Remove Electrolux Model 1205 Bag Chamber

[rlp123]

How do you separate the plastic bag chamber from the metal cannister housing? Switch wires seem to be pinched between the plastic chamber and the metal cannister. The switch is effectively shorted out and also the door has no effect on removing power from the motor. Apply power and the motor runs no matter what. This vacuum had been serviced by somebody before (motor wiring) and whomever also messed up the metal power contacts on the terminal board by trying to solder motor wires to the contacts.

It's a mess but my wife wants me to fix this thing she just bought for a 'steal' so I am trying to get things operating correctly. Do the hard rubber 'Electrolux stripes' on the sides of the cannister have to be removed to reveal some hidden screws or something like that?[this post was last edited: 5/3/2020-10:58]

 

[vacuumkid47]

No

The plastic sides do slide off, it takes some force (and willpower) to push them out. Take a screw driver and a hammer to push the side tabs outwards towards the front of the cleaner. This is kind of a barbaric way of doing it, but it works. There are no screws actually holding the top and bottom, just those plastic runners

 

[rlp123]

Remove Electrolux Model 1205 Bag Chamber

Sorry I deleted my post before noticing your reply. I will repost here:

ORIGINAL
"How do you separate the plastic bag chamber from the metal cannister housing? Switch wires seem to be pinched between the plastic chamber and the metal cannister. The switch is effectively shorted out and also the door has no effect on removing power from the motor. Apply power and the motor runs no matter what. This vacuum had been serviced by somebody before (motor wiring) and whomever also messed up the metal power contacts on the terminal board by trying to solder motor wires to the contacts.

It's a mess but my wife wants me to fix this thing she just bought for a 'steal' so I am trying to get things operating correctly. Do the hard rubber 'Electrolux stripes' on the sides of the cannister have to be removed to reveal some hidden screws or something like that?"

UPDATE
In the meantime I did find the screws holding the chamber in place and was able to remove it from the housing. It turns out the wires were not pinched but were held in place by a formed rubber gasket that routes the wires from the vacuum body into front door of the cannister vacuum. That also tells me I will be looking inside the door controls to find where the effective short is happening. That is much more prefereable to me than doing so much mechanical disassembly. Thanx again for replying.

 

[jo]

Multiple switching on the 1205

The 1205 has multiple switches...the main power switch and the bag door switch. The bag door switch is a momentary switch that keeps the cleaner on when the switch is depressed, it is the plunger on the inside of the bag door, when it is out via the bag door being open or no bag in the compartment and turned on via the main switch, the motor will be off, but the check bag light will be on. Press the plunger switch in, and the light should shut off and motor will run (bag in place, door closed).

Main power switch is replaceable on the top from Aerus, and is cheap. Remove the screw in front of the switch and two inside the blower door cover and the top should lift off, you’ll see the switch mechanism on the top of the body held in place by two screws, you may just need to replace that if someone made a mess.

A common thing that goes wrong with 1205s is the cord winder terminal block shorts and burns. Aerus has an inexpensive kit to fix it and bypass. To check if it’s burned, take the top off as in the above steps, remove the two back end top screws and the one bottom back end screw and the cordwinder should come off the back (including the white bumper) via sliding outward, it may need some coating with a screwdriver a little at s time front and back. You’ll want to have the cord pulled out some while doing this so the cord end doesn’t work against you holding it in place. The white cord guide has a notch in the side of it you’ll need to route the cord through as you are working on removing the cordwinder. Once the cordwinder is out you’ll see how it makes the electrical connection to the machine, if it’s wired, then it’s already been fixed, if it’s just contacts and one is burned then you’ll need the fix kit to bypass the terminal block on the machine to be a direct wire connection, if the terminal block is ok and not wired, then it didn’t burn.

I’m a little confused as to your issue...sounds like what you are saying is a switch must have gone bad and now someone rigged it to run constantly when plugged in and you are trying to get it back to normal operation? Is that correct?

Finally to access inside the bag door, you’ll need to unscrew the screws on the inside of the bag door, the cover should come off but be Wired to the check bag light, close the door, and swing the cover up over the top and you should be able to see everything inside.

Someone may have also bypassed the bag door switch, it’s designed to shut off the motor with no bag or when the bag door is opened while running either manually or when the automatic full bag sensing system engages which unlatches the door which as a result shuts the machine off as the momentary plunger switch is now opened. The switch inside the bag door is simple, a piece of curved copper that presses against a flat piece of copper.

Hope this helps.

Maybe some photos of what seems to not be kosher will help us!

Jon

 

[rlp123]

REWIRED THE 1205 AND LEFT A DIAGRAM FOR ANYONE INTERESTED

First, thank all of you for replying. I traced all the wiring and determined the guy just simply jumpered everything out. Very messy. He tried to solder power to motor wires at the backs of the power contacts. Quick connects cut off. Blue wire cut and just shoved into a crevice where it couldn't be seen. A real hack. Motor leads were also cut in multiple places and spliced back together with some barrel connectors.

I cut his stuff off the motor. Spliced some teflon coated mil spec AWG16 (doubled because I didn't have any stranded 14 laying around which I would prefer because this is power wiring, not chassis wiring). The 'as-found' configuration had a white wire terminated at the center contact on the terminal board, therefore unpowered. That would have powered the hose and one side of the bag full lamp if connected properly. Apparently the power hose no longer had power either.

The blue wire, if not cut off, would have powered the On/Off switch and then to the bag-full power cutout switch and the other side of the lamp.

I pulled the center contact with the white wire and inserted it at the top position on the terminal board to connect power to the bag lamp and hose. I connected one motor lead to this contact. Sort of like a common.

I took the black wire that was at the bottom terminal board position which connected it to 120 and moved that contact to the unpowered center position. That wire runs to the bag switch and the hose power connection. I tied the other motor lead to this center position. It will receive power when the bag switch is activated by having the door closed, a non-full bag in the chamber, and the power switch turned on.

Finally, I took the blue wire that had been cut off and left hanging and attached it at the bottom position on the terminal board. That will put the other side of 120 power to the power switch. Now nothing will run unless the power switch is activated and the door is closed.

My first experience with a model 1205 has been enlightening. I forgot about the kind of repair hacks out there who can get paid for 'fixin things'. Caveat emptor.

My terminal board layout probably doesn't match any factory spec but since I didn't have any data on the 1205, I Did It My Way la la la la la. I provide a wiring diagram below that I created. It is a simplistic diagram and is drawn in such a way as to make everything extremely obvious (I used to draw like this while teaching electronics students many years ago back when I could still see without a magnifying glass and a light).

 

[jo]

You did a LOT of work!

Wow, you went through a lot of work for that poor hacked 1205 which was probably hacked by a DIYer.

Maybe you’ll find a nice original 1205, Golden Jubilee, Super J, Olympia, or Silverado on eBay in the future complete with all original parts and a genuine rubber hose and surprise your wife with it for an upgrade! These models are regarded as quite possibly “Electrolux’s best” machines ever made and your wife clearly enjoys the quality. The Olympia and Silverado were improvements on the earlier mentioned models.

But for now...I’m sure she is going to enjoy all of your hard work as a significant improvement!

Jon

 

[rlp123]

Thanx JON ! (BTW - Have A REAL Schematic For The 1205?)

Thank you for the encouragement! I really was pretty angry....

Do you have a real electrical diagram for that thing? I wouldn't mind having it since I'm sure I will have more of this in my future. My wife loves having an old thing (like me) work.

Guess what? She brought me a Model G which wasn't working of course. Did a quick simple wiring repair, shined it up, and it runs like a charm.

That's not all. Before the 1205, I took an old Royal Model 993 that had been in the closet since the 90's, explored a little, found worn out brushes, got replacements, but haven't installed them yet since one of the brush caps was so brittle that is shattered when trying to unscrew it. Haven't been real successful finding a replacement. I might just stuff it with a wood plug to hold the new brush in ha ha.

I guess I've been bitten by the oldvac bug. Away we go.

Prior to this, she's had me fix old singer sewing machines she finds at goodwill. When will it end? I never have time for my own stuff like ham radio. My call sign is AC8UR, but it's getting kind of rusty.....

Bob