Hello!
Alright, so recently I discovered my family's old kirby out in the shed, it's a 1993 G4 which sat out there for nearly a decade due to a cracked emptor. I know, it's a shame. Somehow everything went missing from it, it was just the rug nozzle and engine/fan case with severe aluminum oxidization. I remember loving to mess with all the attachments when I was little, so naturally I wanted to restore it to its former glory (I'm also a little tired of buying cheap vacuums that last only a little over a year). Well, so far I've cleaned the inside, purchased a new handle/mini emptor/power cord, and it's a whole unit again. It functions well, but it makes a loud whine sound sometimes when it's powered off.
The first time it did it was right after it was fully assembled. The machine did not want to turn on right away and the headlight flickered, but once it turned on it ran fine. Turning it off produced the sound.
The second time was after I had taken it all apart and used canned/compressed air to clean the inside. I started and stopped it several times and it did not do it until I shut it off after I vacuumed with it.
I assume this is related to the motor, but I'm not familiar with how electric motor parts look or sound. It's not sparking so I don't think it's the brushes, they looked like they were making contact. It's not a constant sound, so that rules out bearings I think. That would mean it's the armature or the coil if I'm right. What do those parts do when they fail?
On a side note, if anyone has any solid polishing recommendations to get a gleaming mirror finish, I would appreciate that greatly. I spent about 2 hours wet sanding/using mother's mag and aluminum polish on the square above the headlight and it's still not too clear.
Also, I found some LED headlight bulb replacements on eBay, they look and fit exactly the same but are LED. Anyone know if these are any good?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I want my childhood Kirby back!
Alright, so recently I discovered my family's old kirby out in the shed, it's a 1993 G4 which sat out there for nearly a decade due to a cracked emptor. I know, it's a shame. Somehow everything went missing from it, it was just the rug nozzle and engine/fan case with severe aluminum oxidization. I remember loving to mess with all the attachments when I was little, so naturally I wanted to restore it to its former glory (I'm also a little tired of buying cheap vacuums that last only a little over a year). Well, so far I've cleaned the inside, purchased a new handle/mini emptor/power cord, and it's a whole unit again. It functions well, but it makes a loud whine sound sometimes when it's powered off.
The first time it did it was right after it was fully assembled. The machine did not want to turn on right away and the headlight flickered, but once it turned on it ran fine. Turning it off produced the sound.
The second time was after I had taken it all apart and used canned/compressed air to clean the inside. I started and stopped it several times and it did not do it until I shut it off after I vacuumed with it.
I assume this is related to the motor, but I'm not familiar with how electric motor parts look or sound. It's not sparking so I don't think it's the brushes, they looked like they were making contact. It's not a constant sound, so that rules out bearings I think. That would mean it's the armature or the coil if I'm right. What do those parts do when they fail?
On a side note, if anyone has any solid polishing recommendations to get a gleaming mirror finish, I would appreciate that greatly. I spent about 2 hours wet sanding/using mother's mag and aluminum polish on the square above the headlight and it's still not too clear.
Also, I found some LED headlight bulb replacements on eBay, they look and fit exactly the same but are LED. Anyone know if these are any good?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I want my childhood Kirby back!