I don’t have to tell anyone that a Dyson vacuum isn’t going to work very well if its brush is not spinning.
It’s a very important part of the vacuum and the whole thing is much less effective if it doesn’t work.
So, if you noticed that the brush on your Dyson vacuum is not spinning like it should, let me help.
Before that, make sure your Dyson vacuum is free from battery related problem, like weak battery, not holding charge, etc.
A faulty battery can also cause your Dyson vacuum not to work even it its light is on, so always make sure its battery is in great condition.
Related: My Tips for Fixing a Dyson Vacuum Fully Charged but Not Working
I even made a video on what might be wrong when this happens, and how you can deal with them.
Related: Dyson Vacuum Says Airway Blocked Troubleshooting
Dyson Vacuum Brush Not Spinning
- Clogged Brush Motor Gear
If your Dyson vacuum has a brush, it has a motor gear too that’s responsible for spinning the brush.
It keeps the brush going in a consistent motion.
But, if it gets clogged, it can’t move and would have no suction on the Dyson vacuum, even the maximum suction mode might not help in this case.
You’ll have to deal with any dirt, debris, hair, or other types of clogging around the brush to resolve this.
I just got done cleaning a pretty nasty mess with my Dyson V11, and wanted to show you what my brush looks like afterward.
If your brush looks like this too, it definitely needs cleaned extensively.
You can see how gross the area around the head is. That’s normal after cleaning around a dirty house, but you need to get everything out of the vacuum too.
If you don’t do that, the build-up can clog gears and stop the brush from spinning.
So, first of all, remove the brush from the head as shown in the image below.
You would need a screwdriver or something else to rotate and unlock the brush.
After that, slowly pull out the brush head. I’ll even give you a closer look at just how dirty it can get, now that it’s in my hand.
Now, try to use your hand to spin the little knob where the brush was placed as shown in the image below.
If that knob doesn’t move freely, it means it’s clogged and the reason for this problem occuring.
There’s probably a build up of dirt particles in there, and it should be back to full functioning when you’re done cleaning it.
- Clean Electrical Contacts
Electrial contact points are what help your Dyson vacuum send power to all the different attachments, including the brush motor.
They’re on every part of the vacuum that can be removed.
But, if there’s anything wrong with these contacts on your attachment specifically, the brush will stop spinning.
You can see those specific contact points in the image below. Without electricity flowing through these points, the brush motor won’t have power.
As such, the gear won’t operate, and that means the brush won’t spin.
Usually it’s just some dirt that’s blocking the flow of electricity within the contact points. To deal with that, you’ll need to use a contact cleaner and thoroughly apply it on this spot.
When you’re done cleaning it, attach it to the rest of the device and see if your brush is spinning like it should be.
- Check for Electrical Connection
Because of how often the wand attachment is bent and pressed on the floor, electrical connection inside the wand can get damaged over time.
This actually happened to my Dyson V11 too some time ago.
To make sure the connectivity, I used a multimer to check whether one end of the contact point is connected to the another end of the contact point on my Dyson vacuum wand.
Most multimeter comes with this functionality and you should hear a “Beep” sound during the testing.
The steps to preform the check is recorded as shown in the video at the start of this article.
To isolate the problem, I would recommend you to directly attach the Brush to the Vacuum itself as shown in the image below.
If the brush is spinning with this method but not working when connecting with other attachments, that’s mean the attachments are problematic.
If the brush still not spinning with this method, you may check the voltage output of the Dyson vacuum using a multimeter.
As you can see from the image below, I used a multimeter to directly measure the VDC output of my Dyson vacuum.
From my own findings, the measured output voltage is relative low (I not sure why) although I think it should be higher.
As long as it it giving out some output voltage, then should be fine.
Another step is to check the output voltage at the electrical contact point when the wand is connected.
By the way, in some instances the wand itself can have a problem. In case you encounter this, you can read this article I’ve written about the ways to fix a Dyson vacuum cleaner wand not working.
There should be some output voltage detected when the vacuum is turned on.
Related: Dyson Vacuum Does Not Turn On: Practical Fixes I Tried
If everything seems to work but the brush still won’t spin, you might need to check or replace the brush motor.
- Replace The Cleaner Head
Speaking of replacements, it’s likely your cleaner head is out of commission at this point.
If none of the solutions I shared so far were that helpful, your cleaner head is probably out of order.
It can’t function anymore and needs to be replaced because there might be internal faults like motor failure.
Luckily, Dyson can take care of that for you if the device is still under warranty.
Even if you don’t have the warranty still, you could still be able to buy a used replacement part online. It’ll be cheaper than getting one brand new.
But, I do recommend that you confirm the quality of the replacement before buying it. It’s always good to get the best parts to ensure longevity.
