Dyson DC25 Brushbar Motor Replacement

This Instructable gives details how to replace the motor in the Dyson DC25 vacuum cleaner brushbar. When reclined for vacuuming carpet, the DC25 has a motorised beater. The brushbar motor on my girlfriend's DC25 had burnt out and so rather than throwing the whole lot away and buying a new brushbar, I bought a replacement motor.

I found the replacement part for £22 on Ebay instead of buying an entire brushbar assembly for £45.

Tools:
- Bit driver
- No 2 Phillips bit
- No 15 Torx bit

Equipment:
- Replacement motor

Grab a penny and twist the grey screw clockwise.

Twist the end cap anticlockwise and pull away from the brushbar.

Pull the brushbar out. Now's a good time to remove all that hair and gunk.

While looking at the underside, unscrew the Phillips No2 at the top left and remove the cover, caster and steel bearing.

There are 8 Torx 15 screws holding the floor plate to the main transparent body. Unscrew them!

The top cover should fall away easily exposing the motor.

Pull the floor plate away from the main transparent body of the brushbar starting from the end opposite to the motor.

As you separate the two pieces the drive belt should slide off the large gear allowing separation.

Unplug the motor terminals. You may have to pull back the plastic insulation and disengage the retainging clips with something sharp.

A spring pushes the motor away from the small gear, keeping the drive belt tensioned.

Push the motor towards the small gear, creating slack in the drive belt.

Lift the clear plastic tab to release the motor. Retain the spring, it's prone to flying off in the opposite direction.

The motor is held to the clear plastic body by a black silicone sleeve. Gently disentangle it.

Re-entangle the new motor. (Half way finished!)

The new motor I bought from Ebay came with the gear and tensioning assembly already attached.

Ensure the tensioning spring is in position and then slide the motor towards it until the black plastic clips engage in the clear plastic retainers.

I found it difficult to detach. It reattached much easier since the drive belt is missing.

Reattach the drive belt by hooking it over the small gear at one end.

Mate it with the large gear at the top of the gear as illustrated by picture 2. If you try and slide it on at the furthest point from the small gear it will be really difficult. By mating it at the top it becomes easier.

Once the teeth are engaged at the top, rotate the belt so each tooth comes into contact with the belt and pulls it on. Pushing the motor towards the large cog and depressing the spring also helps ease the belt on.

The top cover should now easily slide back on.

Secure it with the 8 Torx 15 screws being careful not to over torque them, it's only plastic!

Slide the steel slug through the caster and drop it into it's plastic housing. Add the top cover and secure with the Phillips No 2 screw.

Slide the brush bar into place and reattach the end cap. Twist the retaining screw anticlockwise using a coin to lock it in place.

Attach the brusbar to your Dyson DC25 vacuum cleaner and get ready to roll!

Plug your DC25 into the mains and turn it on. Stamp (gently) on the red pedal to allow you to recline it. Once it's reclined, the brushbar _should_ turn on.

Important: The brush bar won't turn on until you recline the vacuum cleaner. I spent AGES debugging this trying to find out why the brushbar wouldn't rotate. There is a switch in the reclining mechanism that starts the brushbar. DOH!

Further problems: If the previous steps don't solve your brushbar problems, there could be a problem with the brushbar switch (grey) or the reset button.