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Central Vac Diagnostic

Please go through all of these tests to see which component is faulty

Make sure your central vac is plugged in. Check your electrical panel to make sure the breaker is not thrown. Your central Vac should not be plugged into an extension cord or power bar. Also check to see if your low voltage wires are connected to the unit.

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Suction Loss

This section is for when your central Vac fires up, but there is no suction coming from the hose. 

  1. Make sure you don't have another hose plugged into an inlet. Make sure all of your inlets and kick sweeps, that you are not using, are closed and are intact with proper seals.

  2.  Check your filter and bag to see if they are full or blocked.

  3. Check your hose, wand and floor tool for a clog, actually there is a whole page for some of that, Go here: https://www.energeticvacuums.ca/wall-pipe-clog

  4. Check your exhaust pipe, or where the unit blows out. I always say "if it can't Blow, it Can't Suck!" 

  5. Make sure the Canister is a sealed unit. The Bin is on the unit properly and that all of the component are there. There is a type of Lux model that requires a large cone in the dirt bin.  It contains the rubber rim that seals the cannister for suction. See image We carry this product in stock. 

  6. There is also a possibility of a pipe disconnect. It is rare but it does happen. Air will take the path of least resistance. The only way to test for this is to plug the end of your hose, make sure kick sweeps are closed, and that all of your door flaps are intact.  Turn the hose switch on, walk around your house listening for air hissing. Do not do this for long: If you do not have a break it can cause your motor to overheat due to lac of airflow.

Powerhead won't run

This section is for if your Central Vac turns on, has suction, but your powerhead wont turn on.

  1. Check your belt for proper tension and your brushroller for binding, clogs, hair build up etc. Your brushroller should spin freely when held in your hands.

  2. If your powerhead has a reset button, push it. If it has a separate on off switch, toggle it and see if it was just turned off. Some powerheads have a switch in the locking pivot and will not allow the powerhead to run in the upright position.

  3. Check the electrical connections, make sure the plug end does not have loose or burned out prongs. Make sure all other connections are properly clicked together

  4. If you have a telescopic wand with hidden electrical, always make sure to never have it at it's full length, this makes it easy to have pulled back on the wand and disconnected the power inside. You would need a replacement wand. Bring it in we might have it in stock.

  5. If your powerhead has height adjust, make sure it is set to the right level for your carpet type.

  6. If all of these fail, please bring your hose to powerhead assembly to our store, we can test for electrical breaks in hose or switch issues in the handle.

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Central Vac won't turn on

This section is for when your central Vac won't fire up

  1. Check the breaker, and also press the reset button on your central vac.

  2. ​Check your electrical cord and plug in.

  3. If your nozzle is metal, put it in the inlet, hold it against the two metal nubs inside the inlet, and see if the unit fires up. If it does, the issue may be in your hose electrical. Go to step 4 first, if it fires up, Bring your hose into Energetic Vacuums for testing and repair.

  4. Next go to the Central vac unit and using a wire like the picture (We have spares at Energetic Vacuums), place it in the low voltage wiring and "jump" it. If it does not fire up. Unplug the unit(power and low voltage) it will lift up and off the wall. Bring it to Energetic Vacuums. It is either a Motor issue or a Circuit board issue

  5. If it fires up at the unit, or your hose fires the unit up in one outlet, but not another one: you now know that it is a low voltage wiring issue. Check all connections that you are able to see. You can also unscrew the wall inlets and check to see if the wires are attached tightly to the screws. Also check to see inf the end nubs are springy. They should pus in and come back out. If one of them is jammed up inside the inlet, it will not connect with the hose. Bring your inlet into Energetic Vacuums we have it in stock. Do not pull the inlet out if it is also connected to power. This requires shutting off the proper breaker or getting an electrician to pull the inlet.

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