Took appart turbo brush and don't know where to put belt to make brush spin...what two things should it connect?

Check the belt. If the beater bar will spin with the belt loose but not spin under power, the belt may be slipping.

The brushes are turned by a motor. No belt. It's possible the gears on the brushes have a flat spot on them which would stop them from turning under a load.

bad motor..sry

Make sure all the pulleys the belt attaches to are spinning properly, if one is stuck or not spinning fast enough that will easily generate enough friction to melt the belt each time you replace it. Might need to replace other parts, or clean out more than just the brushes.

The turbo brush may just need to be cleaned. If hair or other large debris gets wrapped around the brush, it can prevent it from spinning. Since the top of the turbo brush is clear, you can look in and see if there is a lot of hair wrapped around the brush. If so, you can open it up by removing the two screws on the bottom of the brush and popping the clear cover off, then cleaning all the debris from the brush (scissors work well if its hard to get dog hair off). Be careful to see how the brush goes back together as you take it apart.

If cleaning the brush doesn't fix it, the belt might be broken. As you're looking at the top of the brush, there is a little belt that goes from the brush itself to the large blue/green gear (it's red on some models) so that if you reach your hand in and turn the gear, the brush should spin. If this belt is broken or missing, it will need to be replaced. You can probably find a replacement belt online, or you can order a whole new turbo brush from the Bissell website for $24.99.

Hair and dust build up under the end caps of the brush roll and cause friction. Replace the brush roll and belt. Be sure to clean the brush roll frequently after use.

Hi There,

When a belt breaks immediately after installing it, this can ONLY mean one of two things. The first is that the belt was put back on incorrectly, and it may be pinched underneath of the beater bar. This would cause it to break immediately, but I seriously doubt after 4 belts that you put the belt on wrong all 4 times.

The second, and more probable cause is that your roller brush has gone bad. This could be why the belt broke in the first place. In order to test to make sure the brush is bad, unscrew the bottom plate, and remove the brush like you were changing the belt.

Hold the brush at the very end on both sides, using only your finger tips. While holding just the bearing caps, try spinning the bar with your thumbs. Does the brush spin freely in your hands? It should spin completely around 4-5 times on each spin. If the brush will not spin, or if you feel any resistance to it spinning, this is the reason why your belt continues to break.

If the brush can not spin, the motor shaft will continue to try and spin the belt, but since the brush doesn't spin, and the belt doesn't move, the motor shaft will just burn right through the back end of the belt.

If your machine is actually the model that's listed on this Fixya repair page, the Dirt Devil Featherlite model M085845, then your machine uses the following roller brush:
Dirt Devil Plastic Brush Roll for Model 085845 Part # 2-881020-000

The next time that change the belt, install the brush back into the machine, but this time pull up on the belt towards the brush to make sure that the belt spins freely, and spins the brush as well. If the belt doesn't spin the brush, there's some issue, and the belt will break as soon as you turn the machine on.

I hope this helped you. If you find out that you don't need a new brush, feel free to use the comment section here on the repair page and let me know, I'd be happy to walk you through some more advanced diagnosing. If you found this helpful, please be so kind and rate my repair and / or leave feedback for me.

Thanks so much,

Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com

I have seen belts wear faster than that, believe it or not. Here is a link to the belt you need and a link to the manual:

Bissell Health Home Replacement Belt

Bissell Healthy User Guide (PDF)

Either the bearings on the brush are siezed or you caught the belt when you put it back together again

first things first...take the powerhead off of the front of the kirby. If you look at where the powerhead connects to the front of the kirby and you'll see a large hook...turn the hook using the crank on the front of the powerhead so that the belt is pulled up and away from the brushes. (OFF position) The hook stretches the belt so that it can fit over the fan driveshaft (its the finger looking thing that sticks out of the front of the kirby when the powerhead is removed.)

Next, place the two "feet" of the powerhead onto the "perch" located on the front of the kirby (under the driveshaft opening)....lock it on by turning the silver lever on the top of the kirby (the one under the hood/light)


Now spin the knob on the front of the kirby from off to on. This releases the belt from that hook in the powerhead so it can rest on the driveshaft. Off means the belt is off of the drive shaft and the brushes won't spin. On means the belt is on the driveshaft and the brushes will be spinning. But remember, the belt has to be stretched open on that hook inside the power head BEFORE the powerhead is placed on the front of the kirby. Otherwise the belt won't be connected to the spinning driveshaft, and the brushes won't spin