Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi all.  I'm so happy to have found a forum dedicated to vacuums. 

I purchased a Kenmore Intuition canister vac (model 116.280157) in June of 2009.  Over the last several months the brush on the power head has been intermittently stopping.  This happens with both the floor powermate and the Pet powermate.  At the time the roller stops, the light turns off, but there is still suction.  This problem has increased to the point the vac is unusable.  I noticed that if I pull the connection of the handle and the tube (or pet powermate) together the roller starts again.

I spoke with a local vacuum repair shop, and they told me that I needed a new hose assembly.  I found the part (#kc94pdduzc0d) online at sears parts three weeks ago for $106, but didn't purchase it at that time.  A couple of days ago I went to buy it and the price had jumped to $208!

So my questions to those in the know.  Is this a common problem? if it is I'll just get a new vacuum rather spending that money every few years.  Is there someplace else I could potentially get the replacement part?  I understand Panasonic makes these, do they have an equivalent part?  Is there another way to troubleshoot or fix the problem w/o spending 1/3 of what I paid for the entire vacuum new?  Thanks in advance.  I'm really not very happy with Sears right now.

Are you saying that you have this problem when you are using the power head on the carpeting, plus using the "pet" tool on the end of the hose?  Or are you saying you you are using both on the end of the wand?

Connections can go bad on these vacuum cleaners.  In many cases, the bad part is in the connection between the wand and power nozzle.  If the hose connection is bad, all you would have to do is replace the wiring in the hose-handle, which is less than $100.00. Look for bad, burnt, melted ends on the wiring which connects to eachother as you connect the parts for vacuuming. 

Thanks for the reply Mike.  Both the pet tool and the power head attach to the handle at the end of the hose.  Since they both are having the same issue, I'm making the assumption that the problem is either in the electronics in the handle, or the connector in the handle.  I was perhaps overly swayed by the repair shop's diagnosis that the entire hose system needed to be replaced. 

The connection between the handle and the attachment is two prong - female connection on the handle.  It does have a black "sooty"  covering around the connectors.  Cleaning them did not improve the situation.

I have found the female connector on-line for $51.  I'm a little hesitant to spend that amount on an item that may or may not solve my problem.  Opinions?

I should mention that when working properly, this was an ideal vacuum for me. 

Thanks Again,

-Chris

I am having the exact problem with my kenmore intuition. Can u pls tell me the outcome.??

First make sure the electrical connections from the canister to the hose and from the hose to the Powermate wand are nice and clean. Sometimes an intermittent connection can be nothing more complicated than a dirt on the terminals. If that doesn't resolve the problem, the problem could be at the handle switch or at the sliding contacts at the swivel end of the hose where it attaches to the canister. I would be tempted to spray some electrical contact cleaner into the swivel joint while rotating the hose several revolutions to see if that cleans contacts and restores function. It would be worthwhile to see if a vacuum shop or the local Sears has a known good hose on hand and would allow you to test your machine with a good hose. That will help isolate the problem. There is a pc board in the vacuum along with another pc board in the handle that could conceivably be failing but that is pretty rare. You don't have to replace the whole hose btw. Both ends can be removed from the hose fairly simply. If the swivel end is shot, just replace the swivel part. Likewise if the hose material ever cracks you can replace the hose stock on your existing ends. There are electrical connections under each cuff that unplug easily. The hardest part is squeezing the top and bottom of the cuff down hard so the sides bulge out and release two catches on the inner hose tube. There are videos on You Tube showing you how to disassemble Kenmore hoses you can reference and save yourself a big labor bill at the vacuum shop.

I have the same intermittent issue except it appears to be at the beater bar end.....(an old beater bar / floor unit works just fine with this wand and canister)
I have taken apart the bottom section to inspect the wiring and connectors and don't see anything burnt. I sandpapered the male connectors just for good measure.

Would replacement of the lower wiring harness (~$40) be the best bet?? I think it has the power to the beater bar and light plus some dirt sensor functionality (a couple small wires and circuit boards are wired in)??
Other suggestions (besides just use the old beater bar unit!) :-)   ?

Thank you.

Use a volt meter to determine if there is power at the connections from the canister to the hose, at the nozzle end of the hose, and with the wand connected to the hose, see if there is power at the end of the wand.  Keep working your way down the circuit until you find a segment with no power.