Brushes not turning

The brushes turn by the airflow from the vacuum suction turning a turbine motor to spin the brushes. First try to spin the brushes by hand. If they won't turn it usually means the brushes are clogged with hair and debris or need replaced or the turbine could be seized up. If the brushes won't spin reach under the brushes and push the little tabs and remove the brush block asssembly from the machine. If the brushes spin freely after you remove them from the machine then that means that most likely the turbine is seized and will need to be repaced. If the turbine is not seized you may simply just have a clogged filter screen. Most steam vacs have a red screen filter either on top or underneath the machine. On the top it is under a little clear plastic cover that you have to pry off before you can pull the screen out to clean it. If it's underneath you can pull it out and clean it.

(1) Assure the Brush Control on the hood is NOT set to the OFF position.
(2) Remove the brush assembly by pulling/unlatching it from base on each side.
(3) Does one of the brushes have the drive pin present? It should be about ¼ inch square, and two inches long. It attaches the brushes to the drive mechanism.
(4) Remove and clean the intake filter. One the base of the cleaner, behind the brushes, squeeze the two red abs together and pull the panel down to access the screen. Clean the hair/debris off the screen and reassemble.

Hi There,

Unfortunately the answer above is far from helpful. The filter has absolutely nothing to do with your brushes not spinning, and you can really replace the turbine yourself without having to take it into a shop to fix it. Here's a much more helpful diagnosing of how to check the brushes, and fix the turbine if needed.

There can be serveral things that may have gone wrong with your Hoover so that the brushes stop spinning. Unlike the other "expert" above I will walk you through step by step on how to diagnosis this problem, and fix it. Unfortunately there is no belt or band on this model, but instead it's actually a turbine assembly that drives this brush.

Possible Problem #1. Usually the most common problem when the brushes stop spinning is that the brushes have simply gotten clogged with something that is preventing them from spinning. Especially if you have pets in the home, this is a common problem. Here's how you can clean these brushes.

First, turn the machine upside down so that the brushes are facing upwards. Pull down on the upwards on the brushes and they will easily snap right out of the mahcine completely. . Use a pressurized water hose with spray nozzle is ideal) and spray each brush with water to dislodge any pet hair. You should be able to get these brushes spinning when you spray them. Spray each brush until the brushes are spinning pretty fast. Re-insert the brushes into the machine, and test to see if the cleaning has fixed your problem. It's important to make sure that the brush switch on the top of the machine is turned to "Rotating Brush Speed Hi", and that the handle of the machine is reclined down. There is an internal switch inside the machine that turns the brushes off when the machine is in the upright position, so you'll need to step on the handle release pedal to ensure that this switch is engaged. Hopefully the brushes just needed to be cleaned, and they will now work now that you have reinserted them. If this still didn't fix your problem, move on to the next possible problem.

Possible problem #2: If the cleaning didn't fix your problem, remove the brushes from the machine again. Once the brushes have been removed, the handle reclined, and the brush switch turned to fast, turn the machine on. Where the brushes were sitting you'll see a square shaped hole (pictured below) that the brush stem fits into that actually spins the brushes. This part should be spinning while the machine is on. Here's a picture of that part:




If this part is not spinning, then your Turbine Gear Assembly has gone bad and needs to be replaced. If this part spins however, then this indicates that your brush block is gone bad, and needs to be replaced.

Here are links to the exact parts for your model that may need to be replaced:

Brush Block:
http://www.govacuum.com/hov2st6blpa4.html

Turbine Gear Assembly:
http://www.govacuum.com/hostretubrge.html

Here's also a link to a Fixya repair solution that I've done explaining step by step how to replace the turbine gear:
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4530769-diagnosis_fix_hoover_steamvacs_when

I hope this helped you, please be sure to rate the repair or leave feedback if you found this repair to be helpful.

Thanks so much,

Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com

Can you rotate the brushes manually (grab some of the yellow bristles and rotate the brushes). If they are not jammed, then your air fan drive is clogged or broken. Air must pass through the fan to spin the brushes... so confirm air flow by powering the machine on and feeling for decent air flow. Clear any obstructions that my restrict air flow....

(1) Assure the Brush Control on the hood is NOT set to the OFF position.
(2) Remove the brush assembly by pulling/unlatching it from base on each side.
(3)Does one of the brushes have the drive pin present? It should be about ¼ inch square, and two inches long. It attaches the brushes to the drive mechanism

the belt has streached go to walmart and get a new one.

http://geeksquad.fixya.com/ThreadView.aspx?prdid=40473&thid=732696
Brushes not spinning
Posted by mathis_23 on Jul 02, 2008
I cleaned filter and the brushes are still not rotating.

Hello,
I would advise you to ALWAYS to FIRST UNPLUG YOUR VACUUM before beginning any service procedure. It probably is not the filter that will start the brushes turning again, it may be a few other things. There is a switch in the front that indicates brushes on and brushes off, and the switch could be broken, it could be that the brushes come in an assembly and the assm could be belt driven and you would have to replace the belt or the drive mechanism the turns the brushes is broken. These are just suggestions and you should check the schematic in your owner’s manual under trouble shooting. If you don’t have a owner’s manual, 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
Thanks, Don the Vac Man
Go Ahead. Use Us.

Check to see if the shaft on the brush block hasn't broken off. Otherwise it is the turbine that drives the brushes and is either clogged up inside or needs to be replaced.

Did you clean both filters? There is one on the tank and the other is from the bottom, it ha a red frame, pull it out to clean. Pull the brush block out, is the shaft that goes up into the machine broken off? If so replace the brush block. While it is out, trn the machine on and see if the square hole up where the brush block goes, is turning. If not then the turbine has gone bad. You can sometimes clean the turbine out, otherwise replacing it may be the best option.

Sounds as though your drive belt has come off. Or you have an object stopping the brushes from rotating.