Smell My vacumm has recently been making this noticable smell. Its brand new, I've only used it a few times. Is the motor going out on it?

Have u got dogs? if its smelling bad "we are what we eat" and so is the vacumn.try a carpet powder "shake and vac etc." Empty after each use

Probably not, the coils in the motor might be bad.

Hi sevillekathe...
The problem is that you have is that hair,strings,etc has gotten wrapped around the beater bar of the vacuum and it is trying to slow down the motor but the motor will not slow down so the smell you smell is the belt burning up because it is slippling and creating smoke and smell
You will need to remove the beater bar from the bottom of the machine and clean the hair,strings,etc from around the bearings on each end of the beater bar.
Also check your filter bag, check the hose going to the vacuum if you have one for blockages, and once you have the beater bar off check your belt condition and look for blockages going to the bag.
Please take time to rate me

If you can notice a smell of burned rubber near the sweeper, then you most likely have a slightly stretched belt. The belt would be spinning against the beater brush, causing the squeaking noise -- as it heats up, the belt will begin to smoke, or at least give off the smell of burned rubber. This will be the most noticeable if you use the vacuum for a few minutes and then turn it off -- most times the suction from the vacuum will pull the smell into the vacuum and keep you from noticing it until it has been going on for quite some time. Replacing the belt should fix the problem.
Before going out and buying the belt, you might want to check between the belt and the beater brush -- if there is a lot of debris between the belt and the beater brush, it will cause the same type of slipping as a stretched belt, and could also be the cause of your problem. Either way, to fix the issue, you have to open the bottom of the vacuum and take a look at the belt -- if it looks to be in good shape, move it around a little. If it has a lot of room to move, it's probably stretched. If you notice a big hair clog under the belt, this is most likely to be your problem -- clean that out and you should be good to go.

We had this same issue. I noticed it smells like burning plastic. I took it apart and did not find any fundamental problems. Ball bearings on motor are fine, no play. What I did find was that the motor construction contains lots of plastic. It's made in China. Even the brush holder is plastic. Now, this is unusual to me, as brushes get very hot. However, I did not find any issues of melted or softening plastic when running. I used a laser-guided thermometer and measured about 170 degrees F on the metal portion of the brush holder. Nothing unusual. Some parts reached above 200 degrees F. Again, nothing unusual. The only unusual issue is that many of the parts are mated with plastic parts. That's where I believe the problem lies. When the motor is new, the brushes don't make full contact. Therefore, full power draw is not achieve until these brushes wear down a bit. After this point, the brushes reach maximum power delivery and reach maximum temperatures. This is why I believe the vacuum didn't exibit any smell until a few months later, at least, for us. In conclusion, I didn't find anything wrong, except that the motor is cheaply constructed. It isn't going bad and well likely last quite a while, IMHO.
MAJ

Had a burning smell coming from the vacuum. Opened it up and noticed sparks in the motor area. Ordered a new motor from Sears and replaced it. Works great now.

Hi! Highly unlikely that you need a new motor.  Highly likely that you need new carbon brushes.  The smell is caused by excessive sparking between the worn brushes and the copper commutator segments.  Most carbon brushes (and from memory I suspect this includes Henry's) have a copper wire buried in their last few millimeters, and you really need to change them before that becomes exposed.   The longer you run it like this, the more likely you are to damage the commutator, so change them sooner rather than later.  When you change the brushes, you can smooth off the commutator with very fine abrasive paper (the objective is to smooth it, not scratch it!), and then blow all the dust away (or **** it away if you have another vac, of course).  Incidentally, you don't say if you are using a paper bag in your Henry. Some people, because the top-hat filter is so good, try to manage without a bag.  This is false economy!  You should always use a bag. I hope this helps! I value feedback, so please remember to rate this response.

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Vacuum cleaner smell
Posted by lcw1 on Apr 20, 2008
Our Hoover Windtunnel has recently started emitting a bad odor when we use it. We recently bought a new house, and the previous owners had dogs, but the carpet was professionally cleaned before we moved in. I have replaced all of the filters and belts to no avail. At this point, I have to remove and rinse off all of the filters after every time I use the vacuum to prevent stinking up the entire house. Any suggestions?


Hello,
I would advise you to ALWAYS to FIRST UNPLUG YOUR VACUUM before beginning any service procedure.
Hoover U6616-900 Windtunnel Bagless Upright
I think you are right, if it is not the switch then it would be the motor. Does it smell bad like a burning smell? If so it is definitely the motor and then @ that point you may want to get an estimate for motor replacement, and keep in mind of what you spent on the vacuum versus what the cost of repair might be. My own rule of thumb is if it cost more than ½ of the price I paid for it then you have to decide – do I want to pay the repaired cost for the vacuum or do I want to purchase a new one. Just a suggestion... You may want to check with your local vac dealer. So if you need further assistance, please feel free to contact your local vacuum cleaner dealer in your area or in the yellow pages, or contact the factory phone number or website to further assist you with your questions.
http://www.hoover.com Telephone
Contact our Customer Service Department at 1.330.499.9499
Monday through Friday
8 a.m. - 7 p.m. EST
Don – The Vac Man
Go Ahead. Use Us.

This could be a motor problem. There is always a slight blue arcing that occurs when an electrical motor runs and can be visible through the exhaust vent, but any excessive arcing indicates a problem. If the carbon brushes are sticking, this will cause excessive arcing and can be corrected by an experience service person, but if there is any electrical failure, the motor would have to be replaced. There are no parts available for these motors and the expense of replacing an armature (the likely culprit) would be more than the motor. This could also be as simple as a worn belt, but usually, belts will not produce the smell your describing. When a motor is burning out, it will produce an acrid odor that will linger for a long time.