It won't retract

Bill, February 2005

Each brand and model is a bit different and the cause and remedy for each problem may be different as well. The solution I gave for my Kenmore worked for me but may not apply to your situation. I have a fair amount of experience at fixing things. If your experience is less than mine you may want to be even more thoughtful and cautious. Some things you may want to consider are: 1) Will the cleaner I am using cause the parts to degrade? 2) Did I dry it thoroughly or will the dampness, if any, cause a problem? 3) Did I clean the mating parts of moving surfaces thoroughly - including the removal of any and all solvents? 4) Did I unnecessarily increase the tension of the cord by giving it an extra turn of tension? 5) Did I determine why it failed? Was the failure premature? Is there anything I could do to prevent the failure in the future but not increase the chance of another type of failure?

Wayne Again, August 2007

You need to determine the cause for the part not working.
I had a similar problem with my Kenmore canister. I took it apart and found that by 1) cleaning it 2) lubricating it and 3) increasing the tension (essentially) by winding the cord one or more two times, it worked. It has been working fine now for over a year. My cleaner (which Sears no longer seems to want to support with parts) has worked (under light usage) for over 23 years. Oh, the cleaning of the part seemed to be the most important ingredient to getting the cord retractor to work. Together, lubrication and a small amount of additional tension seemed to equal the cleaning step. Oh (#2), be careful as to what you use to clean the retractor and that it is quite dry before you put it back together. I think I used another vacuum cleaner to ensure that the innards were completely dry.

Wayne, August 2007