Hi. I've got two Kenmore Progressive canisters (sorry, don't have the model #'s handy right now.) that are both dead. I have checked the line cord, etc. with both a voltmeter and an ohmmeter. Everything seems continuous. I fed power directly to the motor and it works fine. I suspect the circuit board is the problem. I see what looks like Triacs on the board, but don't have any info. Does anyone have a schematic or a wiring diagram they can share? And those two lift-up "doors" -- what's the trick to getting them out without breaking the plastic "hinges", so you can get to the screws? Thanks for your help. RZ
Need Info on Kenmore Progressive
- Thread starter ranzim
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centralsweeper63
Well-known member
I wish you luck in repairing them.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
There should be a sticker inside the vacuum body with a wiring diagram. It's tiny and impossible to read but if you take a couple of digital images and zoom them in on a laptop they are readable. Consider the problem may be in the hose and not in the vacuum. Check continuity with the switch in the hard floor and carpet positions. Also check continuity from the plug in the hose connection back to where those wires connect inside the motor compartment. Make sure you are using the right hose for the model you have. Last, check continuity across the 15 amp fuse. Some models of Progressive have the fuse in line with one of the power wires while others have it on the circuit board.
If it is a first generation Progressive these have a universal relay rather than a circuit board unless it is the model with the four wire hose and soft touch buttons on the hose handle. The first gen Progressive is very simple and most of the problems with them are in the hose.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. You can do it !
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Wiring diagrams should be included on every vacuum!
huskyvacs
Well-known member
In the old days they were my friend, in the old days they were...
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Why aren't they now? Is it because they no longer exist?
huskyvacs
Well-known member
It's down to companies wanting to make money off you being forced to pay them to repair it, rather than them losing money letting you repair it yourself. People have less technical aptitude to repair and diagnose things now than they did in the past. And the cost involved and labor involved at most repairs, it makes more sense to throw it out than to repair it. That's not how I think, but that's the way most of society thinks. Back in the old days you learned how to build your own radio in the boy scouts, you had to know all these little things to get through life. It's skills that's been lost to many.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
I hope Paul's post will help. It looks very helpful.
I hope so, too, Elliot, but I am noticing a trend in many "new members" (real, impersonators, or bots?) who ask for info. without photos or with online photos instead of their own that are never heard from again or who offer a general "thanks everyone", then disappear into the shadows. So I'm probably not going to research for such posters any longer.
I have never seen so many "new members" join the forum in a period of months.
Maybe it's immature "adults" or young adults having fun, because they have nothing better to do or who need a little thrill in their lonely lives.
Hey C..W.. Thanks for all those ideas. I had done all the continuity checks. I had also noticed the fuse (within heat-shrink) and checked it. It was good. However, I didn't see any diagram -- teeny or otherwise. I will go looking for it again. Thanks for that hint. No relay in this one, it's got a circuit board. I'm pretty sure my problem is with the board. But I will recheck my measurements before digging into the circuit board. RZ
Hello Paul. Thanks for all those videos. I had already found and watched the first one. I watched the others and they were helpful. That diagram must be for a European machine that has a relay. Not what I have, but does show the wiring hookup nonetheless. (The relay is replaced by the circuit board.) Unfortunately, it seems that my problem lies with the circuit board. I may have to take it out and draw the schematic diagram for it. (It's a bit of a pain to do that, but you gotta do what you gotta do.)
One more thing Paul. In your later post talking about new members, what "photos" were you referring to?
RZ
One more thing Paul. In your later post talking about new members, what "photos" were you referring to?
RZ
huskyvacs
Well-known member
A lot of times its bots fishing for info, like what happened to the guy with the Bernina vacuum. Other times its people that need info for something they are selling on eBay so they can claim its extremely rare and ask $900 for it.
Hey guys, got an update for you. In my initial post, I said I had two dead vacs. I thought they identical. They are not, they just look that way. The initial post is all about the first (Gray) one. And although I did similar measurements on the second (Red) one, they were all from outside. Well, I decided to open it (Red) up -- using some of the door "tricks" in the video. Once open I took some ohmmeter readings, checking the line cord continuity, etc. I was getting some funny, erratic readings. I thought it was an intermittent wire by the plug. But when it happened on each plug blade the same way, I got suspicious. It turns out the reel was the problem. Has anyone ever disassembled and repaired a reel? I disconnected the reel wires, cutting the reel out of the circuit and substituted my own line cord, It runs just fine! This Red vac has a very simple circuit board. Just a triac and three wires to the board. The other Gray vac has a more "complex" board with chips and two triacs. Maybe if I get the user manual for that Gray one, I can figure out what all that circuitry is for. Anyway. thanks for your ideas and help so far. Much appreciated. RZ
huskyvacs
Well-known member
Does the cord reel have its own electrical connection to the vacuum? Contact plates or something? Check those if it does. Only other thing I can think of is maybe the cord has a crunched spot or short in it somewhere in the reel, or it's a grounding issue and killing the current between the mains power and the vacuum's logic board, so it's not getting the wall current through to tell the motor to come on.
Seems to be the pickups (brushes?) where the moveable part of the reel connects to stationary wires. If I wiggle or squeeze the moveable part of the reel, the resistance reading goes wild. I was going to attempt to disassemble, but I'm concerned about unleashing the spring.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Kenmore is / was the house brand of Sears Roebuck and Company. They only operated in the US and in Canada as Simpson Sears. The Kenmore business model was to have other firms make appliances to Kenmore's requirements. Selling through the Kenmore brand used to mean big volumes as Sears used to be the world's largest retailer. The Progressive line of vacuums were made for Kenmore by Panasonic and never sold outside of the US and Canada. The first generation Progressive used a universal relay and did not have a circuit board.
Hi RZ,
Glad to hear back from you and am glad that the videos were helpful at some level. I know so little about Kenmores—US or other other markets—that I considered it to be accurate. I wish it would have been a match to what you own.
As for drawing a schematic, maybe a labeled photo would be less time-intensive and still suit your needs?
The photos I mentioned in my post were a general reference of several recent new members' posts. I can think of no one who posted a follow-up on their original posting such as a successful repair or recondition using their own photos; if so, I missed it/them. Correspondingly, the newbies rarely contribute to any other posts, if at all. That's their choice, of course, but it has made me wonder.
Anyway, thanks for responding. Please consider posting your schematic or photo as a future reference for others. As you can tell, we are lacking in Kenmore knowledge—at least in some eras or lines.
I wish you success in getting your Progressives in working order once again.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
I would love to learn more about Kenmore too!
