Cord/recoll/turn on The miele white star vacuum will only start if I pull out the cord very fast and hard. I assume there a relation between the cord extraction and the power switch. What is it and how do i fix it? Drew

is there a little button (reset) on the motor? did it work one day and not the next or did it die when using?

go here> http://www.sannerud.com/house/miele.html

Some people figure out a way to hardwire the power cord into their vacuum.

it is possible that the cord rewinder has become broken inside the unit. It is a common problem with this and other models by Miele.

There IS a fix to the cord rewind, unless your model falls within the 5 year warranty. In which case contact your nearest Miele dealer for a replacement to the cord rewinder.

Good luck.

The vacuum has a standard tube internal fuse. If you are lucky that is all it is. See the site http://www.sannerud.com/house/miele.html for instructions on how to open it up.

hope that helps

Hi,

Yes, this very well could be a problem with the cord reel, especially if it happened all of a sudden. There's a few ways that you can diagnosis this problem yourself. First make sure the cord is all the way reeled into the vacuum. Next find an outlet that's close, and only pull out enough cord as you have to, to be able to reach the wall outlet. After you've plugged the machine into the wall, use one hand to slowly pull more cord out of the vacuum, and use the other hand to continuously turn on and off the vacuum pushing the foot pedal that controls the main switch. Slowly pull the cord out, and turn the vacuum on and off, on and off, on and off.

At any point while you were doing this did the vacuum come on, even for a very short time? Did it even make a noise like it was trying to start? If you heard a noise, or the vacuum even came on for a time, then this definitely indicates that you have a bad cord reel.

If it didn't make a noise or come on, you still may have a cord reel problem, but you'll need to take the machine apart to further diagnosis it at this point. A simple continuity electrical tester will be needed to test the cord reel.

Here's a very detailed repair instruction that I left for a similar model Miele on Fixya already. The model that you posted the repair under is a Miele Red Star which is an S314i, the model I repaired the cord on was actually a S514. The cord repair on both of these models is identical however, except your Red Star actually has two screws that need to be removed from the variable speed control box, the S514 only has one. Otherwise, it's almost completely the same repair. If you need to purchase a cord reel for your Miele, here's a direct link to the Miele S300 series cord reel that goes with your Red Star:
http://www.govacuum.com/miele-cord-reel-s300-series-06777540.html

Even better, if you purchase the cord reel from GoVacuum, you have 60 days after the purchase that you may return the cord reel to us if that wasn't the problem (we do test all the returns to make sure that they weren't damaged when being installed), and as long as the cord reel is returned undamaged, we give you a full refund, we don't believe in restocking or shipping fees. Better yet, we even include a return label with every order that you may use for free to avoid return shipping charges.

If you find that the cord reel is not the problem, that can only leave one of three things; the switch, the motor, or the pc control board that's on your motor. In 10 years of fixing Miele vacuums however, I can safely bet that it's your cord reel.

Anyways, here's the link to step by step instructions on how you can remove the cord to test it, as well as replacing it. If you have any questions, please feel free to use the Clarification or comment form here on Fixya, or contact us by phone. If this was helpful to you, please be so kind and rate my repair as helpful by clicking the thumbs up icons at the top of the page. Thanks so much!

How to Test & Change a Miele Cord Reel:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t2281026-miele_s514_will_not_come

Chris J.
GoVacuum

Hello,

When a Miele canister just stops working all of a sudden, it's usually a pretty clear indication that either you have a bad cord reel, or a bad switch. I would say that in 60% of Miele repairs that I do with this problem, the cord reel has gone bad.

One easy thing that you can try to see if the cord is bad, is put one hand on the on/off switch, and the other hand grab the cord (making sure it's fully retracted inside the canister). Now pull the cord out slowly with your one hand, while continously turning the switch on / off, on / off. Keep pressing the switch on and off while pulling on the cord. Usually if the cord reel has gone bad, then you may hear the vacuum attempt to start, or even turn on while you're pulling on the cord. The cord reels in Miele use a metal spring inside that makes connection with the rest of the vacuum. Over time this spring will start to loose it's strength, and eventually will get so bad that it no longer makes contact with the rest of the vacuum. By pulling the cord out slowly and pressing the on / off switch, a lot of the times the spring will make connection somewhere, and the motor may turn on temporarily.

If this happens, this indicates your cord reel needs to be replaced. I have done a detailed repair here on Fixya on how to replace the cord on a Miele canister vacuum that you may read here;
http://www.fixya.com/support/t2281026-miele_s514_will_not_come

If you can't get the vacuum to turn on at all, this can only mean a few things. First the cord reels spring is gone completely, and wont make any connection with the rest of the vacuum, and you'll still need to replace it.

It also can mean that just the plug that plugs into the wall is bad, is your plug bent, or no longer straight on either prong?

It can also mean that your motor has gone bad. This however is usually the least likely of all the problems. The Miele motors are almost bullet proof, and typically last 20 years. I can count on one hand the number of Miele motor replacements I've ever done in 10 years of fixing vacuums.

I can try and help you diagnosis this further if my suggestions didn't help you. Please use the clarification request that you see here on this page to ask me a question. Please just let me know what happened when you tested the cord out as I suggested above. I really hope this was helpful to you. If you found this to be helpful, please be sure to rate the repair as helpful to you by clicking the thumbs up icon. I really appreciate that.

Chris J.

The Miele interior is not too complicated. Look at this site for some instructions on opening it, http://www.sannerud.com/house/miele.html Then use visual inspection or an ohm meter to find out where the connectivity problem is.

hope that helps

Problem solved. A guy posted on the internet a step by step explanation including photos of how to open a Miele White Star vacuum to get to the take up reel.

Most times you will have to replace the cord rewind. Sometimes just the cord, but usually there is a problem with thr reel contacts. But now that the spring has unwound, you will have to replace it. You will need model number rather then Red Star.