TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDES

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A noise coming from an inlet is usually caused by the inlet not being able to seal properly. First, try wiggling the inlet to see if it is loose on the wall. Also check and see if the door that you open  is warped, broken or bowing. Sometimes all you need to do to fix this issue is take a screwdriver and tighten or loosen the inlet until the noise goes away. If the noise persists, the internal seal may be dirty, damaged or missing.

This is caused by an issue with the low voltage wiring. Start by figuring out if your hose is the problem. You can open up the door on your inlet and see two metal pins. Take a butter knife or screwdriver and touch the two pins at the same time with it. If the vacuum turns on, it is an issue with the hose. If not, determine if you have had any painting done recently where someone may have removed an inlet from the wall. If they did, maybe the low voltage wiring behind it was not put back properly. Otherwise, there may be a break in your low voltage wiring connection in the crawlspace or attic.

Let's check to see if your vacuum has a leak or a clog. To do this, stand somewhere where you can hear the vacuum running. Attach your hose and put your hand over the end of it, sealing it off. Normally, you should hear your vacuum change in pitch because it cannot get airflow anymore. The hose should also start to contract and shrink as the pressure builds. If it does not do this, you have a leak. This could be an open inlet door, a VacPan left open, or a pipe that came disconnected somewhere. We have also seen this happen when the vacuum has a plastic dust bin and the bin had a crack in it. Anything that causes an opening other than the end of the hose will cause your suction to decrease.

If it is not a leak, then you may have a clog. Start by checking every inlet to see if any of them have more suction than the others. If the inlets closer to the vacuum have more suction but one further has less, your clog is somewhere in between.

Sometimes if the vacuum is starting to get old the seals can weaken and filters can fail. This can cause dirt to start to build up on the mesh screens that protect the motor. In this case, if parts are not available to fix the issue then it is time to replace the vacuum.

Your carpet head is receiving power from your home's 120v connection, but either something is wrong with the low voltage connection that turns on the vacuum, or the vacuum is unable to start due to a circuit board/motor failure. Make sure that your hose is plugged in correctly, and then double check the vacuum canister.

This can be an issue with a low voltage connection shorting out. More commonly, it is a failure of the vacuum's circuit board. If you have had a lightning strike hit your house, that is the most common reason for a circuit board to fail. We can install a new circuit board to determine if the issue is with your low voltage wiring or with the vacuum.