Do people even sell these? Are they expensive?


 


If anyone has pictures or videos of what the assembly is supposed to look like, that would even help. Maybe nothing's broken. But it sure looks broken. I'd hate to trash a decent Epic all because I can't locate a switch assembly (or worse, because I didn't know that it wasn't broken).  Again, it's not the button itself or yoke that I'm concerned about.


 


Thanks.

 

[djub85]

New question. I found the "switch housing" for sale online, but how in the heck do you get the old diaphragm and switch/wires off of the old housing?


 


Sheesh. I'd have preferred putting a motor in this thing.

 

[bikerray]

That's only part of the switch assy. The switches are mounted in a clear plastic piece that will snap into the bottom of that housing. Then from the top side you will have the on/off push button riding in the two posts sticking up. Underneath the button there will be a clear plastic rocker that snaps into that base, there will also be a spring that hooks into the edge of the switch base and also the edge of the rocker. The spring will have a clear rubber piece going thru the center of the spring. Normally when you get the switch assy from Electrolux it will have the vacuum diaphram mounted in the switch assy base.

The switch in the pictures came out of an LE so it doesn't have the vacuum diaphram shut off.

Hope this helps

 

[djub85]

Thanks for the picture... very helpful.


 


I'm disappointed that you have to order the piece from Electrolux to get one with a diaphragm. I'm sure the housing will cost 10X more from them. I may attempt to remove the old diaphragm myself. It appears that they just melted the ends of the posts that it fits down over, so maybe I will be able to remelt the posts and remove it. Even if I break it, I can't use it anyways... it's already broken. Ugh. Again, I wish it had needed a motor instead. Or even the usual button and yoke. This housing with the non-included diaphragm is enough to make me want to call it quits.


 


Any idea what the clear tube inside the spring is for?

 

[collector2]

The clear tube basically just deadens the snap sound. The one you found on ebay is a replacement for the LE (non automatic bag control machines). You should be able to get them from most vac shops.

 

[djub85]

Update...


 


So, the new switch housing arrived. I was able to use a soldering iron to remove the old diaphragm from the original housing and add it to the new LE housing. Everything seems fixed...


 


I had problems with the switch button seeming to get stuck at first, but once I replaced the yoke, it seems to be working 100% now.


 


The good news is that the motor seems to be fine, now that I've been able to turn it on. Well, I'll use the term "fine" lightly. It sounds somewhat like a siren call. It's a bit too loud. It makes my Epic 6000 sound whisper quiet, so it probably does need a motor, or will eventually. But it's working for now.


 


It still needs... 1 plastic wand, a power nozzle, a floor brush, a sidekick, a dust brush, and a crevice tool. It only has a hose and 1 plastic wand. And both of those are in pretty terrible condition. I may be able to salvage them with a magic eraser (which removed EVERY SINGLE white scratch from the canister), but they are pretty beat up.


 


Should I try to go ahead and complete the set (buy/find all of the missing pieces and replace the beat up hose and wand) knowing this thing needs a motor, or should I just find the cheapest wand a nozzle I can and put this thing aside for a while/find it a home?

[this post was last edited: 2/11/2015-20:36]