Dyson DC16 Root 6 Bagless Handheld Cyclonic Vacuum Logo
Posted on Aug 09, 2009

I have a dyson hand held that shuts off after just a few seconds of run time. we keep it charged but to no avail. Can someone suggest a solution.

  • Carolanne Frome
    Carolanne Frome Sep 03, 2015

    Try this: works like aa charm and no trouble at all:
    http://www.fixya.com/support/t23779865-d...

  • Cathy Jumper
    Cathy Jumper Dec 09, 2016

    So what happen the blue light was on when I stared vacuming the floor it didnt last very long and the battery got hot and the light turn yellow.im very upset I just got my dyson just Monday I let charge up until now.

×

12 Answers

Lee Wright

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Governor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 20 times.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

  • Contributor 19 Answers
  • Posted on Jun 24, 2010
Lee Wright
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Governor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 20 times.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Joined: Jun 17, 2010
Answers
19
Questions
0
Helped
120526
Points
69

Yeap..... i just found a fix for this ,, its mad how easy it is to fix as well...and it works 100%,,,
now dyson implemented a filter magnetic switch if u take your filter off you will see a small magnet in the corner,, u will notice where the magnet is behind it is rased platic,, now,,that the problem on the main board the transistor that picks up magentic signal from the filter is dud,!
dont ask me why it happens,, its a pain i know.,.
now take off collection pot for dust now take battery off.

now where the serial number is theres 2 hex screws that need taking out..

now u will see a small pcb board.. remove with one tiny security screw holding it in,, once removed pull both red plug off thats the digital motor plug.. and white plug which is vcc..to battery,, once u have done this pull the board down and back gently. as there is a long bit of board that goes up the back of the dyson plastic be very carefull pull this out.. now the long and thin pcb board that is hidden is what we need there is a tiny transistor,,, we need to remove this carefully..once removed,, we solder a thin wire from 2 point A+C need to be soldered together with a thin piece of wire, it will not harm the motor.. as long as u keep it clean,,

these points corolate to the transistor,,

A

B C

SOLDER AND A+C WITH A FINE PIECE OF WIRE NOW,, AND WALLAH... fixed put it all back together again,,, charge the battery,, and your away,,, working again,, if not u have other faults.. but 99% fix this with flashing red led,,,!!

  • 12 more comments 
  • Lee Wright
    Lee Wright Jun 24, 2010

    ohh forgot to mention this will also fix the cutting out problem,,,,as it thinks the filter keep moving away from the sensor when in fact its the magnetic sensor that causes it all solder this wire over it and it will work fine as long as its all cleaned out regular and filter is washed as dyson tell you....



    now,, i bought two of these off ebay today got this one fixed... but one.. had been on fire..the pcb digital motor cable red one .. smack in front of that is 2 transistors make shure there are no burn marks around this transistor i think james dyson has been using,, or importing chineese parts,,, but this deffo needs a new pcb and there not cheap ,,,,, u need to buy the complete motor section to fix this as well...

    to be honist he should use bigger components for them to last longer and at least pop heatsinks on the diodes in such a small space and no air i would have thought he would have at least invented a cooler way

    maybe **** air threw the board to keep it cool... would be a good idea,



    a bonus for all these people with faulty dysons.... piece of piddle fix...good ahhy.!!



    good luck and please say thanks as i have spent all day figuring out what the problem is with a avo.

    and its been buggin me to bits,...but left on charge and works great,,,



    keep me posted guys if it works for you i would be over the moon if it helps a few people out,

  • chadsmad Sep 18, 2010

    Total success! Thanks so much. To clarify, the ABC thing in the instructions (which confused me a bit) corresponds to the way the contacts of the transistor are laid out on the board. You need to solder one wire between point A (top of transistor) and point C (bottom right), then your cleaner will work fine again!

  • daretofix Nov 03, 2010

    NIce of you to send this out!!!

  • cj1234446 Nov 30, 2010

    I tried this. I can run the dyson w/o the filter (as a test) however, i charged up my dyson, up to 3 bars. I tried it again and it cut out w/ last led flashing red. Is it perhaps because I used to thin of a wire? I used 30awg.

  • dandatk Dec 27, 2010

    Thank You. Worked Great. Thanks for posting all your hard work.

  • DysonPOO Jan 09, 2011

    I don't think it is your wiring.

    I have two of them that I have modified one successfully and it shows the same problem still. I left the other without mod, and it has the exact same issue. maybe runs for 5 seconds and then shuts down with red light flashing.

    I have checked voltage on the battery chargers, one shows 27.36 volts and the other shows 27.97 volts. I have charged the batteries both vertically and horizontally. and both batterys show a full charge both ways.

    do I have two bad batteries?
    two bad Chargers?
    or two bad vacums?

  • timothy_furn Jan 14, 2011

    can you help me! bought the solder iron and solder after not finding anyone to help here in France!??? No little electronic shops like in other countries, really, no repair shops that I can go to, so I am armed and ready to repair it myself! Please simplify the transistor bit for me? Is the transistor above the U6 marking and how to I get it off safely? Is that where we solder, under the resistor or just below it, not sure what those bits are called? Happy to try if you give me easier explanation, as you can see, I know nothing about transistors and resistors!! Fed up buying Dysons that break and the warranty is shorter in France and they are twice the price of UK in most shops. My solder iron is 40 watts, but noticed a 25w when i was buying it today, should i get that one instead? Thanks for any more help you can give, sorry to be so dim!!!

  • dfielding Aug 02, 2011

    FYI, there is an excellent summation of this fix WITH PICTURES at this link:http://www.cookipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.p... .
    Weird that the link is on a cooking wiki site, but who cares? VERY helpful for visualizing promo7uk's description. Good luck with your fixes everyone!

  • Anonymous May 28, 2012

    Sorry but did't work for me, the Vacuum cleaner still cuts out as per pre-bypassing the magnetic switch (Transistor) and yes it will now run for a few seconds with or without the filter inserted, Back to the drawing board.

  • Anonymous Jan 21, 2013

    I tried this and it worked perfectly! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

  • Anonymous Apr 04, 2013

    I've tried it on my DC16 and my DC16 Animal and the fault remains on both, as an aerospace I have more than DIY skills and have removed the motors and opened them to skim the commutator and clean the brushes and still the problems remain! The only thing that seems to help them last longer is to remove the motor filter above the handgrip which tells me that the lacquer on the motor windings is failing causing voltage spike at the motor that the PCB is picking up as an overload so it shuts down to prevent the handset having a catastrophic melt down possibly causing a fire.So this solution is NOT 100% successful but worth a go.

  • Donna Ploc
    Donna Ploc Jan 25, 2015

    Wish you had a video of how to do this.

  • Lori Van Opstal
    Lori Van Opstal Apr 03, 2015

    a much easier fix is to just place a stronger magnet on the magnet. It will signal to the unit that the filter is in place. I bought 20 tiny strong flat disc magnets at Restoration Hardware for $15. it worked perfectly!

  • Pierre-Luc Lachance
    Pierre-Luc Lachance Mar 21, 2016

    Thank you Lee, this is the kind of precise and detailed answer I like. I have the DC 16 Dyson which cuts out after one second or two. I checked the battery with a multi-meter to make sure it is not a battery problem. It is not. The reading is over 22 volts when the battery pack spec is 21.6 volts so the battery is good. The soldering bypass is also a very good tip because it actually makes the vacuum work with no filter in place. Thanks to Chadsmad for clarifying the A and C contacts. Unfortunately, my vacuum still cuts out the same way it did before this alteration. So my problem is different than the magnet problem. I wish I knew what it was because Dyson devices are very expensive and I hoped it would have lasted a long time. I still would like to share these photos. Thanks to everybody for being so clever and sharing the golden information!!


×

Anonymous

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Jan 26, 2012
Anonymous
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

Joined: Jan 26, 2012
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
2

For those of us whose eyes glaze over at the mention of a soldering iron, I have an alternative suggestion. The problem appears to be that the magnet is just barely large enough when brand new...so as it ages, it can't hold the switch in place when the vacuum is being used. I took a small drill bit and from the back side pushed the magnet out, drilled the hole larger and pressed in a much larger, rare earth magnet. Voila! Problem solved.

Glad I found this thread.

  • 1 more comment 
  • Anonymous Sep 07, 2012

    I have tryed the circut board fix . It failed. I tryed a rare earth magnet and failed again. Any other ideas?

  • Anonymous Sep 26, 2012

    Perfect solution. I also added a magnet to the filter, but as I had only a large one I placed it on the other side of the filter and glued it in place. Problem fixed.

  • D. Michael Ridnouer
    D. Michael Ridnouer May 03, 2017

    I had the same problem. Red LED came on with trigger squeezed but the motor wouldn't run. Bought a new battery, same results. I took the canister off and I had the filter in wrong so the magnet couldn't do its job. I'd never discovered that if I hadn't read this page. Thank you!

×

Ad

stephen brearey

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Oct 16, 2014
stephen brearey
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

Joined: Oct 16, 2014
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
4

Hi dc16 totaly agree its the magnet,but no need to strip or go soldering,look where pigk up is in the filter and you will see it flex's into housing so when vac on it pulls filter away,simply mark housing(the orange part)and pack with blue tac to stop filter pulling away from magnet regards steve

  • 1 more comment 
  • Anonymous Jul 06, 2015

    I just wadded up a small piece of tape right behind where the magnet is on the blue filter housing and had no issues! Put the filter back and put it back together and works great now. Thanks!!!

  • Brian Knight
    Brian Knight Feb 03, 2016

    Best answer after several attempts with 6 yr old DC16. Battery still at 23.5 volts. Been cutting out for years. Bluetac did the trick. A piece about a cm sphere pushed into the housing did it.
    Many thanks ??

  • Anonymous Jul 22, 2016

    Are you able to post a pic of what you mean - I can't work it out

×

Rick Gartner

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

  • Contributor 2 Answers
  • Posted on Nov 18, 2013
Rick Gartner
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

Joined: Aug 24, 2008
Answers
2
Questions
0
Helped
103605
Points
1

Thanks for the tip. I just tried this and removed the transistor and it works! I have been dealing with this for a long time and decided to research this. Thanks for posting this.

  • Steve Williams
    Steve Williams Apr 10, 2017

    All your doing is bypassing the safety cut out ...

×

Steve Williams

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

  • Contributor 4 Answers
  • Posted on Nov 11, 2016
Steve Williams
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

Joined: Nov 11, 2016
Answers
4
Questions
0
Helped
103193
Points
11

Oh sweet Mary.... some right missing links on here. Soldering, magnets and blue tack ... WTF - all you are going to do there is bypass the safety cut out mechanism designed to protect the motor and then you'll eventually burn it out ... not very bright.

So for the Dyson V6 Absolute pulsing.... the main thing is the conical filter. Don't just take it out and give it a little tickle wash and dry... that's about as much use as most of the answers above as all you do is cement the thick crud inside even further.

Here's what you do... look at the top element of the cone - the thick end - thicker than some of the providers above - see the three little press fit locating tabs around the edge of the plastic... well push these little beauties gently in with a flat end screw driver, work your way around the three gently - you dont want to be breaking the plastic skeleton that the material slides over - remove the material section of the filter by sliding off ..... tap that bad boy out and see the years of crud come out. Give it a good clean - finger the hell out of it - don't be too amorous and be careful not to rip it ..... feel happy that all the crud comes out and slide the the material section over the plastic conical section, press fit onto the three locating plates and stick back in.

Hey prestos - back to sup[er suction mode.

Careful as it will try to pull the carpets off the floor.

  • 4 more comments 
  • Angela Clayton
    Angela Clayton Apr 09, 2017

    This worked wonders. Why wouldn't the company make this more accessible??? Oh, yeah, that's right, they want us to buy another one, or an expensive battery that is not necessary! Thank you Steve Williams!!!

  • Steve Williams
    Steve Williams Apr 10, 2017

    Thanks Angela - glad it helped.

  • Leslie Veber
    Leslie Veber Sep 08, 2018

    I cleaned the filter as detailed above and save almost 37$ for a new filter!!! Thanks for the info

  • Martin S
    Martin S Jan 26, 2019

    Brilliant Steve, I knew there was part of the airflow causing the problem and thought I had tried everything until your post. It worked perfectly. I recommend this before washing the filter. Steve mentioned that just washing turns the captured dust into cement, and sure enough mine had a big plug from washing. Thanks again, very satisfying experience.

  • Sj Asquith
    Sj Asquith Apr 07, 2019

    Worked brilliantly, thanks

  • S Pate
    S Pate Apr 19, 2020

    Awesome!! I had almost given up & about to pull the trigger to purchase a new unit. Works perfectly! Thank you!!

×

montytin

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Feb 04, 2015
montytin
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Joined: Feb 04, 2015
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
2

Before resorting to the strip down and solder method which could well be the second option firstly simply take out the filter and wash leave overnight to dry before reinstalling, secondly and this is all I needed to do to solve my DC30 cutting out after a few seconds, it is so obvious its embarrassing take out the battery clean the battery contacts and also the receiving contacts inside the dyson

Rob Harwood

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Nov 25, 2014
Rob Harwood
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

Joined: Jan 14, 2011
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
2

Good solution, works a treat Steve.
I siliconed a piece of thin rubber on the same place.
regards rob

Anonymous

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Feb 16, 2012
Anonymous
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Joined: Feb 16, 2012
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
2

Hello, can anyone tell me if this will work on the DC30 and 31? is the circuit board the same as the dc16 or has it been updated? Thank you

  • Anonymous Feb 16, 2012

    Hello, can anyone tell me if this will work on the DC30 and 31? is the circuit board the same as the dc16 or has it been updated? Thank you

×

Richard Carr

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Jan 25, 2015
Richard Carr
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

Mayor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 2 times.

Joined: Sep 03, 2007
Answers
1
Questions
1
Helped
102906
Points
4

DC16 was cutting out after less than 2 secs. Fixed with blue tac in seconds. Put tiny piece in hole in plastic filter housing. Works perfectly now.

Don Patterson

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Hot-Shot:

An expert who has answered 20 questions.

  • Contributor 64 Answers
  • Posted on Nov 08, 2018
Don Patterson
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Hot-Shot:

An expert who has answered 20 questions.

Joined: Apr 28, 2017
Answers
64
Questions
0
Helped
371492
Points
82

Kerri Summers

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Oct 14, 2015
Kerri Summers
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Joined: Oct 14, 2015
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
4

I removed the transistor and soldered the points together. It made no difference

  • 1 more comment 
  • Phil Sands
    Phil Sands Oct 29, 2015

    Tried this too, cleaned filters and magnet first, still not working.

  • Derek Warner
    Derek Warner Nov 22, 2015

    Same here...made the connection between A and C, but it still kicked off after 2 seconds. I soldered in B and nothing worked so I removed B just leaving A and C soldered and it runs only 2 seconds before shutting down again. Good theory, but not a 100% fix unfortunately. Very disappointed in Dyson for not releasing a fix or selling a spare component to those of us willing to fix on our own.

  • Steve Williams
    Steve Williams Apr 10, 2017

    Crazy solutions guys ... just sorry the conical finger out properly as detailed above. The only other thing is hair caught in the entry flap but most likely the conical filter blocked inside. Needs taking apart and tapping out properly.

×

ken moran

Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

  • Contributor 1 Answer
  • Posted on Jun 13, 2015
ken moran
Contributor
Level 1:

An expert who has achieved level 1.

New Friend:

An expert that has 1 follower.

Joined: Jun 13, 2015
Answers
1
Questions
0
Helped
102906
Points
4

I tried to find the magnet but couldnt, then I tried to blow through the head part and found it blocked!, after all the drama for a few months it was a bread bag tag blocking the bendy tube up, and fluff caught behind it!

Add Your Answer

×

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

×

Loading...
Loading...

Related Questions:

0helpful
2answers
0helpful
1answer

Have 1 year old hand held v6 motorhead. When pressing the trigger to start. The unit surges on and off repeatedly on a 1 second pulse. How do this get corrected

Hello, this is Ava with Think Crucial.

There are a number of reasons why your Dyson cleaner is pulsating off and on. First, it can be due to a battery of the cleaner. Make sure that the power cable is properly plug to the power and seated properly from the unit while charging. If you find that the battery isn't charging at all, you may need to replace the battery. Second is to check the MAX button of your cleaner. If the button lights up and flashes when your Dyson keeps on pulsating, press and hold the power button and depress the MAX button to turn off the function. You may need to do it for a few times to get the hang of it. Third is to check for any blockages or clogs in the attachments. Look down through the tube and check to see if there are clogs on the sweeper end or if the roller is tangled up in fibers. Clean the roller brush are if it it's necessary. You may need to empty the dust bin of your unit as debris can build up in hard to reach places. Lastly, cleaning the filters may fix the pulsating of your cleaner. Remove the filter and rinse it with cold water and air dry it for 12 hours. Don't use detergent when washing your filters. If the pulsating doesn't go with the given quick fix, I suggest to contact Dyson for further assistance on this.

You can purchase a wide variety of high quality Dyson replacement parts for your Dyson vacuum direct from Think Crucial with free shipping and an exclusive 10% coupon for Fixya.com readers, use code: FIXYA10

https://www.thinkcrucial.com/search?type=product&q=dyson

I hope this was helpful.

Ava B.
Think Crucial Customer Care
http://www.thinkcrucial.com/
0helpful
3answers

My dyson shuts off after just a few seconds of run time.

Make sure the charger is operating. Then if it is, look at a failed battery.
0helpful
1answer

Dyson hand held vacuum runs for a few seconds then shuts off?

Hi, it's Allie from Crucial Vacuum.

Other than the battery being defective, this problem may be caused by a blockage or a dirty filter. If after checking your unit for blockages it still having the same issue, you may need to wash your filter.

Ideally, washable filters should be washed after every 3-4 uses. First, remove the dust from your washable filter. As it may spread around the air, it is best to do this outside. Tap the filter gently to get rid of most of the dust. With lukewarm running water, rinse the outside surface of the filter, without using any soap. Allow the filter to air dry between 24 to 48 hours before you replace it in your vacuum. Once the filter is clean and dry, place it back into your unit and turn it on.

To minimize the waiting time for the filter to be completely dry for it to be used again, it is highly recommended to have a spare filter to use while you clean the one in your hand held vacuum.

You can purchase direct your replacement filter from Crucial Vacuum with free shipping and an exclusive 10% coupon for Fixya.com readers, use code: FIXYA10

http://www.crucialvacuum.com/vacuum-filters/dyson/dyson-dc30-dc31-dc34-dc35-filter.html

I hope this was helpful. If you would like further assistance, please feel free to give us a call at 877.750.9239. We have helpful and friendly customer care representatives on the line ready to assist you.

Alejandra (Allie) Sepulveda-Rivera
Crucial Vacuum Customer Care
http://www.crucialvacuum.com
1helpful
1answer

I have a DC root 6 bag less. It charges great but shuts off after 3 seconds and continues to do so. Wk

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear you're having difficulties with your DC16. I'd encourage you to contact us directly, as we'll need to run through some troubleshooting over the phone with you to determine which part is at fault. You can call us free on 0800 298 0298 (UK), or 1-866-693-9766 (US) - please have the machine to hand when you call.

We'll look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Jack
Dyson Online Customer Support
http://www.dyson.com/
0helpful
2answers

My dyson handheld charges fully, but keeps cutting out when using. About 7 seconds is the longest continual usage time

Your battery is losing voltage too quick. It has probably developed a 'memory'. Dyson claims that their handheld has the best suction out of all the handhelds out there. In order to maintain that claim the circuit board will shut off power to the motor when the voltage drops below adequate charge for full suction.
We need someone who can teach us to bypass that part of the circuit so it won't cut power to the motor or you need to replace the battery.
Shorting the battery like an Aircraft battery then re-charging won't fix it.
1helpful
1answer

My Dyson DC16 usually shuts down after about 5 to 10 seconds. However, occasionally it will run for 45 seconds to 1 minute before shutting down. It is left on charge permanently. I have checked the...

Your battery is losing voltage too quick. It has probably developed a 'memory'. Dyson claims that their handheld has the best suction out of all the handhelds out there. In order to maintain that claim the circuit board will shut off power to the motor when the voltage drops below adequate charge for full suction.
We need someone who can teach us to bypass that part of the circuit so it won't cut power to the motor or you need to get a new battery.
Shorting the battery like an Aircraft battery then re-charging won't fix it.
Not finding what you are looking for?

102,916 views

Ask a Question

Usually answered in minutes!

Top Dyson Vacuums Experts

AskDyson
AskDyson

Level 3 Expert

2572 Answers

Sean Wright
Sean Wright

Level 3 Expert

2045 Answers

xxxxxx xxx

Level 3 Expert

5110 Answers

Are you a Dyson Vacuum Expert? Answer questions, earn points and help others

Answer questions

Manuals & User Guides

Loading...