Power Cord is Jammed

Thanks Joe for finding the location of that fifth screw. I've taken some photos to help out anyone else who might be having this issue.

Its on my blog here.

Thank you Joe for your big tips of the 5th hidden screw. We have spent a lot of time trying to crack open the top but without any success and we almost gave up until I accidentally saw Joe's solution and it was just so easy then after removing this 5th screw and the top just opened up with no force at all. Thank you again, Joe!
It seems that many people have this same problem with this unwinding cord and don't know how to solve it. I strongly agree that Hoover should include this problem shooter in their manual in details. Also they should improve their design to avoid this problem occurrence.

Hi,

I had a similar problem with Hoover Sensory model. The design appears to be very similar to the one described here : two buttons, difficult to remove due to three plastic tabs in each, 4 screws and so on. Thanks to the earlier solutions, I was able to take it apart, fix, re-assemble and test in 50 mins! Great guys, thanks a lot.

Couple of notices I made : I hate these new household machines which are purposefully build with aforementioned plastic tabs so that you break it easily if/when you try to fix it yourself and therefore you'd be using Hoover qualified (tm) service instead! I bet that those Hoover repair-men have a special three-point tool to extract those two buttons (power and cord rewind).

Anyway, you can use simply three thin blade dining knifes to perform the same operation. First, push the knifes in on three sides so that all tabs snap off. Then pull the button off. This is the difficult part. After removing the buttons, remove the four very visible and easy open screws. Lift the inner housing lid off with the filter on top of it. Carefully lift the electronics/electric part on a circuit board, there's enough loose wire to very carefully and gently lift it up and aside. Now you have clear view of the rewind wheel under it; examine it, for example, my cord had not jumped off the wheel, but the wheel had jumped off-axis somehow. Restore the normality (for the rewind wheel) and pull out all the cord (maybe you could consider never rewinding it again?). Play around with rewind mechanics, just to see how it works. Put the circuit board part back on, gently (there's loose wire, but not too much). Study the alignment of the circuit board. You can put your finger through the power cord opening in the back side and pull the plastic (don't you just hate the word :)) part closer so that the wheel underneath, the circuit board and the housing lid all align nicely. Spend some time here, making sure everything still works (carefully, remember electricity is dangerous too!) test the vacuum operation. Finally align the housing lid and screw it back on. The white stick in the power button DOES NOT push the red button inside but the it is used to screw to variable resistor instead (took me 5 mins to figure this :)). Pop the buttons bak in, it is very easy this way.

Test everything works still.

Never rewind again.

Never ever buy Hoover again:) (just kidding, it wasn't that bad experience)

This saved my cleaning day and a stupid call and service for my Hoover. And now I can fix it myself. How cool is that :)

Tapio

This is no solution to the "cord" problem...It's a BIG thank you note for Joe, the last guy who posted the real solution. Joe, whoever you are, and where ever you are, I'll be forever grateful for your help. I owe you one, buddy...

Thank you Joe
worked as a charm for me)

Thanks joe, i was ready to rip it apart until i found your post.

Alpha,

Could you repeat the solution since Joe's doen't seem to be up anymore. At least I cannot find it.

Thanks,
TC

Joe, I am so sorry for your loss on this one, but I cannot thank you enough for posting your experience. You saved my little Hoover, and we certainly cannot afford another right now. Thanks again.

I just had this exact problem. There are 4 easy to find screws under the bag container lid. The 5th impossible-to-find screw is located under the large, gray cord release button. If you can pop that button off, the 5th screw is accessible and the whole top comes right off. I am going to write a scathing letter to Hoover. There is no reason to make it so impossible to remove the canister top. A miniscule amount of ink in the user's manual showing an exploded view would have save my needed to break my S1361 to fix the stuck cord problem. I otherwise have really liked this cheerful, but useful product. I only wish someone else had posted this information so I wouldn't have had to use brute force to open mine. :-( Good luck, --Joe